Gnarled canopies of pink and purple wildflowers arch over the trail to the summit.

The highest point in North Carolina and the United States east of the Mississippi River, Mount Mitchell is named after argumentative explorer Elisha Mitchell.

A mountaintop space observatory that is certified dark.

You can find America's highest suspension footbridge at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina.

An abandoned village that doubled as "The Hunger Games"' post-apocalyptic wasteland is up for grabs.

A curious blend of taxidermy, antique tools, creationism, and a purported antediluvian rock.

A 17th-century bezoar, dirt from an infamous site, and other curios decorate this unusual bar.

You’ve heard of bookworms, but this small sculpture at a university library may be the world’s first bookbee.

A statue honoring 44 continuous years of greeting passing ships.

This quirky curiosity shop takes its cues from the world's bazaars.

An abandoned munitions storage facility with a rich architectural history.

A once-groundbreaking power plant turned into a hotel and mini-museum of archeological and geological wonders.

Local myth claims this is a Sears catalogue home with its windows installed upside-down.

This bar hosts an ever-evolving napkin art installation devoted to an American president.

"X" marks the spot of an echo chamber in the middle of a plaza.

Dental instruments from the illustrious history of American dentistry.

The uniquely-designed winter home and sculpture studio of Anna and Archer Huntington.

This museum gives tribute to the underappreciated "Down-South Submarine."

While most of the games in this arcade take quarters, that would have been a small fortune when they were made.

Where scientists keep miles of very valuable ice from Antarctica and Greenland from melting.

A folk art mecca famous among outsider art fans.