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

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

A favorite haunt of dinosaur loving children and hallucinogen loving hippies alike.

Its buzzing collection honors vibrator history.

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

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

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

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

At this 1940s-era neighborhood favorite, you can still drink a cherry phosphate.

Sunset-colored dunes of volcanic ash make taking a poor photo impossible.

The long, arduous journey of the stones of the Abbey of New Clairvaux.

A Tibetan Temple and Buddhist organization just off the beaten path in Northern California.

A grove of "candelabra redwoods" deep in California's Lost Coast.

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

One of the most scenic stretches of road in America winds between some of the country's oldest trees.

This little museum has an exhibit devoted to the elusive forest denizens.

Canyon walls shrouded in ferns.

Trails through lava-carved tube-caves display sparkling bacteria and a rich history.

This lesser known Hearst estate is a fairytale village built from the stolen bones of historic European buildings.

This was once the center of the Birdman cult, and is now a World Heritage Site.

These Nubian pyramids are strange and unique, even by pyramid standards.

A town church once nearly submerged by the damming of a river is now hauntingly visible as the water recedes.

The intricate stonework of Machu Picchu serves as a testament to Incan engineers.