At Chicago's revered Field Museum, visitors are invited to learn about and literally explore DNA.

Chicago's Navy Pier on Lake Michigan was a training hub for aircraft carrier pilots during WWII.

A display of magnificent stained glass windows is the first exhibit of its kind.

The large rock formation where the Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa stood and encouraged his warriors during the Battle of Tippecanoe.

This urban drawbridge gained eternal pop culture fame when the Blues Brothers jumped it while it was raised.

A one-armed veteran of the Battle of Waterloo lies in a cemetery for one in the middle of a Chicago scrapyard.

Prison made famous by The Shawshank Redemption has been out of commission since 1990.

A place for ship-lovers to watch the passage of freighters traversing the Great Lakes while learning about their history.

This pair of eccentric Ohio castles were built by a pair of brothers who wanted to bring a bit of class to the Ohio wilderness.

The site of a 19th century "dream city" that almost rivaled Chicago before being swallowed by the Indiana sand dunes.

This shop is named for a runaway elephant who smashed through its doors, stole some peanuts, and spent five days on the lam.

A gregarious Ohio resident has been building his whimsical temple to peace for decades.

A county library in rural Ohio houses one of the finest mineral collections in the world.

Deep scars on the earth left by the Ice Age.

This museum remembers an apocalyptic cult that became more famous for baseball than religious radicalism.

Take a drunken tour inside the world's largest known geode.

Outside Hope College in Holland, Michigan, a marker honors a University without people from the fictional Kcymaerxthaereal times.

Small, privately owned island divided between Michigan and Ohio with abandoned vacation homes and a derelict lighthouse.

Largest tulip festival in America, includes fireworks, a parade, and a carnival.

On the shores of Lake Kalamazoo, a plaque marks a fictional event where an island nation ran aground.

This unique collection collects pieces of art etched into thin pieces of stone.

The Beaux-Arts aquarium boasts a vast collection of saltwater and freshwater fish on an island in the Detroit River.

The pieces in this sculpture garden are made from demolished buildings that were once landmarks of Motor City.

This feline raises a friendly paw at drivers barreling toward the freeway.