Robin Babb's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Fort Bragg, California

Glass Beach

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Synchronous Fireflies of the Great Smoky Mountains

For two weeks every June, fireflies in the Smoky Mountains perform an astonishing light show.
Spring Green, Wisconsin

House on the Rock

A bizarre house filled with an astounding array of collections.
Grindavík, Iceland

Blue Lagoon

Medicinal spa created with the discharge from a geothermal energy plant.
Sorrento, Italy

Valle dei Mulini (Valley of the Mills)

An Italian crevasse filled with abandoned buildings gives visitors a look at the world without humans.
Pripyat, Ukraine

Abandoned City of Pripyat

The ghost town left by the worst nuclear disaster of all time is being taken over by nature and urban explorers.
Isle of Staffa, Scotland

Fingal's Cave

This astonishingly geometric cave has inspired everyone from Jules Verne to Pink Floyd.
New York, New York

Old City Hall Station

A beautiful and abandoned New York subway station from 1904, complete with chandelier.
Los Angeles, California

Underground Tunnels of Los Angeles

During prohibition, corrupt city officials ran drinking dens under the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.
Paris, France

Catacombes de Paris

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.
Aspen, Colorado

Hunter S. Thompson Shrine

“You better take care of me Lord, if you don't you're gonna have me on your hands.” ― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Fujinomiya-shi, Japan

Aokigahara Forest

A beautiful, dense forest in the shadow of Mount Fuji, with a tragic reputation.
Houston, Texas

The Big Bubble

There is an unmarked red button hidden over Houston's Buffalo Bayou that is just begging to pushed...
Austin, Texas

Brain Collection at the University of Texas at Austin

A collection of 100 brains preserved in jars on the UT campus.
Paris, France

Montmartre Funicular

The water-powered carriages are long gone, but for over a century this funicular railway has been the fastest route to the highest point in Paris.
Calipatria, California

Slab City

This abandoned Navy base was transformed into an off-grid alternative living community for thousands of people.
Wendover, Utah

Sun Tunnels

A sculpture for the sun and stars, created by Nancy Holt.
Hiko, Nevada

Complex City

Michael Heizer's masterwork in the Nevada Basin.
Culver City, California

Center for Land Use Interpretation

A museum, art project, and institution that demands we look at the world around us in a strange new way.
Houston, Texas

Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern

A 90-year-old underground water reservoir offers a more industrial kind of tranquility.
Washington, D.C.

National Capitol Columns

The United States Capitol's former columns still stand.
Clark County, Nevada

Double Negative

This massive geographical sculpture is so subtle, it's possible to pass by it without noticing.
Hayakawa, Japan

Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

The oldest hotel in the world has been operated by the same family for over 1,300 years, even catering to samurai.
Flagstaff, Arizona

Roden Crater

The artist James Turrell is repurposing an extinct volcano crater as an observatory to experience the cosmos.