Nuclear waste dump site now an environmental sanctuary.

No one's quite sure why there's a metal megaphone bolted on two rocks in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

Fonts are born and bred here at the oldest letterpress type foundry in the United States.

The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.

The hidden jewel of Disneyland: a members only playground for the Disney elite.

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

The ruins of the castle that chemicals built.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

This dark, quiet forest on the outskirts of San Diego is dense with rumor and lore.

Bonsai garden in Oakland is curated by the first non-Japanese female bonsai master in the United States.

Built by the inventor of the radio, this abandoned hotel has housed early radio employees, military men, and a dangerous cult.

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

A large instrument played by the wind.

A monument to the love people have for their pets.

Neither Spanish settlers nor anyone since has been able to tell who built these strange California rock walls.

An optical illusion found amid a logged redwood forest.

One of the most unusual geological features, recognizable from a dozen hit movies.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

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

A volcanic tunnel illuminated by natural skylights offers a shaded respite from the desert sun.

Commonly referred to as the most photographed Victorian home in the United States.

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.

Acres of natural wonders left behind by a socialite-turned-gardener.

Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.