The remains of a 12th-century chapter house in Golden Gate Park.

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

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

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

This Taoist temple is the oldest continuously used Chinese temple in California.

This ultra-modern California span is actually a titanic solar clock in disguise built by famed architect Santiago Calatrava.

This Khmer-era temple includes a lintel that was stolen and displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago for years before returning to Thailand.

A phallic shrine to a princess goddess in Krabi, Thailand.

Cavemen, elephants, and eagles greet passengers driving through the town's main intersection.

A small museum in the Golden Triangle tells the story of the opium drug trade that gripped Northern Thailand.

A shrine built to combat the bad karma of a commercial venture.

Buddha shrines hide within dark tunnels at this unique forest temple.

Monkeys lounge around at this 13th century temple.

Thailand's distressed elephants find peace at this Chiang Mai sanctuary.

The headquarters of the Mahanikai school of Buddhism, Thailand's largest monastic order.

At the right time of day, sunlight floods through the roof of this cave and illuminates the small pavilion hidden within.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

The ghost town that ended up on Ebay.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

A giant desert bird that once swung music fans at Coachella now has a home in a nearby traffic circle.

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.

Traversing these canyons, visitors can take in stunning views and glimpses of the region's history.

The so-called "Bridge of Thighs" in Palm Springs allows nudists to discreetly cross the road.