A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.

The world’s largest concentrated solar plant generates as many problems as megawatts.

This blowhole is supposedly caused by a trapped monster.

The last living thing to come out of the rubble after 9/11 is now a symbol of hope and resilience.

This sculpture by artist Fritz Keonig survived the 9/11 attacks and now stands as a monument to the victims.

Sports history, made in the Arroyo Seco.

One poet's handmade, anachronistic home.

This stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.

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

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.

A trading post in the North Pole where children send letters.

A Masterpiece with a Tragic History.

Instead of faces, these sculptures have barcodes—statements on societal dehumanization.

This mural changes every few years.

The largest island on the great salt lake is home to curious creatures and strange stories.

Dubbed the "Blade Runner dragon," this buzzing neon sign is a beloved local icon.

Jurassic Park—A Still Life.

Water flowed out of the town's unusual tree stump fountain in the 1930s, and the well still runs today.

This now-abandoned part of the original transcontinental railroad route provides a surreal driving and historical experience.

An earthwork sculpture built by Robert Smithson in the Great Salt Lake only reemerges during drought.

A giant donut stands as a popular symbol of Los Angeles iconography.

This quirky UFO-shaped curiosity is often mistaken for the airport’s control tower.