btwjune's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Morro Bay, California

Morro Rock

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.
San Simeon, California

Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery

This stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.
San Simeon, California

Hearst Castle

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.
Calipatria, California

Slab City

This abandoned Navy base was transformed into an off-grid alternative living community for thousands of people.
Niland, California

East Jesus

An off-grid art installation that encourages its visitors to imagine a world without waste.
Calipatria, California

Salvation Mountain

A hand-built folk art installation covered with messages of God's love.
Calipatria, California

Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.
Calipatria, California

Obsidian Butte on the Salton Sea

Huge otherworldly domed rocks on the shore of a deadly lake.
Calipatria, California

Carcass Beach

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

Bombay Beach

Version of the French Riviera destroyed by the sea.
Mecca, California

Salton Sea

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.
Goleta, California

Barnsdall-Rio Grande Gas Station

This little gem of Spanish Colonial architecture has been abandoned since the 1950s.
Solvang, California

OstrichLand USA

Get up close to emus and ostriches, or buy their tasty meat.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

La Conquistadora, Our Lady of Conquering Love

A small side chapel in Santa Fe's basilica is home to the oldest statute of the Virgin Mary in North America.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Camel Rock

A natural formation that resembles a camel resting in the New Mexico desert.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

De Vargas Street House

This southwest-styled home in Santa Fe claims to be the oldest house in America thanks to an ancient bit of foundation.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

109 East Palace

This innocuous New Mexico storefront was once the secret jump-off spot for Manhattan Project scientists.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Loretto Chapel

Wedding chapel's mysterious spiral staircase said to be miraculously constructed.
Irvine, California

Orange Balloon

One of the largest helium balloons in the U.S. is a 112-foot ginormous orange.
Costa Mesa, California

California Scenario

A small sculpture garden that provides a microcosmic representation of California.
Los Angeles, California

Marciano Art Foundation

A long-vacant Scottish Rite temple in Hollywood has been converted into an art museum filled with Masonic relics.
Los Angeles, California

LAX Theme Building

This quirky UFO-shaped curiosity is often mistaken for the airport’s control tower.
Los Angeles, California

Capitol Records Building Morse Code

The blinking light atop the iconic landmark has been sending secret messages for decades.
Los Angeles, California

Muscle Beach

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.