A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.

One of the first skyscrapers in Santa Monica, and a famous getaway for the Hollywood elite of then and now.

A Looff creation in Santa Monica best described as “a California-Byzantine-Moorish-style fantasy.”

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

In one Santa Monica parking lot a mushroom cloud made of chains heralds a message of peace.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

The oldest lighthouse on America's west coast no longer needs keepers, yet they maintain the site anyhow.

Every year, over 25,000 monarchs overwinter in Pacific Grove.

Steinbeck's old stomping grounds, immortalized in Cannery Row.

The first Russian Orthodox church in North America and an Alaskan landmark.

A rare chance to get up close and personal with a 13-mile ribbon of ice near downtown Juneau.

This historic collection of Native Alaskan artifacts was resurrected through a partnership between the WPA and tribal artisans.

Nuclear reactor created the plutonium used on Nagasaki.

A museum dedicated to the history and exploration of both popular music and science fiction.

This playground sculpture of an icon from the past is dedicated to the children of the future.

A stunning landscape of bunkers that once stored chemical weapons.

The largest wooden building in the world now houses a fascinating collection of aircraft.

A Roman-style column in Oregon hides a spiral staircase inside.

Home of Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose.

Home to the only outdoor municipal elevator in the United States.

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

World's largest porcine hairball sits in a collection maintained by Benedictine monks.