In Tucson a giant metal snake helps pedestrians cross a busy highway.

Rustic natural hot springs in the deciduous rain forest.

This railroad magnate's 19th century tower is more than a little bit out of place in the Nevada desert.

A Nevada mining boomtown that ran out of silver and luck.

Every Christmas, one Arizona city makes the most of its dry climate by creating an arid desert tannenbaum.

The fading, forgotten remains of a once bright and booming factory.

This massive metal sculpture in the shape of a folded paper airplane overlooks a Utah mountain.

"May the force be with you always."

An enormous image of Utah's salt flats made entirely from tape.

The second largest waterfall by volume in the U.S., Willamette Falls is outdone only by Niagara in the amount of water that is pushed northward.

The magic's in the hole!

The home of the world's first and last remaining "wooly ant."

Remember that scene in the Matrix, when Neo is in the big white room with all the weapons flying by? Well, this is what it would look like if he had wanted trees instead of guns.

Beyond being incredibly fun, not much can be said about the Hole with certitude.

This 85-foot-long table is made from a single slice of an old-growth Douglas Fir.

Members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs still net migrating salmon in the traditional way at this cataract on the Deschutes River.

A ghost town in a remote corner of Oregon hosts a touching tribute to Sacagawea’s son.

A Victorian-style home known as the “Castle on the Hill.”

A bronze replica of half-consumed salt lick honors a quirky town tradition.

Rushing water plunges over a 100-foot drop created by an ancient lava flow at this majestic waterfall.

The victims of a free-floating Japanese bombing during WWII are remembered by this stone monument.

Fifty years after a “blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds,” this idyllic natural area commemorates the carnage.

Home to the only outdoor municipal elevator in the United States.

A sprawling cave network created by a lone lava tube.