Mark Loftin's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
AO Member
Leaderboard Highlights
Mark Loftin's activity rankings
1st
Places visited in Encinitas, California
1st
Places edited in Jefferson City, Missouri
1st
Places visited in Beechworth, Australia
2nd
Places edited in Canberra, Australia
2nd
Places edited in Pacifica, California
2nd
Places edited in Jemez Springs, New Mexico
3rd
Places edited in Fredericksburg, Virginia
3rd
Places edited in Hakone, Japan
4th
Places edited in Dunedin, New Zealand
Loading map...
Sacramento, California

Sacramento Locomotive Works

This 19th century train workshop is a treasure trove of railroad history.
Rough and Ready, California

Rough and Ready

The first U.S. town to secede from the Union, only to vote themselves right back in.
Grass Valley, California

Del Oro Theatre

A fine mixture of the old and the new topped with an art deco neon spire.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Loretto Chapel

Wedding chapel's mysterious spiral staircase said to be miraculously constructed.
Canyon, Texas

Palo Duro Canyon

The Grand Canyon of Texas.
Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City Presidents

Every president in history is immortalized in bronze in downtown Rapid City.
Center, Colorado

UFO Watchtower

One woman's UFO-themed campground, complete with self-built energy vortexes, UFO-themed weddings, and magic bushes.
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Garden of the Gods

Strange red rock formations that have been attributed to a higher power for hundreds of years.
Willow Creek, California

China Flat Museum Bigfoot Collection

This little museum has an exhibit devoted to the elusive forest denizens.
Redding, California

Sundial Bridge

This ultra-modern California span is actually a titanic solar clock in disguise built by famed architect Santiago Calatrava.
Jemez Springs, New Mexico

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

A unique geological area spiked with wind-carved rocks that resemble teepees.
Concord, Massachusetts

Author's Ridge

This small section of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is rotten with famous authors' graves.
Albuquerque, New Mexico

The De Anza Motor Lodge

A burnt-out motel with priceless Native American artwork in the basement, redeveloped into apartments.
Boston, Massachusetts

Site of the Boston Tax Riot

One of the indelible moments of the American Revolution took place at this location.
California City, California

California City: The Unbuilt Suburb

The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.
Tehachapi, California

Tehachapi Wind Farm

Thousands of turbines whir at at the origin of North American wind power.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pabst Mansion

A giant, Gilded Age mansion that once belonged to the beer baron of Milwaukee.
Paxton, Nebraska

Ole's Big Game Steakhouse and Lounge

What do a giraffe, an elephant, and reasonably priced steaks have in common? This roadside restaurant filled with exotic taxidermy.
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.
Mitchell, South Dakota

The Corn Palace

A fitting attraction for the corn capital of the world.
Wall, South Dakota

Wall Drug

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

Crazy Horse Memorial

The world's largest mountain carving could fit all of Mount Rushmore inside it many times over.
Jamestown, North Dakota

World's Largest Buffalo

A true roadside icon standing on the same plains that the herds once roamed.
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Golden Driller

The fifth tallest statue in the United States is a shirtless monument to the oil worker.