Gouged in the mountain to make stage coach access easier through the Fremont Pass.

A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.

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

Catch a glimpse of the elusive Peninsular bighorns right off of the desert freeway.

Once America’s most beautiful army base, this abandoned military fort on the coast of Monterey Bay has been left to the elements.

Room 32 of the Alta Cienega Motel has grown into a shrine to the Lizard King.

This simple highway curve has become a comedic pilgrimage site.

The world's most famous donkey lives in this pen.

Not truly a ship nor a building, the Navy's first and last "landship" is now abandoned due to clerical issues.

A herd of 150 bison live on California's Santa Catalina Island and are at the heart of an ongoing debate between environmental protection and economic expansion.

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

A lighthouse built to save lives that took quite a few with its treacherous location.

Hidden beneath a lake for decades, this brutalist mine has now emerged from beneath the receding waters.

Once the largest winery in the world, this castle-like building now sits abandoned on the San Pablo/San Francisco Bay shore.

The oldest lighthouse on America's west coast no longer needs keepers, yet they maintain the site anyhow.

This former boomtown "island" is now submerged below Folsom Lake.

Legendary frontman of the Doors looms in this giant mural by famed Venice muralist, Rip Cronk.

The only thing stranger than stumbling onto these philosophical musings is the story of the homesteader who created them.

The hundreds of movies and television shows shot in this high desert town are commemorated in a unique museum.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

This sculpture garden in Death Valley makes you feel like you've slipped into some alternate reality.

Elephant seals and sea lions have turned the abandoned buildings on this island into their endangered love shack.

Offering commanding views of the California coastline, this restaurant was a hub for the artists and bohemians of Big Sur.

The first life claimed by this record-breaking peak wasn't lost to exposure or a fall but rather lightning.