Places nicoleeellan Wants to Go

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

This Pringle-shaped ledge makes for the perfect photo op.

A chain of bells connect the California Missions and honor the legend of the "King’s Highway."

A deserted hodgepodge of experimental structures designed by nearby university students.

Water of undetermined depth has attracted rare fish and cult leaders alike.

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.

A large sculptural artwork and garden in Escondido, California.

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

Factory that once supported an entire company town of 350.

Machinery left over from California's once thriving mercury industry now attracts artists and explorers.

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

The ghost town that ended up on Ebay.

A remote crossroads honoring a fallen talent.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

Marta Becket's hand-painted theater in the desert.

The largest dune field in the Mojave offers a chance of hearing the 'singing sands.'

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."

This sculpture garden in Death Valley makes you feel like you've slipped into some alternate reality.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

A stranded woman lived alone on this remote island for 18 years, inspiring the great children's novel "Island of the Blue Dolphins."