This mother-daughter run curiosities shop is a beautifully odd mix of taxidermy and exotic plants.

This infamous prison has a store where you can buy goods crafted by incarcerated people.

This former boomtown "island" is now submerged below Folsom Lake.

It should come as no surprise that the world's largest artichoke lies in the town that calls itself the "Artichoke Center of the World."

A train tunnel that was made obsolete by the dam it helped create.

Giant nude woman of Tijuana is also the artist's home.

The classic Atari game's iconic aliens have invaded downtown San Diego.

This brightly made over hotel hides decades of suicide, serial killers, and mysterious deaths.

Outsider art or homage to aliens?

Each summer, the migratory bats living beneath the bypass form "batnadoes" at dusk.

Downieville's largest Gold Rush structure still standing has one of the longest bars in California.

A fire lookout atop a glacial pinnacle is reached by climbing three vertiginous flights of stairs.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

Thousands of migrating monarchs overwinter clustered amongst the eucalyptus trees.

A museum dedicated to a sea that should have never been.

Happy harbor seals frolic and snooze on this warm, sandy stretch of coast.

At 130 years old and 126 feet tall, it is the largest known example of the rare Torrey pine tree.

While you're unlikely to find riches here these days, this remote mine is a time capsule of the Gold Rush era.

What began as an illegal art installation has become a symbol for unity, ocean awareness, and coastline preservation.

Peek inside this sandy mailbox and you'll spot kids' letters to Santa.

Hike amid the palm trees that thrive among Southern California's Indio Hills.

Instead of faces, these sculptures have barcodes—statements on societal dehumanization.

While exploring the desert, you can stop by the home of a fictional heretic from a parallel universe.

A historic fort commemorating the United States' naval history.