An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

A quiet nook at the top of a little-known hilltop park named after California's first poet laureate.

The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

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

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

This old mining town, deep in the California desert, has a year-round population of one.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

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

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

If you want to get married in the White Marble City of Ashgabat, you should do it in this surreal disco ball building.

A fiery crater has been burning in the Karakum Desert since 1971.

Iconic pyramid from famed British architect Norman Foster designed to represent all of the world's religious faiths.

The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.

This mysterious complex of abandoned yurts and fading murals was meant to be a center of science and spirituality in Kyrgyzstan.

An old hill fort covered in over 100,000 crosses is a symbol of Lithuanian nationalism and beliefs.

A tiny traditional village keeps an ancient method of beekeeping alive.

Open-air museum with a large collection of Soviet-era statues.

The pyramid and dome deep inside the Dzūkija forest are believed to channel divine energy.

The labyrinthine home of the National Archives of Estonia is an experimental blend of architecture, art, and history.