What is the Thing?

A working cattle ranch with remarkably well-preserved prehistoric petroglyphs and ancient ruins.

America's only nuclear missile silo open to the public.

Open since 1938, this diner has kept its fountain, malt machine, and all the gum that greasers left beneath its counter.

Ancestral Puebloan ruins, natural arches, and box canyons abound in this seldom-visited corner of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

Witnessing the might of this dessert-colored desert waterfall is a rare, powerful treat.

Eons ago, a rushing lava river formed this pristine passage through solid rock.

See massive fossils that are over 200 million years old in northeastern Arizona.

This 4,000-foot-diameter hole is touted as "the most well known, best preserved meteorite crater on Earth."

A self-built castle made by a mysterious man.

Ninety feet off the valley floor is an ancient dwelling put under protection of the U.S. government by Teddy Roosevelt.

Dramatic river bend surrounds a natural red-rocked pedestal.

This secluded aqua waterfall in the Grand Canyon is the perfect swimming hole, and the Havasupai tribe's fiercely protected natural wonder.

Most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.

Rippling sand dunes frozen in the Arizona rock.

This ambitious restaurant celebrates the culinary traditions of the Ozarks before 1870.

This titanic oil company sign is a reminder of the Americana boom of the 1970s and also its commoditization.

Speak to a companion on the other side of the room loud and clear through this architectural anomaly.

This is not your typical jungle gym.

Why settle for barbecue chips when you can get actual barbecue?

This Kansas City studio was home to Walt Disney's first animation business.

Tucked away between two 19th-century buildings, this small shop specializes in the macabre.

The first car-centric shopping plaza in the U.S. brought a little bit of Spain to downtown Kansas City.

Four, 18-foot-tall badminton shuttlecocks lie scattered about the lawn of a Kansas City museum.