russellnelson's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place
AO Member
Leaderboard Highlights
russellnelson's activity rankings
1st
Places visited in Oakland, California
1st
Places visited in Berkeley, California
1st
Places visited in Reykjavik, Iceland
3rd
Places visited in Qesm Al Wahat Ad Dakhlah, Egypt
4th
Places visited in Hobart, Australia
5th
Places visited in Palo Alto, California
Loading map...
San Bernardino, California

Unofficial McDonald's Museum

This unlicensed collection of fast-food memorabilia sits on the site of the first ever McDonald's restaurant.
Heather Arment Added by Heather Arment
Near Lake Arrowhead, California

SkyPark at Santa's Village

Costumed elves and mountain bikers co-exist peacefully at this abandoned Christmas-themed adventure park.
kcmick Added by kcmick
Agua Dulce, California

Vasquez Rocks

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.
Erin Johnson Added by Erin Johnson
Lancaster, California

Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

Each year these high desert hills are absolutely covered with poppy flowers in a surreal show of nature.
Allison Added by Allison
Daggett, California

Solar One and Solar Two

Decommissioned experimental solar facilities that pioneered solar energy technology.
Allison Added by Allison
Yermo, California

Peggy Sue's 50's Diner & Diner-Saur Park

Like a kitschy mirage in the Mojave, this eatery serves up classic 50s-style diner meals and a dinosaur sculpture garden.
Added by laurenmishgraf
Yermo, California

Calico Ghost Town

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.
Added by pushstart143
San Bernardino, California

Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

Where NASA's satellites and rovers phone home.
Trevor Added by Trevor
Baker, California

World's Largest Thermometer

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.
Added by octoberwitch
Tecopa, California

China Ranch Date Farm

This secluded date farm can be reached only by following a bumpy, single-lane desert road.
Britta Shoot Added by Britta Shoot
Inyo County, California

Amargosa Opera House

Marta Becket's hand-painted theater in the desert.
Amargosa Valley, Nevada

Devil's Hole

Water of undetermined depth has attracted rare fish and cult leaders alike.
Added by zackofalltrades
Beatty, Nevada

Rhyolite Ghost Town

Odd outsider art installations surround a Gold Rush-era ghost town.
Beatty, Nevada

Albert Szukalski's Last Supper

Twelve plaster figures inspired by da Vinci's famed painting haunt the desert landscape above a real-life ghost town.
littlebrumble Added by littlebrumble
California

Eureka Dunes

The highest dunes in California are the most likely place in the area to hear the Singing Sands.
Added by zackofalltrades
Inyo County, California

Ubehebe Crater

A massive hydrovolcanic explosion left a half-mile wide crater in Death Valley.
Tony Dunnell Added by Tony Dunnell
Inyo County, California

Scotty's Castle

An abandoned Jazz Age dream home and con man's hideout in Death Valley.
Tre Added by Tre
Three Rivers, California

Moro Rock

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.
Added by mtodd51
Three Rivers, California

Tharp’s Log

A 19th-century cabin built into a hollowed-out Sequoia tree.
Added by cynthiaphung
Sequoia National Park, California

General Sherman

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).
Added by KG
Whitney Portal, California

Mount Whitney Summit Shelter

The first life claimed by this record-breaking peak wasn't lost to exposure or a fall, but rather lightning.
thomasharper Added by thomasharper
Inyo County, California

Manzanar National Historic Site

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."
Added by zackofalltrades
Lone Pine, California

The Museum of Western Film History

The hundreds of movies and television shows shot in this high desert town are commemorated in a unique museum.
Mabel Added by Mabel
Furnace Creek, California

Harmony Borax Works

This crumbling Death Valley mining complex was known for its use of giant, 20-mule team wagons.
EricGrundhauser Added by EricGrundhauser