Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

San Francisco's oldest surviving monument and meeting place for 1906 survivors.

Furniture tries to escape an abandoned building in San Francisco.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

Masterful ceramic fountain and map of the Pacific Basin.

Bonsai garden in Oakland is curated by the first non-Japanese female bonsai master in the United States.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

This mysterious series of teeny guerrilla installations sheds a whimsical light on street art in Oakland.

One man's prolific, decade-long quest to turn trash into artistic treasure.

Travelers exchange letters with woodland creatures at this mini post office.

An eatery for UFO seekers on the Extraterrestrial Highway.

There's nothing creepier than a cemetery next to a clown motel.

Experience a quartz crystal sound bath inside a storied, all-wood sound-chamber.

This tiny cluster of abandoned buildings looks like the future of the ghost town - today!

This once bustling boomtown hotel is now the hottest spot in Nevada for ghost hunters.

Graffiti, cars, and religion combine to create this jungle of scrap in the Nevada desert.

Oh, just a motel on the edge of the desert decorated with thousands of clowns conveniently located next to an abandoned graveyard.

The private clubhouse for the members of the Academy of Magical Arts.

High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high-power conical Tesla Coil.

This Nevada lake holds its titular natural pyramid and, if the legends are true, a number of dangerous spirits.

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

Bits and pieces from the ill-fated Donner Party's winter cabins.

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.