Trails through lava-carved tube-caves display sparkling bacteria and a rich history.

Sasqu(w)atch out!

A forensic lab dedicated to fighting crimes against wildlife.

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

The quirky salon doubles as a retro museum run by the world's leading "hairstorian."

The world's largest wooden trestle stretches across this desert canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Version of the French Riviera destroyed by the sea.

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.

More than 25 fully functional scale replicas of famous lighthouses dot the shores of Lake Havasu.

On a barren hillside in the Yucca Valley, the recently restored Desert Christ Park has attracted pilgrims and kitsch hunters for over 50 years.

Gold Rush-era tombstones line the park's paths.

One of the last remaining Carpenter Gothic churches is situated on a wildflower conservatory overlooking the bay.

Another of California's unused Cold War missile defense complexes has become a graffiti gallery.

This small oasis of flora and art was created in remembrance of a local auto business owner.

Internationally-recognized arts center housed in a century-old former military barracks.

A classic advertising icon immortalized in regal bronze.

Floating man-made island and upscale restaurant.

Visible below the waves are memorials to the city's Gold Rush dead.

A former hardware store near Yerba Buena is the official home of California's history.

The legendary statue-hating superintendent of Golden Gate Park is honored with... a statue.

California's most comprehensive horticultural library.

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.

The fifth-longest natural arch in the world, and the longest outside China.

A cemetery full of touching tombstones from a community of railroad workers, uranium miners, and Cold War missile launchers.