Las Vegas depends on workers who do truly unique jobs; scuba-diving engineers fine tune the dancing fountains at the Bellagio, while window washers rappel down the glass pyramid of the Luxor; nearby Red Rock Canyon is a Mecca for climbers.

In Chicago, visitors head to the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center; one rooftop serves as a training ground for firefighters, while another is an exercise yard for inmates; Jennie and Julia Papilli swim two miles in Lake Michigan at dawn.

In Seattle, Chief Seattle Days honor the Native American chief who gave the city its name; a tugboat tows timber to a lumberyard; the $4 billion Amazon campus occupies prime office space; Starbucks' headquarters is quartered in the Port of Seattle.

From the bustling port to the neon-lit clubs of Miami Beach, Miami is revealed to be a city that's about much more than sun and surf; Cuban exiles still gather in Domino Park; Liberty Square inspires a movie; a pink flamingo haven.

San Francisco is famous for its hills, bridges and bay, but it is also known for its gridlock, ferries and wifi-enabled buses transporting tech workers to Silicon Valley; the tech boom reshapes the skyline; lighting engineers climb the Bay Bridge.

Taking wing over Los Angeles reveals more than the secrets of Hollywood's back lots; aspiring actors line up in a nondescript warehouse district; the city is home to surfers and skateboarders; a working oil derrick is tucked into Cardiff Tower.