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

A pyramid commemorates the birthplace of James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States

These picturesque Hawaiian falls are home to a rare species of fish that uses a special sucker to climb up cliffs.

At the base of the Spring Mountains, a unique nursery packed with desert plants.

Half-hidden by grassy slopes, this striking Spanish colonial fort is now a museum of underwater archaeology.

These enigmatic columns tower over the ruins of an ancient Toltec city.

A once popular resort—said to be the vacation spot of gangster Al Capone—now remains abandoned in the woods of Arizona.

A pair of giant roadside arrows are all that remains of a former Route 66 trading post.

A working cattle ranch with remarkably well-preserved prehistoric petroglyphs and ancient ruins.

A collection of anti-communist sculptures stands watch in the Mojave Desert.

A wondrous place to watch a special flower bloom.

On the summer solstice each year, shadows align with a 14,000 square foot painting to reveal a secret message.

The oldest pictographs on this decorated rock formation in California's Carrizo Plain date back as many as 4,000 years.

Social saloon from a scrapped trans-Pacific 19th century steamer.

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

Outsider art or homage to aliens?

Overflowing with shipping containers, this location has been transformed into a massive workspace for artists.

In one Santa Monica parking lot a mushroom cloud made of chains heralds a message of peace.

This bakery sits on the site of the Black Panther Party's first headquarters.

This unique graffiti art from the 1940s has become a staple of this local landscape in the remote California desert.

A dry lake is what remains of a community founded on a real estate scam.

The Southern California pop sounds of surf and sand were born right here.

A mysterious and endangered parasitic herb from the California desert.

This outdoor observatory offers stellar views and a scale model of our solar system.