The beauty and the beast of hydraulic mining is on full display at this California Historic State Park.

The first U.S. town to secede from the Union, only to vote themselves right back in.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

Puzzling...this tree looks like an assemblage of dismembered monkey limbs.

A 16th-century monastery boasts a lush array of plants native to Mexico’s most biodiverse region.

This graveyard boasts a medley of diverse and imaginative funeral architecture.

An incredible collection of Mesoamerican art assembled by one of Mexico's great artists.

These sacred Mesoamerican ruins feature peculiar petroglyphs hidden in the stones.

The world's largest Holstein cow.

The masses at this church incorporate enough moonshine and animal sacrifice that they are no longer recognizably Catholic.

Legend says if this neo-Gothic basilica is ever officially completed, the world will come to an end.

The outside of this exposed Moche pyramid is covered with striking colorful adobe friezes.

Make it an offering.

This perfectly preserved Chinese medicine shop was untouched for decades before being reopened as a museum.

A 1914 beaux arts auditorium that sat shuttered for 20 years, restored and reopened in 2026

Oakland's beautiful monumental cemetery.

A massive ultra-modern church presents a science-fiction view of Catholicism's inclusive future.

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

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

Floating man-made island and upscale restaurant.

Furniture tries to escape an abandoned building in San Francisco.

This painted marvel is San Francisco's 400-foot ode to urban biking.

Perfect your fly fishing technique on their practice ponds.

The oldest lawn bowling club in the United States.