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

A remote desert lookout offers unparalleled views of the California badlands for those who brave the trek.

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

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

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

With beautiful views and every detail perfectly considered, one of the geniuses of modern architecture built himself the perfect home.

An ancient mineral hot spring sits at the middle of this combination cultural center and spa.

Explore the wide world of desert plants at this unique Palm Springs botanical garden.

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

This simple highway curve has become a comedic pilgrimage site.

You don't have to be a diplomat to visit the so-called Camp David of the West.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

A music-filled, booze-soaked oasis in the desert.

On a barren hillside in the Yucca Valley, the recently restored Desert Christ Park has attracted pilgrims and kitsch hunters for over 50 years.

The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.

This 39-foot-tall version of a Hopi figure stands in Arizona.

Far out of its comfort zone, this sequoia was planted as a symbol of the connection between Visalia and its neighboring national park.

The last remnant of a tree that helped prove to the world that sequoias are real—and they’re spectacular.

Hike to the decaying remains of a dream house with a spectacular view.

An unusual double cinder cone with a bent oval crater, in the Lunar Crater Volcanic Field.

An ordinary rancher stumbled upon one of the world’s largest collections of Pliocene horse fossils.

Idaho’s largest, deepest limestone cave is known for its quirky rock formations and bat population.

This U.S. natural reserve is an ancient spiritual place and rock climber’s paradise.

Hike up to this ancestral grain storage site, but don't touch.