The crumbling structure is a rare surviving relic of the area's bygone mining industry.

An architect's childhood fantasy treehouse made real.

One man's ambition created this psychedelic log home.

Dance on a hand-hewn log floor padded with bouncy boxcar springs at a saloon built in 1883.

This upscale streetwear store is hidden behind a fake Snapple machine in the back of a deli.

This historic stone barn is the former home of legendary cattleman Charles “Lonesome Dove” Goodnight.

Its dark depths conceal millions of rare, delicate crystal formations.

The recreated ruins of a house designed to memorialize a World War I shelling on the town.

The final resting place of the businessman-turned-astronomer who helped discover Pluto stands near his observatory.

Tucked away behind an unassuming set of shops is a must-see series of stunning murals.

A nursery specializing in strange and beautiful succulents and cacti.

The Route 66 institution that inspired Taco Bell also served as an important headquarters for Mexican-American social movements.

A stealthy Apache hideaway that became the haunting site of a mass grave.

The set location for a 1987 cult classic draws international film buffs to the middle of the Mojave Desert.

A collision of human error and natural geothermal pressure created this rainbow-colored geologic wonder.

Like a kitschy mirage in the Mojave, this eatery serves up classic 50s-style diner meals and a dinosaur sculpture garden.

A stone pillar marking the location of the westernmost battle of the American Civil War only honors one side of the conflict.

Settled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1859, this abandoned frontier town has appeared in several films.

This remote desert watering hole has a connection to a curious chapter of American history.

Some of the Old West's most notorious outlaws frequented this mining town.

The smallest Mexican land grant in California was given, and then taken from, a 19th-century teacher and nurse.

Two Civil War-era cemeteries stuck between runways at the world's busiest airport.

The remnants of an early automobile route across shifting sand dunes can still be found in the deserts of Southern California.

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.