Places chickadonzk Wants to Go

Eons old volcanic activity created one of the most stunning rock formations in the United States.

This naturally heated mountainous creek has created a group of neon blue pools of potentially deadly boiling water.

Hidden in a hotel parking lot is a strange historical plaque erected by an obscure fraternal society.

A black and white painted wall creates an optical illusion in the California desert.

A hidden world of exotic succulents and cacti.

This graffiti-covered bridge is the quintessential vision of a place for disillusioned youth to escape the complexities of burgeoning adulthood.

Each summer, the migratory bats living beneath the bypass form "batnadoes" at dusk.

This museum boasts the ninth-largest collection of insects in North America.

This mother-daughter run curiosities shop is a beautifully odd mix of taxidermy and exotic plants.

Eastern zen meets Western grit in these four little trees growing out of a rock on Lake Tahoe’s Nevada shore.

Bits and pieces from the ill-fated Donner Party's winter cabins.

The now-abandoned tunnels were built for the transcontinental railroad on the route where the first wagon train entered California.

In this roadside "community for the small," abandoned toys gain new lives.

Crumbling pink walls and murder memorials preserve the pioneer history of Joshua Tree.

Travelers leave tea kettles in a remote part of Death Valley as part of a mysterious, decades-old tradition.

This desert oddity hides in plain sight thanks to a cartographic error and a desert explorer with a punny sense of humor.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

At the base of Steens Mountain resides an otherworldly desert.

The unique circular corral belonging to the “Cattle King” of Oregon.

This small, rural pioneer cemetery is full of interesting grave markers.

A public fountain that spouts "health water" from a nearby spring.

Make it an offering.

This great stone guardian of the forest is a relic from the land's volatile volcanic past.

The trunks of 3,000 year-old trees lurk beneath the surface of this crystal clear lake in Oregon.