Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

Home to one of the world’s largest collections of model yachts.

An enormous artwork that colorfully celebrates over 150 years of US military achievements.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

A favorite haunt of dinosaur loving children and hallucinogen loving hippies alike.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

A masterpiece in Golden Gate Park by virtue of the artist’s debt.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

The oldest lawn bowling club in the United States.

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

An essential stop before plundering, BYO Cutlass.

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

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

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

A science teacher's dream.

Cemetery featuring rare glass-fronted columbarium.

An antiquated German apothecary on Chicago's North Side.

A hot dog stand where the heads are just as hot as the dogs.