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A graveyard of old VW slug bug cars covered in colorful grafitti sticking out of the ground in Panhandle, Texas.
Summer of Wonder logo

A Celebration of Exploration

We're heading outdoors to bring you stories about what happens after the sun goes down, the allure of the open road, the creatures we share it all with, and more.

  • roadside attractions

    The Retro Lover's Guide to Road-Tripping

    By Sam O'Brien · May 26, 2023

  • summer

    Welcome to Atlas Obscura's Summer of Wonder!

    By Atlas Obscura · May 26, 2023

  • roadside attractions

    On the Road? Share Your Pics of Roadside Attractions and Win!

    By Winnie Lee · June 8, 2023

  • forests

    Kick Off Summer With 7 Unique Beach Reads About the Beach

    By April White · June 1, 2023

  • Blue ghost fireflies (Phausis reticulata) zigzag through an Appalachian forest.

    insects

    Photographing Fireflies, a Love Story

    An award-winning photographer shares what these bioluminescent insects have taught him—and how you can capture their beauty.

    By Emily Dieckman
  • cars

    The Coast-to-Coast American Road Trip Is 120 Years Old

    In 1903, a Vermont doctor bet $50 that he could cross America by car. It took him 63 days, $8,000, and 600 gallons of gas.

    By Frank Jacobs, Big Think
  • Fairchild the Gopher welcomes visitors to the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Minnesota. A hundred miles to the southeast in Viola, Minnesota, a lesser-known festival, the Gopher Count, happens every June.

    festivals

    11 Hyper-Local, Unique Summer Activities From Around the World

    From trying a pawpaw fruit to attending Minnesota’s gopher count.

    By Sarah Durn
  • Diners in the backyard at Furancho Cadaval.

    restaurants

    Every Summer, Galician Winemakers Turn Their Homes Into Restaurants

    What started as a way to sell excess wine has become a beloved custom.

    By Austin Bush
  • It's remarkable how the coldness of space can evoke a tropical dive.

    maps

    A 19th-Century Family Portrait of Comets

    The thrills and horrors of strange heavenly bodies, condensed into one attractive snapshot.

    By Frank Jacobs, Big Think
  • Summer essentials: water, sunscreen, and a good book.

    books

    A Reading List to Start Your Summer of Wonder Right

    Whether at the beach or in your backyard, these books will inspire and delight.

    By Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing

Summer Nights

Let your eyes adjust ...

A solitary tree flanked by Venus and Mars on the left, the Moon on the right.

astronomy

How to See Venus and Mars in the Summer Sky

Our nearest planetary neighbors can help you map your place in the solar system.

Read more
R
Written By
Rebecca Boyle
June 7, 2023

  • The 2018 Strawberry Moon rises behind St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, England. While increased humidity in the atmosphere may turn these early summer full moons pinkish, their name originates with the ripening time of strawberries in North America.

    astronomy

    The Strawberry Moon Marks a Sweet Start to Summer

    Here's why you should welcome this most lovely of full moons—and how to experience it.

    By Rebecca Boyle
  • The newly described auroral dunes are visible on the left, next to the more common curtain-like forms.

    astronomy

    How Finnish Skywatchers Discovered a Strange New Aurora

    The mysterious phenomenon resembles green sand dunes in the sky.

    By Sabrina Imbler
  • At the Abrams Planetarium in Michigan, the black light gallery is still going strong.

    paintings

    When Trippy Black-Light Murals Brought the Cosmos Down to Earth

    The paintings once dazzled and enlightened mid-century planetarium-goers.

    By Jessica Leigh Hester
  • When it comes to meteorite hunting, Vargas says, “I love it. I love all this stuff.”

    meteorites

    Meet the Meteorite Hunters Who Rush In When Space Rocks Crash to Earth

    For this community of “space cowboys,” entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts, a fireball streaming across the sky offers big risks and bigger rewards—and new tech is heating up the competition.

    By Sarah Durn
  • European Southern Observatories in Chile.

    science

    Where on Earth Can You Put a Giant Telescope?

    Why astronomers keep putting them in the same places.

    By Sarah Laskow
  • John Young (left) and the corned beef sandwich he took into space (right).

    space exploration

    Remembering the Astronaut Who Smuggled a Sandwich Into Space

    He got into a lot of trouble.

    By Anne Ewbank
  • Robert Lawrence, Jr. was chosen to serve in the MOL, an Air Force space program.

    space exploration

    Remembering the Groundbreaking Life of the First Black Astronaut

    Robert Lawrence Jr.'s accomplishments are finally being recognized.

    By Ashawnta Jackson

Make the most of the darkness

  • There's plenty to see, even when you're not on a perfectly dark mountain.

    how to

    How to Find the Best Stuff in the Night Sky From Absolutely Anywhere

    A beginner's guide to admiring stars, planets, and satellites—no mountaintop or fancy gear required.

    By Jessica Leigh Hester
  • Margherita Gagnoni, the winner of the competition, drew inspiration from the possibility of life-bearing conditions on Jupiter's moon Europa.

    science

    Make the Official Mocktail of the European Space Agency

    Inspired by a mission to Jupiter, this bright blue drink bested 69 other 'space juices'.

    By Sam Lin-Sommer
  • If you think you've got a chondrite, you're looking for chondrules and metal grains.

    meteorites

    How to Find a Meteorite

    It's a long shot—but if you're keen to look, here's how to start.

    By Jessica Leigh Hester

On the Road

It's not the destination ...

In Asbury Park, New Jersey, summer visitors are known as "bennies." On the southern Jersey shore, the same visitors are "shoobies."

beach

Are You a Shoobie or a Benny?

When summer visitors arrive, so do the colorful and sometimes perplexing local nicknames.

Read more
Avatar image for laurakiniry
Written By
Laura Kiniry
May 26, 2023

  • The Cannonball Run, a box-office hit in 1981, was inspired by the last cross-country race Yates hosted. Director Hal Needham drove a Dodge van with Yates in that competition.

    automotive history

    Is This the End of the Cannonball Run?

    For a century, a “fraternity of lunatics”—inspired by a driving pioneer and a 1980s movie—has raced across the United States. Is the newest, pandemic-era record unbreakable?

    By Vince Guerrieri
  • Bombay Beach, California, 2018.

    roadside attractions

    Seeing America Through Its Roadside Signs

    A photographer captured the handmade, the unusual, the downright puzzling.

    By Pearse Anderson
  • Private businesses along Route 66 saw their share of littering.

    national parks

    Along the Remains of Route 66, Road Trip Trash Has Become Treasure

    Welcome to the "throw zone."

    By Jessica Leigh Hester
  • A sign for the town of No Name, Colorado.

    roads

    Where Do the Streets Have No Name? Everywhere, in America

    A road by any other name.

    By Ernie Smith
  • A cream-colored accent lets visitors to Arizona's Coconino National Forest know they have reached the Red Rock Ranger Station.

    forests

    The Unsung Ranger Behind the U.S. Forest Service's Iconic Signs

    Career ranger Virgil "Bus" Carrell had no design training, but "really gave a damn," say experts, about his lasting legacy.

    By Greg Christensen
  • Bena, Minnesota's Big Fish Supper Club took its name quite literally.

    roadside attractions

    Revisiting a Classic Photo Compendium of Giant Roadside Curios

    John Margolies played an outsize role in memorializing America’s outsize attractions.

    By Isaac Schultz

Make the most of the journey

  • Itinerary

    Eat Across Route 66

  • Butterfly milkweed (at 70 mph).

    roadside attractions

    How to Identify Wildflowers Without Bothering to Get Off the Highway

    According to a scientist's satirical guide, flowers are even more beautiful when you can only kind of see them.

    By Sabrina Imbler
  • roadside attractions

    Podcast: Atlas Obscura Presents How To!

    Setting up a roadside attraction with How To! host Amanda Ripley.

    By The Podcast Team
  • Itinerary

    A Feminist Road Trip Across the U.S.

  • Itinerary

    Eat Across the Blue Ridge Parkway

Going Wild

Nature misses you ...

A California condor, the largest North American bird with a wingspan of up to 10 feet.

animals

How the California Condor Comeback Was Hatched

Once on the brink of extinction, the massive birds now number in the hundreds.

Read more
Avatar image for dannajoy
Written By
Danna Staaf
June 7, 2023

  • To reduce the risk of conflict between humans and elephants, scientists are looking at the situation from the animals' perspective.

    animals

    To Reduce Conflicts With Humans, Get Inside an Elephant's Head

    Understanding how the giant mammals weigh risk and reward could help prevent clashes with people.

    By Mridula Chari
  • On Tuckernuck Island, the American giant millipede is in danger of losing its head. Scientists don't know what is responsible for the unprecedented number of decapitations.

    science

    The Mystery of the Headless Millipedes

    Every summer, hundreds of millipedes are murdered on one small Massachusetts island.

    By William von Herff
  • On the nesting colony platform, a common tern watches over its chicks beside tufts of artificial grass that mimic the birds' traditional nesting habitat.

    science

    Maryland's Rare Seabirds Get a Life Raft and Babysitters

    Scientists don bike helmets and dodge bird poop to care for a colony of endangered common terns.

    By Ashley Stimpson
  • science

    In the World of Animal Courtship, These Males Go to Extremes

    For some species, mating season means detachable penises, urine-based perfumes, and ear-splitting declarations of love.

    By Ashley Stimpson
  • The pink fairy armadillo has adapted to life underground and is so rarely spotted that scientists know very little about the species.

    science

    How the Enchanting, Elusive Pink Fairy Armadillo Became One Scientist's Obsession

    A conservation biologist in Argentina once hosted one of the animals in her living room, but finding them in the wild has proven far more difficult.

    By James Hall
  • Despite looking like it has borrowed parts from hedgehogs, anteaters, and porcupines, the echidna has followed its own fascinating evolutionary path.

    science

    Why the Echidna is Australia's Most Delightfully Different Mammal

    The evolutionary marvel mates in love trains, can swim in the ocean, and even uses jazz hands as a defensive tactic.

    By Jack Ashby
  • forests

    A Journey Into a Wondrous World Hidden Deep in the Congo Forest

    A remote wedge of wilderness is home to trailblazing elephants, epic trees, and the only chimps and gorillas known to share a meal.

    By John Reid and Thomas Lovejoy
  • The mushrooms typically appear on their own or in a very small cluster.

    forests

    Get to Know New Zealand's Hugely Popular, Thrillingly Blue Mushroom

    It is a key part of local culture, and looks like it was colored with a crayon.

    By Jessica Leigh Hester
  • Several adaptations make the wings of some butterflies, such as this Cithaerias esmeralda, clear.

    science

    Unlocking the Secrets of 'Invisible' Animals

    From glasswing butterflies to vanishing octopuses, evolution is a mad scientist.

    By Luna Shyr
  • A giant clam near Ligpo Island in the Philippines.

    animals

    The History, Myth, and Future of the Giant Clam

    Despite traditional and modern protections, Palau's massive mollusks are at risk.

    By Cynthia Barnett

Make the most of the encounters

  • Home by yourself? You may as well make friends.

    insects

    A Field Guide to the Miniature Menagerie Inside Your Own Home

    And on your face.

    By Jessica Leigh Hester
  • The water is full of wonders.

    beach

    How to Decode the Shells You Find Washed Up on the Beach

    A beginner's guide to identifying conchs, chitons, and more.

    By Jessica Leigh Hester
  • Wilderness guide and author Sicelo Mbatha observes elephants during one of the excursions he leads in South Africa.

    nature

    How to Connect With Nature Like a South African Wilderness Guide

    Tragedy set Sicelo Mbatha on a course to understand, and make peace with, the wild on its own terms.

    By Gemma Tarlach

A Dose of Nostalgia More from the Atlas Obscura archives

Scroll Down

At the height of the advertising campaign in the 1930s, there were  900 barns in 19 states—from Michigan to Texas—announcing the wonders of Rock City. Today there are about 70.
roadside attractions

Is This Your Last Chance to 'See Rock City'?

The Southern roadside attraction is thriving, but its iconic barn-top billboards are fading away.

By Caroline Eubanks

The Milky Way above Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.
astronomy

Under New Zealand's Dark Skies, Insects Recover and Humans Reconnect with a Lost View

The massive South Island stargazing reserve is a respite from light pollution for many species, including our own.

By Petrina Darrah

This freshwater jellyfish, Craspedacusta sowerbyi, photographed in Walden in 2020, can be as small as a penny.
science

Walden Pond Is Full of Jellyfish, But Don't Panic

Meet the generally harmless translucent residents of Thoreau's favorite giant puddle.

By Jessica Leigh Hester

A time-lapse photo of fireflies, aglow in the Great Smoky Mountains.
nature

Who Owns Appalachia's Greatest Natural Light Show?

Many viewers want to bask in synchronous fireflies' glow. Ecologists want to ensure that the insects aren't hurt in the process.

By Joanna Thompson

The buffy-tufted-ear marmoset isn't as beloved as its cuter counterparts.
monkeys

Won't Someone Please Think of Brazil's Least-Adorable Marmoset?

The wildly uncharismatic buffy-tufted-ear marmoset needs a boost.

By Ashley Stimpson

Nocturnal and reclusive, the aye-aye lemur is considered a harbinger of evil by some communities on Madagascar, the only place the animal can be found in the wild.
folklore

Loved or Loathed: Can Madagascar's Aye-Aye Survive Superstition?

Understanding how locals really view the world's weirdest primate may be key to protecting it.

By Bridget Alex

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Road Trip Inspiration From Atlas Obscura's 50 States of Wonder

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