Eastern zen meets Western grit in these four little trees growing out of a rock on Lake Tahoe’s Nevada shore.

A vertically floating hemlock controls the waves and weather at Crater Lake.

"the sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well . . . The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges."

Once one of the world's great cities, Cahokia was a place of religious worship, trade and mass human sacrifice before being mysteriously abandoned.

This national park on the shore of Lake Michigan features remarkable dunes that lie at the heart of a Chippewa legend.

Two massive rock outcroppings on the Oregon coastline.

The national park was once a plantation estate.

A sculpture of a salmon swimming through a brick building.

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

This extravagant Art Nouveau rest stop features a million-dollar view of the Columbia River.

This quirky hot springs town known to locals as "T or C" was named after a radio show.

An 18th-century Spanish watchtower made entirely of seashell and concrete.

This stunning blue and gold room changed cities twice before becoming part of the Smithsonian.

10,000 flowered plants bloom in the City of Roses.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

Curious crustaceans support an obelisk from ancient Egypt that now stands in modern-day Central Park.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

A massive sea stack famous for its appearance in The Goonies.

The highest point in Virginia can only be reached by passing through ponies and flowers.

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.

A hidden beach at the end of a tunnel of mangrove trees.

A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.

Visible below the waves are memorials to the city's Gold Rush dead.