No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

Clap your hands at the base of the pyramid, and the song of a sacred Mayan bird will echo through the air.

Every equinox this Maya pyramid puts on a spooky ancient light show.

A museum dedicated to the alleged Roswell Incident.

The second-largest cave chamber in the world was discovered in 1898 by a 16-year-old and a friend known as "Pothead."

High in the Sacramento Mountains, a facility dedicated to studying the sun.

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.

Home of the International Space Hall of Fame.

Railroad officials in the early 1900s sought to spare travelers the sight of Roman soldiers’ private parts.

This statue of the "father of television" stands prominently in the United States Capitol.

A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.

A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

A traveling postal dog covered 48 states and more than 140,000 miles, and he lives on as taxidermy, patched up with a rabbit's foot and a pig's ear.

A derelict bit of infrastructure from the canal that once ran through D.C. is landlocked in the heart of the city.

The monument's pointy aluminum tip has been melted down by repeated lightning strikes.

The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.

The lowest point in the state of Illinois, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Statue dedicated to the star of an old television show.

From working out of his garage to the James Beard semifinals, one Tucson baker has kept his fan base—and his grains—local.

One of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the United States air-dries its trademark beef in a dangling outdoor cage.

This church on a Tohono O'Odham reservation has stood since 1797.

The biggest solar telescope in the world helps reveal the secrets of our sun.

Sleep where gangsters fell amidst smoke and flame, with nary a bullethole to show for the legendary struggle.

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