A 12-foot sculpture serves as a constant reminder of the importance of protecting and restoring the Boardman River.   

Locals often dress this effigy of Traverse City's founder in festive outfits.

Easily overlooked in favor of the wineries that dot the region, this blast from the past is equally worth the visit.

For more than 50 years, an iconic sign has greeted visiting “fudgies” to the Traverse City area.

Talula the swan has been welcoming visitors to Elk Rapids, Michigan, for more than four decades.

There's more contention than one might expect from cherry pie pans.

This tribute to a local man towers within a quaint lakeside park.

A charming remnant of 19th-century fishing towns sits on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula.

A preserved stump is all that remains of the once-mighty hardwood.

A lonely stone-sided terminal stands next to a grass airstrip on Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula.

A crumbling mountain resort that looks like it was abandoned in an instant.

This national park on the shore of Lake Michigan features remarkable dunes that lie at the heart of a Chippewa legend.

After a water tower painting was accused of being an ad, a simple fix was made that gave the city a motto.

See prehistoric footprints, plus two complete mastodon skeletons.

A physical reminder of Earth's ancient past, this rock results from the photosynthetic processes of some of the oldest forms of life.

Its floors are marked by colorful cues depicting Michigan's native fauna.

This small memorial is almost as well concealed as Smalls himself was on the night he sailed to freedom.

South Carolina's last remaining slavery auction house is now a museum devoted to its own tragic history.

Charleston's historic city jail once held everyone from pirates to Civil War POWs.

A slab of sandstone covered with mysterious 1,000-year-old rock carvings from a vanished North American culture.

A small storefront museum explores the history and myth of West Virginia's famous urban legend.

This red-eyed chrome beast pays homage to the popular modern myth of West Virginia's insectoid monster.

Once the most flame resistant building in the country, the South Carolina Historical Society building was almost burnt down in a fire.

The oldest liquor store in the country is a model of resilience and mischief.