A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

A Masterpiece with a Tragic History.

Hiding amid the largest camellia collection in the country lies a charming children's maze, donated by a secret admirer.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

The final resting place of a space program monolith.

High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high power conical Tesla Coil.

Wild West history in Hollywood style.

The L.A. Zoo has a secret garden of rare bootleg cycads, a palm specimen dating back 280 million years.

Raised illegally, Reggie now lives at the Los Angeles Zoo after authorities spent years tracking him down.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

A carousel trades in its classic horses and calliope for endangered species, native flora and fauna, and a modern soundtrack.

The largest island on the great salt lake is home to curious creatures and strange stories.

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

A glimpse into the lives of the the Miwok and Paiute people in Yosemite National Park.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

A charming desert roadside bakery that produces 10 times more bread daily than it has residents in its town.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

America's most famous piece of self-built architecture.

Colorado Boulevard’s historic bookstore, operating since the bustling city of Pasadena was merely some orange groves and a few ostrich farms.

This former stomping grounds of the most eminent astronomers of the early 20th century.

Arcadia is home to a haven for nature geeks and 80s TV lovers alike.

This California tree is the single source of the state's entire orange industry.