This unauthorized stone mermaid was secretly carved out of public stone before being permanently preserved.

A century-old hotspot for jazz, frequented by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Al Capone.

A once-booming Mississippi River town with a history of racial violence is now eerie and mostly abandoned.

An antiquated German apothecary on Chicago's North Side.

A lush green oasis in the middle of Chicago.

This massive stained-glass masterpiece is thought to be the largest Tiffany dome in existence.

This whimsical Oz-themed park had a wonderful impact on the surrounding neighborhood.

Make your reservation to have coffee with some kitties.

Only known mainland rookery of the threatened Stellar sea lion.

Rustic natural hot springs in the deciduous rain forest.

A museum dedicated to the history and exploration of both popular music and science fiction.

The final resting place of one of the most sensational guitar players of all time was created only after his father got the rights to his music.

This super-sized skillet is a replica of a usable giant pan where a woman once skated on bacon.

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.

One of the world's tallest, oldest, and most disgusting chocolate cascades.

This stoic, if derpy, giant stands as a monument to Oregon's statehood and the novelty culture of yesteryear.

Gigantic private toy museum featuring among finest collections of antique mechanical banks in existence.

This public art piece proves that in Portland even reporting the weather is a thing of whimsy.

The world's longest covered bridge is a quaint and incredible wooden tunnel.

Sculptures, jams, and the wild west collide at this folksy retreat.

A precariously balanced rock perches on the edge of a cliff created tens of thousands of years ago by glacial erosion.

A decidedly out of place statue memorializes the Blues Brothers characters at this water bottling plant.