This sun-scorched lakebed contains samples of half the natural elements known to humankind.

This desert oddity hides in plain sight thanks to a cartographic error and a desert explorer with a punny sense of humor.

Eulogizing an unknown man's unusual demise.

This massive crater in the middle of nowhere was used to train astronauts for moon landings.

Canyon walls shrouded in ferns.

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

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

An optical illusion found amid a logged redwood forest.

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

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

A giant fiberglass Muffler Man found new life as a rodeo guardian.

A raised boardwalk winds through a thicket of stunted, century-old trees no more than nine feet tall.

A local dialect born in the late 19th century is only spoken in this isolated California valley.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

This rare example of a "tidefall" is a spectacular drop from the cliffs down onto the beach.

At this California chicken ranch, four bucks will get you 18 eggs and a chorus of dancing animatronic poultry.

It should come as no surprise that the world's largest artichoke lies in the town that calls itself the "Artichoke Center of the World."

Eat a tasty meal in the house where John Steinbeck was born.

Two rocks in a perpetual kiss and one of "the most romantic spot in America."

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

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

This nonsensical smiling boat shuttles passengers between two places they could've easily walked between.

Travelers leave tea kettles in a remote part of Death Valley as part of a mysterious, decades-old tradition.