A private Las Vegas horse ranch adorned with whimsical artwork.

A tiny slice shop hides down an unmarked hallway in a Las Vegas casino.

These markers are used to determine the ground stability of the Strip.

A blast of nostalgia awaits visitors to this miniature indoor raceway.

In this century-old literary safehouse, print is alive and well.

An art supply shop holds the secrets of this quiet neighborhood's raucous Barbary Coast past.

In the basement of a San Francisco performing arts center, a small museum dedicated to the history of showgirls.

The oldest dim sum restaurant in the United States is a nostalgic jewel.

The historic building's ornate stained glass fixture has survived the devastating 1906 earthquake, ensuing fires, and multiple redevelopment attempts.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

The last used bookstore in Downtown San Francisco is one of the smallest bookstores just about anywhere.

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

A 300-ship graveyard, with a few still visible at low tide.

Olfactory delights in San Francisco's Botanical Gardens.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

The old Niles Canyon Aqueduct in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bemusing and secret trail through nature for wayward travelers.

Eat a tasty meal in the house where John Steinbeck was born.

Steinbeck's old stomping grounds, immortalized in Cannery Row.

The oldest U.S. Government building in California, and it's State Historic Landmark #1.

After a local English teacher visited Stratford-upon-Avon, she was inspired to create a garden and home in the Bard's honor.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Minnehaha County courthouse played host to sensational public divorce trials.

This 19th-century religious artwork was once highly controversial—because it was donated to the church by a divorcee.

Seth Bullock, the sheriff of Deadwood, built this town immediately after Teddy Roosevelt’s death in 1919.

A ghost town now swarming with dozens of prairie dogs.