The oldest inn in England served brew to the crusaders.

Hidden in a grotto 26 feet below Nottingham's oldest hotel, this stylish subterranean drinking den is notoriously hard to find.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

The blinking light atop the iconic landmark has been sending secret messages for decades.

A 90-acre park on former landfill that hosts an annual kite festival.

A gap in the concrete has been transformed into a miniature playground for the mind.

An amazing collection of fantastic reptiles, amphibians, spiders, and insects.

From buttons to beads, flounces to fripperies, this textile museum and shop honors the history of needlework.

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

Where the alchemists dream of transmuting base metal into gold was actually achieved.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

A natural dome made of volcanic glass in Inyo National Forest.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

A sparse, solitary sequoia still stands as a living tribute to the famous conservationist who planted it—but it's dying.

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

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

A glimpse into the lives of the the Miwok and Paiute people in Yosemite National Park.

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

Sunset-colored dunes of volcanic ash make taking a poor photo impossible.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.

The California capital city once stood 10 feet lower than it does today.