Eastern zen meets Western grit in these four little trees growing out of a rock on Lake Tahoe’s Nevada shore.

This museum looks at the history of one of America's most famous prisons and most beloved albums.

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

The largest drain hole in the world.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

One of the largest Buddhist communities in the West sits on the site of an old hospital.

A grove of "candelabra redwoods" deep in California's Lost Coast.

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

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

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

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

The long, arduous journey of the stones of the Abbey of New Clairvaux.

A Tibetan Temple and Buddhist organization just off the beaten path in Northern California.

An institution that preserves the history of institutionalization.

The second largest waterfall by volume in the U.S., Willamette Falls is outdone only by Niagara in the amount of water that is pushed northward.

The longest continuous lava tube in Oregon.

Oregon's unexpected high desert, displaying layers of time in a colorful show.

Unknown to many, this sparkling turquoise lake hides amid Oregon's snowcapped mountains.

While it is not equipped to peer into outer space this observatory looks like it was built on the moon.

Bridges, terraces, and replicas of historic structures all built of rock and petrified wood by one man.

A sprawling cave network created by a lone lava tube.

Rushing water plunges over a 100-foot drop created by an ancient lava flow at this majestic waterfall.

You might know it as the Overlook Hotel, but the inside is not going to be familiar.

Formerly secret, precariously perched boulders.