Places Seabiscuit Wants to Go

A very tiny church, bisected by a now-dead oak tree and marooned in the middle of a shopping center parking lot.

Built as a schoolhouse in 1914, this Mission-style building has also served as a dancehall, a library, an Army canteen, and now a cultural museum.

This short-lived tea and silk farm is believed to be the first permanent Japanese settlement in North America.

This lighthouse has been guiding shipping into the Golden Gate since before the American Civil War.

This large chunk of dark rock is a relic from an ancient volcanic eruption.

A four paneled, brightly multicolored mosaic adorns the side of this popular grocery store.

A giant statue perched on dumpsters watches over the freeway.

An early 20th-century fire lookout, still in intermittent use, preserves legacy fire-locating equipment.

This historic roadhouse has many tales to tell of San Francisco's early history.

This L.A. fixture has been serving hot dogs out of a giant hot dog since 1946.

A well-preserved sheepherding camp now lies in the heart of the Granite Chief Wilderness, in the high Sierra Nevada.

Founded in 1873 to support the needs of the gold mines flourishing nearby, this is the last water-powered foundry in the United States.

A little-known, but surprisingly large waterfall on the Little Truckee River in the northern Sierra Nevada.

This trench, some 2,300 feet long, is only the most prominent relic of a largely forgotten episode of placer mining on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada.

A relic of the region's once booming timber industry.

A historic train ride from California to Mexico.

One of the last surviving buildings of a once large and thriving Chinatown.

This redwood is a historic landmark, a town’s namesake, and the dancing sideline symbol of Stanford University.

A Native American petroglyph, the site of an emigrants' waystation, and the ruins of an early 20th-century sheep camp are all found at this crossroads.

Eccentric sculptures made from repurposed materials peppers this former farm.

The only remaining hotel on the 1860s Henness Pass route over the Sierra Nevada is being restored.

Colorful sedimentary rock layers provide opportunities both for hiking and photography.

A strange house built only at night, with rumored mystic inspiration.

It should come as no surprise that the best view of the Hollywood sign is from Batman's lair.