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

An abandoned, unfinished mansion on grounds strewn with lava rocks.

A walk down memory lane in the heart of one of San Francisco's most notorious neighborhoods.

Another of California's unused Cold War missile defense complexes has become a graffiti gallery.

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

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.

The unedited photograph called "Bliss" has graced the screens of over a billion computers.

An eccentric folk art landmark made out of discarded bottles by an inspired "grandma."

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

Legendary prop shop filled with one man's collection of scientific curiosities.

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

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

This old mining town, deep in the California desert, has a year-round population of one.

Two men, two visionaries of Venice Beach, one little hotel that smells like cookies.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

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

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

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

Spiral labyrinth hidden in the hills above Oakland, CA.

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

A house built from trash known as the poor man's Hearst Castle.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

An increasingly eccentric apartment building, topped with winged beasties.

"Only the devil could play golf here."