A modern mechanical planetary system, part of a 10,000 year clock.

The largest permanent Monopoly board makes one of the longest games even bigger.

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.

A historic hotel that made a cameo in Hitchcock's classic film has no intention of letting guests forget its fame.

Sunset-colored dunes of volcanic ash make taking a poor photo impossible.

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

A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

An essential stop before plundering, BYO Cutlass.

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

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

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

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

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

The quiet canyon has a tumultuous history involving a doomsday cult.

A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.

An unfortunate geological resemblance to Satan has labeled this Pasadena gorge as a passage to the underworld.

Giant Redwood-themed cafeteria operates under the golden rule, "Dine Free Unless Delighted."

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

Under the right circumstances, this waterfall in Yosemite briefly turns a luminescent fiery orange.

The programmatic glory of LA's giant whiskey barrel building has become an upscale reminder of the city's kitschy roadside past.

This grand mansion has starred in everything from Bones to Buffy.

This glamorous old building is said to have inspired the Tower of Terror.

An outdoor sculpture park of giant pink robots and post-apocalyptic Christmas scenes.

A ghost town at the airport is now a refuge for blue butterflies.