Gleaming self-built castle towers made from beer cans and inspired by "Vitamin Mary Jane."

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.

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.

A little-known hot spring haven right below the highway.

This Colorado hiking trail provides a small gold mine of abandoned gold mines.

At this Denver landmark, the meals are compulsory, the sopapillas are complimentary, and the insanity is everywhere.

The largest self-built castle in the U.S., six decades in the making.

Oregon's unexpected high desert, displaying layers of time in a colorful show.

The winter home of thousands of beautiful snow geese and sandhill cranes.

At this research institute, the chile is king.

A cave's rare beauty held a cavernous secret hidden underground.

An abandoned mine where dreams of quicksilver trickled away over 75 years ago.

The 19th-century ruins hide deep in an overgrown forest.

Tucked away down this Baytown alley exists a one-of-a-kind art exhibit of technicolor umbrellas.

The house's confection-like decorations are the result of one man's painstaking work over decades.

This beautiful grotto is one of those places where you can't believe you're just outside Austin.

A medieval castle in the middle of rural Texas.

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

The Grand Canyon of Texas.

A popular swimming hole that hides one of America's most deadly diving spots.

One part antique store, one part curiosities hodge-podge.

This unique structure in suburban Austin is made up entirely of other people's castaways, and constantly changing.

An emerald-green grotto just a short trip from Austin.

This former mining town was named the most toxic town in America.