Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

Once the largest windmill outside of Holland, with enormous 114 foot sails.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

A walk-in working camera obscura produces 360-degree live images of the San Francisco coast.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

This beloved roadside attraction welcomes visitors with his signature neon smile.

Bill Murray bowled three straight strikes here at Reno's "Taj Mahal of Tenpins."

The arch that celebrated the completion of the Lincoln and Victory highways.

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

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

A glimpse into the lives of the the Miwok and Paiute people in Yosemite National Park.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

An old-timey medicine shop that once served Chinese laborers during the Gold Rush is still open for business to this day.

Founded in 1873 to support the needs of the gold mines flourishing nearby, this is the last water-powered foundry in the United States.

A cozy bookstore is tucked within an old gold mine shaft beneath the cafe and ice cream shop.

Its history includes dinosaur fossils, cattle rustlers, Georgia O'Keeffe, and a mythical giant rattlesnake named Vivaron.

A flat-topped butte that makes a constant backdrop for Western art.

This museum started as a collection of Manhattan Projects and continues to add exhibits as they are declassified.

The official atomic museum of the United States explores the explosive and productive history of a much maligned energy source.