One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

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

This abandoned boat was left in place thanks to its rotting beauty.

A "haunted" landmark on the coast of Southern California.

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

A music-filled, booze-soaked oasis in the desert.

The abandoned train depot now doubles as a well-placed rest stop for those who take the road less traveled.

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

A cozy bookstore is tucked within an old gold mine shaft beneath the cafe and ice cream shop.

The rusting remains of the largest assembled WWII fleet on the West Coast.

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

Where there's quartz, there must be gold. Thus is the story of the mines of Julian, and the titillating times of the Gold Rush.

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

Discover for yourself what Herb Caen referred to as "the best kept secret in the Bay Area."

An old California photo stand has been turned into a shrine to the cozy art of crochet.

This Pringle-shaped ledge makes for the perfect photo op.

Ancient human, animal, and geometric figures drawn in the earth.

Two rocks in a perpetual kiss and one of "the most romantic spot in America."

A burnt orange monolithic dome structure perched on a hillside near Interstate 280.

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

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.