jjvw's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Chicago, Illinois

Hidden Egyptian Temple in Field Museum Break Room

Years of archaeology, just chillin' by the water cooler.
Chicago, Illinois

Garfield Park Conservatory

A lush green oasis in the middle of Chicago.
Chicago, Illinois

U-505

The unluckiest U-boat in the entire German fleet is now on display in a Chicago museum.
Chicago, Illinois

The Renaissance Society

An avant garde art museum at the University of Chicago.
Springfield, Illinois

Lincoln Tomb

When you visit his grave, be sure to rub the Great Emancipator's nose for good luck.
Darwin, Minnesota

World's Largest Ball of Twine Rolled by One Man

17,400 lbs., 12 feet in diameter, and 29 years in the making.
Devils Tower, Wyoming

Devils Tower

The first declared National Monument in the United States.
Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City Presidents

Every president in history is immortalized in bronze in downtown Rapid City.
Rapid City, South Dakota

Hotel Alex Johnson

One of America’s oldest and spookiest hotels, thanks to the residency of ghosts, dead presidents, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Wall, South Dakota

Wall Drug

The granddaddy of all tourist traps, built on ice water, jackalopes, and a giant dinosaur.
Mitchell, South Dakota

The Corn Palace

A fitting attraction for the corn capital of the world.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

De Vargas Street House

This southwest-styled home in Santa Fe claims to be the oldest house in America thanks to an ancient bit of foundation.
Cañon City, Colorado

Skyline Drive

This razorback ridgeline has doubled as a scenic drive since the early 1900s.
Cañon City, Colorado

Prospect Heights Jail

This 19th century jail was mainly used to incarcerate the drunk and disorderly.
Cañon City, Colorado

Royal Gorge Bridge

The highest bridge in America was built for an almost unnervingly small amount of money.
Alamosa, Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

When ecosystems collide in the arid Southwest.
Los Alamos, New Mexico

Bandelier National Monument

A small metropolis of Pueblo cave dwellings have been carved right into the hillside of this national monument.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Loretto Chapel

Wedding chapel's mysterious spiral staircase said to be miraculously constructed.
Evergreen, Colorado

Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway

The highest paved road in North America winds its way up Mount Blue Sky in Colorado to an altitude of 14,130 feet above sea level.
Rawlins, Wyoming

Wyoming Frontier Prison Museum

This prison-turned-museum is a remnant of the Old West's grizzly, violent past.
Leadville, Colorado

Climax, Colorado

At one time this small mining village was the highest town in America but now it sits abandoned while the mine churns on.
Leadville, Colorado

Leadville's Abandoned Silver Mine

Abandoned silver mine strewn with wrecked and twisted structures.
Aspen, Colorado

Ashcroft Townsite

Silver in the hills led to the speedy creation of this boom town and a lack of it saw the town abandoned nearly as quickly.
Dolores, Colorado

Canyons of the Ancients

A breathtaking array of ancient Pueblo structures and artifacts counterintuitively preserved by neglect.