Places pmaris Wants to Go

These structures were inspired by both Native American shelters as well as, strangely, an ice cream shop.

Mexican food and folk art.

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 quirky salon doubles as a retro museum run by the world's leading "hairstorian."

An old California photo stand has been turned into a shrine to the cozy art of crochet.

A regular looking rock with an unbelievable history.

At the western edge of Palm Springs, a rugged desert canyon trail leads to a waterfall at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains.

An outdoor sculpture park of giant pink robots and post-apocalyptic Christmas scenes.

Where there's quartz, there must be gold. Thus is the story of the mines of Julian, and the titillating times of the Gold Rush.

Each year these high desert hills are absolutely covered with poppy flowers in a surreal show of nature.

The "Kill Bill Church" was transformed into a place of worship after a long Hollywood history.

Built by one man in the '20s, this site is now a museum representing the Great Basin cultures.

A ring of creosote bushes that are estimated to be 11,700 years old.

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

An abandoned Jazz Age dream home and con man's hideout in Death Valley.

The highest dunes in California are the most likely place in the area to hear the Singing Sands.

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

The rocks in this arid basin leave trails of movement behind them.

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

This golf ball–shaped former desert real estate office now houses a UFO museum.

One of the best-preserved ghost towns in Arizona speaks to the difficulties of establishing mining towns in the 19th century American West.

This historic tower in the California desert promises visitors a "vortex of good vibes".

The world's largest wooden trestle stretches across this desert canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

This vast and otherworldly landscape is one of the largest dune complexes in North America.