California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

This massive redwood tree has a hole in the base big enough to drive through.

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

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

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

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

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

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

There is no trying to fall in love with this Star Wars fountain, you just do or do not.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

The rocks in this arid basin leave trails of movement behind them.

Olfactory delights in San Francisco's Botanical Gardens.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

Hollywood's most famous landmark, the "temporary" sign that has stood for decades longer than intended.

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

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.