Deep in the California desert lies Zzyzx Mineral Springs – an abandoned resort with a bizarre history. Built by Curtis Howe Springer, a self-proclaimed doctor and radio evangelist, this place ...

Miles from L.A.: ~130 Suggested round-trip time: 2–3 days min. Joshua Tree is one of the most magical places in California (and the country, we think).

California: Zzyzx Road. There’s a town in Southern California called Zzyzx, and naturally, the road to get to this funny-sounding town is called Zzyzx Road.

Zzyzx, Calif. In 1944, a doctor and Methodist minister named Curtis Howe Springer built a health spa in the desert on federal land after making a mining claim.

Desert greening is made up of any number of methods used to revitalize deserts. So far, only arid and semi-arid desert are meant when using this expression. The icy deserts and other types are ...

Curtis Springer, a self-proclaimed medicine man who built a health resort in the area, named it Zzyzx because he “wanted to have the last word,” he told The New York Times in 1970.

Despite Springer’s attempts to fight back, Zzyzx shut down for good. Today, it’s a part of California State University’s Desert Studies Center. The story of Zzyzx, like all of the ghost towns on the ...

Gregory Halpern, Professor, School of Photographic Arts and Sciences, College of Art and Design, [email protected]. Gregory Halpern has published five books of photographs and is the editor, along with ...