In the middle of an extremely unforgiving and desolate high desert is the most secret military facility in the world.

This old mining town, deep in the California desert, has a year-round population of one.

Marta Becket's hand-painted theater in the desert.

One of the most unusual geological features, recognizable from a dozen hit movies.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

I Street Bridge is the heaviest swinging center bridge in the United States.

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

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

On a barren hillside in the Yucca Valley, the recently restored Desert Christ Park has attracted pilgrims and kitsch hunters for over 50 years.

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.

Version of the French Riviera destroyed by the sea.

Limestone caves with spectacular showcase chambers.

An old saloon in the West filled with history, and according to some, a few dozen ghosts.

A wild west cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona, provides a window into the Old West.

What is the Thing?

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.

A former utopian healing center created by a huckster and built by derelicts.

Finally the worlds of UFO enthusiasts and beef jerky lovers have come together in this roadside shop.

A mining town once rife with murderous disputes over its copious treasures now creates income as a popular spot for photo shoots.

This immigrant bridge once spanned the Thames but is now a fixture of an Arizona city.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.