The only mine for rare earth elements in the United States has been intermittently active since the 1950s.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

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

A collection of anti-communist sculptures stands watch in the Mojave Desert.

The "Fun Spot of the Desert" is now a haunting ruin, and a reminder that putting a water park in a desert is a bad idea.

A historic fort commemorating the United States' naval history.

This symbol of peace is appropriately positioned overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Remants of foundations, streets, and streetcar tracks inhabit the cliffs where a landslide occurred in 1929.

This brightly made over hotel hides decades of suicide, serial killers, and mysterious deaths.

See four top-secret US spy aircraft of the Cold War era, including the legendary SR-71 Blackbird and the A-12 Oxcart.

The 10-foot-wide Long Beach home was built on a dare.

A treasure hunter's tiny bar, harboring celebrities since 1959.

Giant origami crease patterns engraved in Santa Monica intersections may even be visible from space.

One of the first skyscrapers in Santa Monica, and a famous getaway for the Hollywood elite of then and now.

An offbeat angle on the ocean viewed through an antiquated lens.

This well-traveled chess park offers scenic views of the pacific and a colorful, eclectic clientele.

A Looff creation in Santa Monica best described as “a California-Byzantine-Moorish-style fantasy.”

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

An iconic location along the Los Angeles River where countless movie scenes are filmed.

“It's the quality” (but probably also the drive-through donut tunnel) that has attracted diners since 1968.

Fans of the spicy bright-red sauce can tour where it's made.

This unlicensed collection of fast-food memorabilia sits on the site of the first ever McDonald's restaurant.

The set location for a 1987 cult classic draws international film buffs to the middle of the Mojave Desert.

One of the ghostly stops along Route 66.