The world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory continues to report on the stars.

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

This quirky roadside attraction dives into the many theories surrounding North America's most infamous hairy cryptid.

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

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

A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

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

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

Heron, whitewater rapids, and urban industrialism all add to the beauty of this concrete nature walk.

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

Visit a replica of the estate where Aaron Burr allegedly plotted a treasonous scheme against the United States.

Two dozen pinball games hidden away inside a most unlikely location.

A museum cafe showcases Native American dishes and indigenous ingredients from across the Western Hemisphere.

The unique traffic pattern named for an influential urban planner is also known as the Pedestrian Scramble.

A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.

Members of Congress have traveled between the buildings on Capitol Hill for a century hidden from tourists, press, and storm clouds.

Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.

The oldest continuously operating fish market in the United States.

The first purpose-built art gallery in the United States is once again open as a center of craft arts.

A Civil War fort in the middle of Washington, D.C. has been swallowed by a forest.

A lovely aquatic park built by a one-armed Civil War veteran who made a fortune from lotuses.