Places writemealetterlauren Wants to Go

An old-timey medicine shop that once served Chinese laborers during the Gold Rush is still open for business to this day.

A charming desert roadside bakery that produces 10 times more bread daily than it has residents in its town.

The geographic center point of the Golden State.

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

Everything you always wanted to know about borates is here.

A mountain range on an active U.S. Navy base hides thousands of mysterious prehistoric rock carvings.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

A charming easy-to-miss sculpture garden filled with whimsical and thought-provoking metal sculptures.

Hidden inside a gift shop that doubles as a museum, this gargantuan yo-yo can only be operated by crane.

Along the Outback Scenic Byway, adjacent to hot springs, this human-made geothermal feature takes unexplained breaks.

The smallest country in the world.

This Gold Rush ghost town was once the subject of a territorial dispute between California and Nevada.

This large pile of traveler-curated rocks by the dry lakebed is a longstanding tradition on the Old Mojave Road.

In the middle of the desert, miles from any human life, sat an anomalous pay phone that still magically answers your calls.

The most isolated mailbox in America lets desert travelers record their passing.

The sequential animation shows a galloping horse stretching, morphing into a winged Pegasus, and finally transforming into a bird soaring.

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.

An eerie natural formation that looks right back at you.

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

The only thing stranger than stumbling onto these philosophical musings is the story of the homesteader who created them.

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

Erroneously called the world's tallest flagpole, this landmark is devoted to "good neighborliness."

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