Places mikemccloud Wants to Go

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

The peaceful gravesite of a rugged wild west gunman echoes the touching story of his last days.

Neither Spanish settlers nor anyone since has been able to tell who built these strange California rock walls.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

Once thought to be the oldest living tree in the world, Methuselah was germinated before the Egyptian pyramids were built.

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

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

This naturally heated mountainous creek has created a group of neon blue pools of potentially deadly boiling water.

Eons old volcanic activity created one of the most stunning rock formations in the United States.

This rock formation named for its unique shape is one of many that call the Alabama Hills home.

A remote desert lookout offers unparalleled views of the California badlands for those who brave the trek.

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.

A Mysterious Masonic tomb in San Luis Obispo.

A deserted hodgepodge of experimental structures designed by nearby university students.

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

Inky sludge oozes to the surface of this beach thanks to a rare natural tar seep.

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

Centuries of crashing waves carved out this small hole in the rock, which lights up at certain parts of the year.

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

Two rocks in a perpetual kiss and one of "the most romantic spot in America."

This 19th-century museum inside of a lighthouse is only accessible during low tide.

Two mammoth statues inspired by equally tall tales lure tourists to this roadside attraction.