A medieval castle in the middle of rural Texas.

An abandoned quicksilver mining town surrounded by the Big Bend parks.

A recreated Stonehenge stands in a country field, complete with Easter Island moai heads standing as sentries.

This crumbling UFO is one of only a few remaining "moveable ski chalets" of its kind.

A 24-hour vending machine restocked daily with homemade full-sized pecan pies.

A 90-year-old underground water reservoir offers a more industrial kind of tranquility.

A sculpture made of 10 Cadillacs as a monument to the "Golden Age" of the American automobile.

Unusual house, in an unusual neighborhood, home to some very unusual peanuts.

This failed condo development was reborn as a street art hub.

A tiny graveyard with a mysterious past.

Austin’s local mountain isn’t really a mountain at all.

Roadside Americana, fairy tale characters, and Austin quirkiness come together at this magical course in the heart of Texas' capital city.

This unassuming North Austin neighborhood was built to test the novel idea of home air conditioning.

Home to an endangered salamander, a full moon celebration, and a large spring-fed outdoor swimming pool.

This stone windmill marks an old, mysterious homestead in what is now central Austin.

A view-altering observatory at the University of Texas.

This eclectic, mosaic-clad home includes a bamboo ping-pong loft and a "Whispermaphones" intercom.

A small island hides in plain sight on Austin's Lady Bird Lake.

A high-octane shrine to the greatest Texans who ever lived.

This magical place built as an astronomical center starred as a James Bond villain's lair.

A paradise hotel turned from opulent to overgrown.

The longest manmade tunnel in Queensland is now a beautiful trail, home to a special colony of bent-wing bats.

This abandoned caretaker's apartment is one of 13 left in the New York Public Library system.

Mine your own precious stones.