NorthWestWitch's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Pioneertown, California

Pioneertown

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

The Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum

Explore 10 acres of environmental sculptures.
Groom Lake, Nevada

Area 51

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

The World's Largest Tandem Axle Truck

Nestled near the mountains of western Canada resides this behemoth earth mover.
Golden Valley, Arizona

Santa Claus, Arizona

A Saint Nicholas-themed ghost town in the Mojave desert.
Leadville, Colorado

Leadville's Abandoned Silver Mine

Abandoned silver mine strewn with wrecked and twisted structures.
Calipatria, California

Slab City

This abandoned Navy base was transformed into an off-grid alternative living community for thousands of people.
Calipatria, California

Salvation Mountain

A hand-built folk art installation covered with messages of God's love.
San Bernardino County, California

The Mojave Desert Mailbox

The most isolated mailbox in America lets desert travelers record their passing.
Bombay Beach, California

Bombay Beach

Version of the French Riviera destroyed by the sea.
Austin, Nevada

U.S. Route 50

Officially named the "Loneliest Road in America," this barren stretch of Nevada road offers almost nothing but sky and open fields.
Tonopah, Nevada

Clown Motel

Oh, just a motel on the edge of the desert decorated with thousands of clowns conveniently located next to an abandoned graveyard.
Beatty, Nevada

Angel's Ladies Brothel

A brothel nestled amongst ghost towns, with an abandoned plane wreck to greet you.
Inyo County, California

Ballarat Ghost Town

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

Eureka Dunes

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

Mark Twain's Cabin

Where the writer penned his famous story about a jumping frog.
Goldfield, Nevada

International Car Forest of the Last Church

Graffiti, cars, and religion combine to create this jungle of scrap in the Nevada desert.
Las Vegas, Nevada

Lonnie Hammargren's House

This former lieutenant governor's home is brimming with curiosities.
Sloan, Nevada

Seven Magic Mountains

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

Old Zoo Picnic Area

The abandoned zoo enclosures offer a perfect place to experience the other side of the bars.
Los Angeles, California

Binoculars Building

In a city filled with Frank Gehry buildings, one stands out as one of the architect's weirder works.
Inglewood, California

Randy's Donuts

A giant donut stands as a popular symbol of Los Angeles iconography.
Cabazon, California

Cabazon Dinosaurs

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

Obsidian Butte on the Salton Sea

Huge otherworldly domed rocks on the shore of a deadly lake.