A working model of the entire San Francisco Bay and much of the Sacramento River Delta, complete with regular tides that change every 14 minutes.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

9,000 square feet of vintage and modern mechanical toys, dioramas & sideshow curiosities.

An abandoned Jazz Age dream home and con man's hideout in Death Valley.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

The rusting remains of the largest assembled WWII fleet on the West Coast.

Commonly referred to as the most photographed Victorian home in the United States.

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

The "Fun Spot of the Desert" is now a haunting ruin, and a reminder that putting a water park in a desert is a bad idea.

This massive redwood tree has a hole in the base big enough to drive through.

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

One of the ghostly stops along Route 66.

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

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

Trails through lava-carved tube-caves display sparkling bacteria and a rich history.

The ghost town that ended up on Ebay.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

Hollywood's most famous landmark, the "temporary" sign that has stood for decades longer than intended.

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.