The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

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

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

An abandoned boat that's been stranded mysteriously for decades.

This graffiti-covered bridge is the quintessential vision of a place for disillusioned youth to escape the complexities of burgeoning adulthood.

A lighthouse built to save lives that took quite a few with its treacherous location.

This diner's a kitschy dreamland for anyone whose heart is stuck in the 1980s.

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

This Hollywood dive houses a mural painted by the artists who animated its namesake film.

This peaceful garden is hidden on the grounds of a spiritual organization founded by a pioneer yogi.

Everything you always wanted to know about borates is here.

An ode to the friendship between four Pacific Rim countries.

The best place in the park to test out your throwing arm.

A monument to a one-legged kidnapper, horse thief, and charlatan asks visitors to throw rocks in a pile.

Since World War II people have been decorating this stretch of the Yuma desert with signatures arranged out of rocks.

A remote desert lookout offers unparalleled views of the California badlands for those who brave the trek.

Every weekend, the parking lot of this Buddhist temple turns into a Thai street-food paradise.

A 1920s speakeasy that had rum runners racing up and down the shores of California.

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

Large but largely ignored, these 42 life-size Liberty Bell replicas were a peculiar, unexplained feature on the facade of a Macy's department store.

A restored 1920s cascade stairway provides one of the best views of Oakland's Lake Merritt.

The only parking meter in the entire town, it is surrounded by 100 free spaces.

Thousands of migrating monarchs overwinter clustered amongst the eucalyptus trees.

The oldest lighthouse on America's west coast no longer needs keepers, yet they maintain the site anyhow.