A museum dedicated to a sea that should have never been.

Where there's quartz, there must be gold. Thus is the story of the mines of Julian, and the titillating times of the Gold Rush.

The bullet-riddled wall from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, bloodstains enhanced for your viewing pleasure.

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

The largest drain hole in the world.

A watering hole where the options for seating include a bar, patio, or subterranean cave.

The old Niles Canyon Aqueduct in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bemusing and secret trail through nature for wayward travelers.

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

A picture-perfect town, perfect for blowing up.

The drama of nature in full effect in this Nevada State Park.

Shop selling 500 flavors of soda has something for everyone.

Former 1954 Del Mar Train Station now serves signature cocktails and delightful culinary treats, and still operates as a Metro stop.

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.

Decommissioned experimental solar facilities that pioneered solar energy technology.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

A former utopian healing center created by a huckster and built by derelicts.

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

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

The neon signs from Las Vegas' past find their final resting place at this unusual graveyard.

The second-largest gold nugget in existence, displayed in a Las Vegas casino conveniently named the Golden Nugget.

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

Pizza joint known for labor-inducing salad dressing.