A king's pet, a pope's gift, an artist's inspiration, and a tragic shipwreck.

Legacy of the earthquake that nearly wiped Lisbon off the face of the Earth.

There is a small island in the Gulf of Nicoya where the only human inhabitants are dead.

In Costa Rica's cloud forest, the roots of a woody ficus create a botanical bridge.

Balanced rock sculptures pay tribute to a murdered conservationist and his pioneer wife.

This gorgeous beach hides behind two headlands in Oregon's Ecola State Park.

A tourist attraction founded around a slumping cabin.

The second largest waterfall by volume in the U.S., Willamette Falls is outdone only by Niagara in the amount of water that is pushed northward.

The magic's in the hole!

The deepest lake in the United States, and once the site of epic destruction that lives on in legends.

These old stone ruins in the Oregon wilderness were once bathrooms and are steeped in legends of murder.

Spectacular views await visitors to this lake.

The only road through the heart of Glacier National Park.

Improbably, the largest wildlife refuge in the conterminous 48 states sits just northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.

The arch that celebrated the completion of the Lincoln and Victory highways.

This beloved roadside attraction welcomes visitors with his signature neon smile.

This historic estate on the east shore of Lake Tahoe was home to an eccentric millionaire (and his pet elephant, Mingo).

An eccentric millionaire's personal curio collection includes at least one shrunken head.

The most magnificent bottle house in a town strangely full of them.

This cave was hidden for thousands of years, storing the worldly goods of ancient Native Americans.

This once bustling boomtown hotel is now the hottest spot in Nevada for ghost hunters.

The second-largest gold nugget in existence, displayed in a Las Vegas casino conveniently named the Golden Nugget.

Officially named the "Loneliest Road in America," this barren stretch of Nevada road offers almost nothing but sky and open fields.

Nearly 300,000 acres of wildlife, natural splendor, and a hidden ghost town have been designated a national monument.