An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.

Decommissioned experimental solar facilities that pioneered solar energy technology.

The first life claimed by this record-breaking peak wasn't lost to exposure or a fall but rather lightning.

Offering commanding views of the California coastline, this restaurant was a hub for the artists and bohemians of Big Sur.

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

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

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.