It's not your typical library, memorial, or book store.

An ominous concrete cube cuts a dystopian silhouette atop this California mountain.

Hopeless romantics will swoon over the sweet story behind this bright and colorful home.

The California capital city once stood 10 feet lower than it does today.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

This whimsical seashell-shaped place of worship was designed to blend into its surroundings.

The lighthouse central to the 1980s horror classic "The Fog" is, in fact, located in one of the foggiest areas of the Pacific Coast.

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

Guns that have been defending San Francisco since 1904.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.

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

Centuries of crashing waves carved out this small hole in the rock, which lights up at certain parts of the year.

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

Thousands of migrating monarchs overwinter clustered amongst the eucalyptus trees.

No one knows how this Pacific Northwest spruce tree came to have so many trunks.

This unassuming cheese empire in rural Oregon churns out more than 150,000 pounds of cheese each day.

A beautiful 62-acre Catholic shrine and botanical garden.

This nature center has one of the largest collections of native raptors in the Pacific Northwest.

Journey through a bit of nostalgia inside this classic record and video store.

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.

A sculpture dedicated to Napa Valley's oldest mineral water company.

George Lucas donated this park to honor the birthplace of his two biggest movie franchises.

Of all the origin stories for weed's secret code, this one likely has the goods.