trip ideals

Wondrous sandstone hoodoos where Native Americans collected clay for pottery, 9,000 years ago.

The largest self-built castle in the U.S., six decades in the making.

When ecosystems collide in the arid Southwest.

Hidden beneath a bridge, this waterfall is known for the large amounts of graffiti painted on its base.

Abandoned silver mine strewn with wrecked and twisted structures.

This Colorado hiking trail provides a small gold mine of abandoned gold mines.

Silver in the hills led to the speedy creation of this boom town and a lack of it saw the town abandoned nearly as quickly.

This hot dog-shaped diner has moved all around Colorado, never been to New York.

Once an unstoppable source of gold and silver, this town came to a grinding stop when the groundwater proved deadly.

At one time this small mining village was the highest town in America but now it sits abandoned while the mine churns on.

This deserted Gold Rush town is home to a Masonic lodge that, strangely enough, still holds meetings.

A small flooded ghost town with a few scattered structures remaining.

A ghost town that held steady longer than most, but finally gave up the ghost.

This secluded aqua waterfall in the Grand Canyon is the perfect swimming hole, and the Havasupai tribe's fiercely protected natural wonder.

One woman's UFO-themed campground, complete with self-built energy vortexes, UFO-themed weddings, and magic bushes.

A little-known hot spring haven right below the highway.

A stark reminder of the huge nuclear weapons plant that once stood on the site and its effect on the surrounding area.

Giant, natural amphitheaters made of delicate geological formations called "hoodoos."

Here lies Lilly E. Gray, an alleged "victim of the beast," but the reason long remained a mystery.

The remains of this early 20th century refinery loom on a mountainside like a graffiti-covered fortress.

Natural sonic phenomenon comes with a grisly legend of murder and blood.