The first park built over a freeway is a brutalist masterwork.

The tech giant built three enormous glass orbs in Seattle so employees could work inside a rainforest greenhouse.

An exercise in patience and imagination, where Mother Earth turned common stuff into precious hidden treasures.

Mysterious ancient petroglyphs carved on a glacial boulder at the tip of Bainbridge Island.

Nevada's largest cactus collection stands outside a candy mogul's small factory.

World's largest porcine hairball sits in a collection maintained by Benedictine monks.

A normal, unassuming pedestrian overpass has been the demise of many, many trucks.

Deep into the lower floors of Pike Place, find a date with fowl fate.

A collision of human error and natural geothermal pressure created this rainbow-colored geologic wonder.

An internationally-recognized dark sky sanctuary lies in northern Nevada, near the Oregon line.

Improbably, the largest wildlife refuge in the conterminous 48 states sits just northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.

About 80% of all U.S. avocados are descendants of Rudolph Hass's glorious tree.

The steepest tramway in North America provides stunning views of the out-of-the-way Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon.

With a crest near 10,000 feet, this treeless fault-block mountain in eastern Oregon provides stunning views and spectacular glacial landforms.

At the base of Steens Mountain resides an otherworldly desert.

At the most northwestern point of the contiguous United States lies a trail leading through an ancient forest to stunning cliff-side vistas and massive oceanside caves.

This massive mushroom has spent centuries eating its way across a huge swath of Oregon.

This abandoned boat sits on a nude beach, is shaped like a UFO, and is covered in graffiti.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

Built for an exposition in 1915, these horticultural displays have stood the test of time.

Rustic natural hot springs in the deciduous rain forest.

A nursery specializing in strange and beautiful succulents and cacti.

This “living museum” at UCLA exhibits thousands of plant species from all over the world.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.