From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

The world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory continues to report on the stars.

A dwindling menagerie of anthropomorphic oil derrick animals still dot the barren California landscape.

A remote crossroads honoring a fallen talent.

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

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

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

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

A New England-style lighthouse along California's beautiful Highway 1 gets a re-do.

A pair of pure white felines guard the entrance to a spot of California real estate established as an artist's haven.

Subterranean house made out of a grain silo, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

At this California chicken ranch, four bucks will get you 18 eggs and a chorus of dancing animatronic poultry.

More than 700 species live within this murky marvel of a swamp on California's coast.

It should come as no surprise that the world's largest artichoke lies in the town that calls itself the "Artichoke Center of the World."

Once America’s most beautiful army base, this abandoned military fort on the coast of Monterey Bay has been left to the elements.

This little valley along Highway 1 is engulfed by thousands of lilies during the spring season.

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

Offering commanding views of the California coastline, this restaurant was a hub for the artists and bohemians of Big Sur.

It's not your typical library, memorial, or book store.

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

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.

In the remote high desert of New Mexico, a strange array of poles beckon fury from above.