Discover for yourself what Herb Caen referred to as "the best kept secret in the Bay Area."

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

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

World's largest collection devoted to one fruit.

Once a place of peaceful repose, this sanitarium now faces an uncertain future.

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

Successful artist residence program has filled this ranch with dozens of sculptures over the years.

Antiques by the Bay.

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

This historic California cemetery holds the bodies of veterans of both the Civil War and the Donner Party.

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

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

The victims of a free-floating Japanese bombing during WWII are remembered by this stone monument.

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

This abandoned motel doesn't welcome guests anymore, but decay and a creepy atmosphere still call it home.

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

Eclectic collection of dark and macabre antiques.

These cinderblock farmhouses were actually World War II radar stations in disguise.

Canyon walls shrouded in ferns.

Machinery left over from California's once thriving mercury industry now attracts artists and explorers.

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

This naturally heated mountainous creek has created a group of neon blue pools of potentially deadly boiling water.

Eons old volcanic activity created one of the most stunning rock formations in the United States.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.