This former shopping outlet is now adorned with beautiful graffiti and murals.

Brightly colored 30-foot-tall totems light up the desert sky just outside Las Vegas.

The world’s largest concentrated solar plant generates as many problems as megawatts.

The largest dune field in the Mojave offers a chance of hearing the 'singing sands.'

The abandoned train depot now doubles as a well-placed rest stop for those who take the road less traveled.

Located on 420 acres in the high desert, this spiritual center is dedicated to the "science of the future."

The quirky salon doubles as a retro museum run by the world's leading "hairstorian."

An old California photo stand has been turned into a shrine to the cozy art of crochet.

An eclectic trailer park retreat in the middle of the California desert.

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.

One of the ghostly stops along Route 66.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

The ghost town that ended up on Ebay.

The decaying adobe remains of an old homestead are just off the beaten path in Joshua Tree National Park.

A music-filled, booze-soaked oasis in the desert.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

William Faulkner kept his beloved estate wild and untamed.

A parade of interactive nostalgia nestled within a giant brick building in downtown Hattiesburg.

A cheeky alleyway window hosts tiny rotating exhibits with outsized charm.

Located in a remote part of a Louisiana wildlife refuge, this tree has been standing for more than 1,200 years.

A dramatically eroding canyon thousands of miles from the desert.

The LSU mascot lived on the college campus in one of the most impressive tiger habitats in the country.

Built following the War of 1812, this fort has withstood hurricanes for centuries.

Legend says a primate-like cryptid prowls this otherworldy sliver of the Louisiana bayou.