The headquarters of a secretive order is also a beautifully-designed park.

Bits and pieces from the ill-fated Donner Party's winter cabins.

Get up close to emus and ostriches, or buy their tasty meat.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

A tribute to the life and work of the beloved "Peanuts" cartoonist.

An amazing collection of fantastic reptiles, amphibians, spiders, and insects.

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

Travelers leave tea kettles in a remote part of Death Valley as part of a mysterious, decades-old tradition.

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

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

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

From Japan to Italy, this California park explores the world's cultures through their gardens.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

Home to the "Circus" trees created by Axel Erlandson.

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

Rodin's famous depiction of Dante's 'Inferno', amidst a sculpture garden of many of his other works.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

This massive redwood tree has a hole in the base big enough to drive through.

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

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

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.