A mountaintop space observatory that is certified dark.

The wooden house where the jazz great learned to play the piano.

Strange red rock formations that have been attributed to a higher power for hundreds of years.

A dangerous narrow-gauge railroad once traced a route through this striking canyon.

This little blue house pokes out over the campus of UC San Diego, seven stories high.

The decaying adobe remains of an old homestead are just off the beaten path in Joshua Tree National Park.

This outdoor observatory offers stellar views and a scale model of our solar system.

A regular looking rock with an unbelievable history.

Experience a quartz crystal sound bath inside a storied, all-wood sound-chamber.

Part of a highway network meant to connect Miami to Montreal, this 10-mile stretch of road made from red bricks is still around 100 years later.

At this deceptively beautiful beach, nothing is what it seems.

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.

While you're unlikely to find riches here these days, this remote mine is a time capsule of the Gold Rush era.

World's largest collection devoted to one fruit.

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

These lush groves of fan palms rise up like oases out of southern California's Colorado Desert.

Version of the French Riviera destroyed by the sea.

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

An outdoor sculpture park of giant pink robots and post-apocalyptic Christmas scenes.

At the western edge of Palm Springs, a rugged desert canyon trail leads to a waterfall at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains.

This giant spider sculpture made from the iconic car is one giant visual pun.

The Hopi-style structure was built by the man who discovered Desert Hot Springs' famous mineral water.

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.