A restored 1920s cascade stairway provides one of the best views of Oakland's Lake Merritt.

After serving in World War II and picking up Apollo astronauts, this aircraft carrier has been turned into a museum overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

This giant shopping mall still holds signs of its automotive past.

A Mysterious Masonic tomb in San Luis Obispo.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

The world's first motel is now an administrative building for an apple farm.

The second-largest giant sequoia in the world.

This ramshackle ghost town is comprised of mining-era buildings collected from around the region.

This impressive tunnel was dug entirely by hand over the course of 36 years.

The liveliest ghost town in the state.

The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.

Everything you always wanted to know about borates is here.

A dry lake is what remains of a community founded on a real estate scam.

The remnants of a failed socialist commune can still be found just off a California highway.

A collection of anti-communist sculptures stands watch in the Mojave Desert.

In one of the hottest parts of the Mojave Desert, shallow bedrock forces the typically dry Mojave River to the surface in this canyon, providing a vital oasis for humans and wildlife.

Colorful sedimentary rock layers provide opportunities both for hiking and photography.

A regular looking rock with an unbelievable history.

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

This strangely vacant Western amusement seems to be an empty tribute to residents of Lucerne Valley.

Hundreds of trees made from glass bottles make up this forest on Route 66.

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