The now-abandoned tunnels were built for the transcontinental railroad on the route where the first wagon train entered California.

Eastern zen meets Western grit in these four little trees growing out of a rock on Lake Tahoe’s Nevada shore.

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

This 19th century hydroelectric powerhouse was the first of its kind.

Beyond being incredibly fun, not much can be said about the Hole with certitude.

This theatre and its amazing marquee harken back to the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The U.S. Navy's last diesel-electric submarine rests half-submerged in the middle of Portland.

The oldest tofu shop in the United States is a firm favorite with locals.

This public art piece proves that in Portland even reporting the weather is a thing of whimsy.

The magic's in the hole!

A beautiful 62-acre Catholic shrine and botanical garden.

The seamy, underground secrets of Portland's criminal past.

Mexican food and folk art.

Where NASA's satellites and rovers phone home.

These structures were inspired by both Native American shelters as well as, strangely, an ice cream shop.

A former utopian healing center created by a huckster and built by derelicts.

The Route 66 institution that inspired Taco Bell also served as an important headquarters for Mexican-American social movements.

A volcanic tunnel illuminated by natural skylights offers a shaded respite from the desert sun.

This sun-scorched lakebed contains samples of half the natural elements known to humankind.

The world's only teal arches exist in a city that cares more about its aesthetic than an Instagram influencer.

Outsider Art Community.

An urban laboratory.

This immigrant bridge once spanned the Thames but is now a fixture of an Arizona city.

The last SR-71 ever constructed.