The artist James Turrell is repurposing an extinct volcano crater as an observatory to experience the cosmos.

An urban laboratory.

A geological mystery on Camelback Mountain.

A towering bronze statue memorializes the founding father of postwar American conservatism.

This collection of Wild West movie memorabilia also claims to hold some secrets of the Lost Dutchman's mine.

Ancient pueblos built into the base of a natural canyon wall.

A spiritual vortex among the red rocks in Sedona.

On the outskirts of a reborn ghost town, a decaying post office remembers the bad old days.

A Wild West jailhouse that slid down the mountainside.

Once the product of an inexplicable gold strike, this ghost town is now home to one man and his love of classic machines.

The state's only comprehensive museum dedicated to the mineral that defined its history and economy.

Outsider Art Community.

Ninety feet off the valley floor is an ancient dwelling put under protection of the U.S. government by Teddy Roosevelt.

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.

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

Version of the French Riviera destroyed by the sea.

A monument to the frontier doctor who came up with the idea of delineating highways with a painted line.

A giant desert bird that once swung music fans at Coachella now has a home in a nearby traffic circle.

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

The so-called "Bridge of Thighs" in Palm Springs allows nudists to discreetly cross the road.

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

These four islands right offshore have waterfalls, colorful lights, fancy buildings, and a secret purpose.

Every winter, the wind carves blocks of frozen water into beautiful abstract shapes inside this unusually curved tunnel.

Collection of vintage trailers double as hotel rooms.