No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

This simple highway curve has become a comedic pilgrimage site.

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

This historic tower in the California desert promises visitors a "vortex of good vibes".

Swarms of butterflies cannot compare to the awe inspired by the publicly-funded nakedness once displayed in this sunken garden.

Stripes of flowers bloom each spring in a 50 acre rainbow of color.

This dark, quiet forest on the outskirts of San Diego is dense with rumor and lore.

A large sculptural artwork and garden in Escondido, California.

Lucha Libre (Mexican Wrestling) themed taco shop.

An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

Named after a bandit and the star of several Hollywood prehistoric landscapes, these sandstone formations are a historical part of the Los Angeles natural landscape.

Each year these high desert hills are absolutely covered with poppy flowers in a surreal show of nature.

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

The highest dunes in California are the most likely place in the area to hear the Singing Sands.

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

See massive fossils that are over 200 million years old in northeastern Arizona.

A pair of giant roadside arrows are all that remains of a former Route 66 trading post.

A spring-fed pool so deep it's used for scuba diving as well as swimming.

This historic "City of the Dead" lies prominently in the center of New Orleans' famous Garden District.

A typical "Old South" manor, once owned by author Anne Rice, served as the setting for several of her witchcraft sagas.

The state's oldest continuously operating museum houses more than 5,000 Civil War artifacts.

By day this New Orleans square is for pedestrians, but by night it is a kingdom of kittens.