This old selenite mine is dotted with tiny crystals that make it shimmer like it's covered in glitter.

A former department store turned into a quirky restaurant.

One of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the United States air-dries its trademark beef in a dangling outdoor cage.

This small, unassuming street is now a canvas for color and creativity.

For those going through a life transition, a place to leave behind a piece of your former self.

Come for the pizza, stay for a performance on the world's largest theater pipe organ.

One of the world's largest telescopes, stares into the night sky with two huge mirrors.

A mysterious "wedding cake" castle in the middle of the urban desert.

A living snapshot of a different time in America is preserved and maintained by a community of volunteers.

A Tucson museum and performance space full of found-object movable sculptures.

This Route 66 classic sports a giant fiberglass rabbit that you can ride.

In Tucson a giant metal snake helps pedestrians cross a busy highway.

Collection of vintage trailers double as hotel rooms.

A nature and cultural preserve named for its multitude of petroglyphs carved by the Northern Sinagua people.

What is the Thing?

Some of the tallest ancient American ruins continue to inspire awe and curiosity.

A motel dedicated to Southwestern nostalgia.

This golf ball–shaped former desert real estate office now houses a UFO museum.

Founded by members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, this one-room joint's James Beard–winning fry bread is light as a cloud.

A classic Route 66 landmark that was built with scrap lumber and is held together with kitsch and puns.

A spiritual vortex among the red rocks in Sedona.

The fading, forgotten remains of a once bright and booming factory.

One of the largest, oldest, darkest, quietest motel rooms in the world.

Witnessing the might of this dessert-colored desert waterfall is a rare, powerful treat.