The hike through a narrow river flanked by the 2,000-foot-tall walls of Zion Canyon is one of the best in the world.

An impressive collection of over 50,000 minerals including moon rock from the Apollo 17 mission.

At one time this small mining village was the highest town in America but now it sits abandoned while the mine churns on.

Once an unstoppable source of gold and silver, this town came to a grinding stop when the groundwater proved deadly.

The highest paved road in North America winds its way up Mount Blue Sky in Colorado to an altitude of 14,130 feet above sea level.

The largest source of fossilized insects anywhere.

Thanks to a quirk of elevation this gift shop produces magic doughnuts that are found nowhere else on Earth.

One of the most unusual geological features, recognizable from a dozen hit movies.

San Diego's most historic and haunted home.

A house built from trash known as the poor man's Hearst Castle.

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

Where a staggering 747 ships were constructed during World War II.

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

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

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.

A Prada store in the West Texas desert that is never open for business.

The former home of the Nobel Prize-winning American writer is now home to dozens of six-toed cats.

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.

Limestone caves with spectacular showcase chambers.

Bizarre lunar-like landscape with thousands of large stone "hoodoos."

A remote crossroads honoring a fallen talent.

Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.