A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

An eccentric home stands out in an otherwise average neighborhood with mosaics, mini topiaries, and kinetic sculpture.

A tiny survivor of the Donner Party disaster.

A working miniature city designed to teach kids about safety and presumably city planning.

Curiously, this large sporting goods store features 14 wax representations of American presidents.

This 19th century hydroelectric powerhouse was the first of its kind.

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

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

Eclectic collection of dark and macabre antiques.

The highest dunes in California are the most likely place in the area to hear the Singing Sands.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

Under the right circumstances, this waterfall in Yosemite briefly turns a luminescent fiery orange.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

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

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

Oakland's beautiful monumental cemetery.

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

The peaceful gravesite of a rugged wild west gunman echoes the touching story of his last days.

A vast city of the dead, where the deceased outnumber the living by more than a million.

This odd little museum holds exhibits on everything from blacksmith equipment to hair jewelry.

Home to one of the world’s largest collections of model yachts.

San Francisco's oldest surviving monument and meeting place for 1906 survivors.

A shining, cold, black organ lies in San Francisco's financial district.