Places curiouser 54cc2706 Wants to Go

Home to a forest of whimsical pygmy Coast live oak.

The longest continuously operating Elk's Lodge in the country.

"You don't need a rocket scientist to build a steam engine, but we've got one." -Museum docent on the credentials of a restoration volunteer.

A B-17 bomber stands as a memorial to the residents of Tulare County who served in World War II.

Enormous crabs, bioluminescent jellies, and other amazing creatures from the ocean’s depths—some of which are in an aquarium for the first time ever.

The disdain for this dysfunctional dam is reflected in a giant pair of scissors painted on the concrete face.

A secluded hilltop monument marks the final resting place of Lucy, Presidio Park's beloved white deer.

The first attack on the continental U.S. during WWII occurred off the coast of a quiet California golf course.

These were the largest wind chimes in the world when artist Tom Van Sant created them for a California mall in 1967.

Giant origami crease patterns engraved in Santa Monica intersections may even be visible from space.

A picturesque example of brute-force engineering conquering nature.

A forgotten tribute to a South American hero hidden in a cluster of traffic islands.

The Yiddish language stages a renaissance in a shtetl-inspired cultural center on the San Diego coast.

One man's love of natural beauty led to the creation of this hidden granite monument.

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

California's first suspension bridge.

A unique collection of old miners' cave homes carved in to the hillside cliffs near Death Valley.

For nearly 50 years, this San Francisco nonprofit has been serving as a mix of recycling center and art school.

At the western edge of Palm Springs, a rugged desert canyon trail leads to a waterfall at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains.

A unique museum where guests can rent and operate a locomotive.

In one of the hottest parts of the Mojave Desert, shallow bedrock forces the typically dry Mojave River to the surface in this canyon, providing a vital oasis for humans and wildlife.

At this local mall, visitors are ushered through a 1940s jail exhibit.

This unique formation appears as though an asteroid landed on the forest.

The timepiece that exonerated a labor radical accused of a parade bombing that killed ten people.