Halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, this desert outpost serves as America's favorite bathroom break. The Mojave River Valley Museum offers a surprisingly engaging look at pioneer life, while the Western America Railroad Museum celebrates the iron horses that built the West. At The Outlets, shoppers hunt designer bargains with the determination of prospectors seeking gold. For a true time warp, head to nearby Calico Ghost Town where weathered wooden buildings stand frozen in silver-mining heyday. Route 66 nostalgia permeates local diners where truckers and tourists trade road stories over coffee. The desert sunsets paint the sky in colors so improbable they'd be rejected by Hollywood art directors as 'too much.'
