Hidden in the back of a disused small town hotel is a dive bar shellacked with over a million pennies.

A hard-to-reach oasis in a desolate corner of Death Valley National Park.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

Singing sand that stands as the final remains of an ancient lake.

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

A house built from trash known as the poor man's Hearst Castle.

A raised boardwalk winds through a thicket of stunted, century-old trees no more than nine feet tall.

A charming desert roadside bakery that produces 10 times more bread daily than it has residents in its town.

This hidden fire lookout offers spectacular views of Sequoia National Park.

This naturally heated mountainous creek has created a group of neon blue pools of potentially deadly boiling water.

Curiously, this large sporting goods store features 14 wax representations of American presidents.

An eccentric millionaire's personal curio collection includes at least one shrunken head.

The only surviving prototype of Buckminster Fuller's revolutionary car.

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

A former mining hospital is now a vibrant artistic hub.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

A natural dome made of volcanic glass in Inyo National Forest.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

Hidden inside a gift shop that doubles as a museum, this gargantuan yo-yo can only be operated by crane.

This historic estate on the east shore of Lake Tahoe was home to an eccentric millionaire (and his pet elephant, Mingo).

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

A dwindling menagerie of anthropomorphic oil derrick animals still dot the barren California landscape.

The beauty and the beast of hydraulic mining is on full display at this California Historic State Park.

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.