Come for the 14-foot-long taxidermy alligator. Stay for the mini costumed gators shooting pool.

A desert settlement founded and later abandoned by Hawaiian members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah's Skull Valley.

Despite sitting firmly in the global cradle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this Hare Krishna temple is host to one of the largest color festivals outside India.

The remains of this early 20th century refinery loom on a mountainside like a graffiti-covered fortress.

This lonely gas station has stood at this location since 1917.

These headstones and a few stone foundations are all that remain of a once-booming mining town.

This lava formation earned its whimsical name from the log-like formation of it stones.

This former wildlife sanctuary is being transformed into an art park.

In 1847, Brigham Young climbed this hill to survey the Salt Lake Valley and saw a fine place to build a city.

This granite monument at the site of an ill-conceived tourist attraction is built from the same stone as the Mormon Temple.

An enormous image of Utah's salt flats made entirely from tape.

Massive prehistoric mammals used these stones as oversized scratching posts.

A replica of the gaslit streetlamp under which three teenagers founded a football club.

An inconspicuous footbridge beloved by San Diego locals.

The classic Atari game's iconic aliens have invaded downtown San Diego.

A magnificent, reportedly haunted mansion built for a composer by Spiritualists.

Deep into the lower floors of Pike Place, find a date with fowl fate.

'Cause the fence start shaking, the earth was quaking.

This rare example of a "tidefall" is a spectacular drop from the cliffs down onto the beach.

One of the largest Buddhist communities in the West sits on the site of an old hospital.

A local dialect born in the late 19th century is only spoken in this isolated California valley.

Locals dubbed it the "Owl Building" because of its bird-like appearance.

Two small markers remember the Alamo's feline protectors.

Legend has it the commander of the defenders drew a fateful line in the dirt with his sword just before the final battle.