Windswept and remote, this island was once the home of a rare mammoth and today is home to a rare tree.

The beautiful behemoth is one of the largest trees of its kind in the United States.

This conservation area is also home to many of the region's desert tortoises.

These artworks take you traveling to mythical medieval Europe, the politicized grape fields of 1960s California, and deep below sea level.

A mysterious and endangered parasitic herb from the California desert.

This hidden amusement park is a magical escape for kids and kids-at-heart.

Built by one man in the '20s, this site is now a museum representing the Great Basin cultures.

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.

One doctor's retirement plan included opening this award-winning Mexican-Indian eatery on the ground floor of a hospital.

Experience Larry Spring's self-taught "common sense" laws of physics.

More than 700 species live within this murky marvel of a swamp on California's coast.

These lush groves of fan palms rise up like oases out of southern California's Colorado Desert.

This little gem of Spanish Colonial architecture has been abandoned since the 1950s.

Each winter this underground cave forms a dazzling ice palace.

This rock formation named for its unique shape is one of many that call the Alabama Hills home.

Abandoned in 2009, this once popular resort destination now stands frozen in time.

The beauty and the beast of hydraulic mining is on full display at this California Historic State Park.

This ramshackle ghost town is comprised of mining-era buildings collected from around the region.

In this roadside "community for the small," abandoned toys gain new lives.

A natural dome made of volcanic glass in Inyo National Forest.

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 stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.

Hike amid the palm trees that thrive among Southern California's Indio Hills.

The Route 66 institution that inspired Taco Bell also served as an important headquarters for Mexican-American social movements.