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AO Member

Dawn Burns

Joined Atlas Obscura in 2023

I am the author of A Green Glow on the Horizon: Tales from the National Association of Tourist Attraction Survivors, a book that for the past 25 years has had me visiting tourist attractions in search of stories. While I am thoroughly Midwestern like my main character Evangelina from Elkhart, Indiana (home of the "tooth brick") in my first book Evangelina Everyday, I also love to travel and am relentlessly curious about people and places. Not only do I love writing works of fiction, I also write creative nonfiction, much of which is grounded in place. This is true of my contributions to the books “Lingering Inland: A Literary Tour of the Midwest,” and “On an Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes.” When I'm not traveling, I'm teaching writing at Michigan State University and building community both in Lansing and with my SwampFire community of writers and artists. Oh, and I LOVE Atlas Obscura! :)
@dawn.m.burns @https://www.facebook.com/dawnburns42/ dawnburns42.com

0 Followers · 1 Following

Follow travelers to discover remarkable places through their journeys.

My Travel Interests

  • Abandoned & Ruined
  • Architecture & Design
  • Art & Creativity
  • Culture & Society
  • Death & the Dark
  • Food & Drink
  • Museums & Collections
  • Religion & Spirituality

My Travel Badges

  • Badge Earned!

    West Virginia Destination Challenge

    West Virginia Visitor

    As part of the West Virginia Destination Challenge, this badge celebrates the beginning of your journey through West Virginia's remarkable places. Every place you mark brings you closer to discovering more of what makes the Mountain State unique.

    West Virginia Destination Challenge
    Next Badge: West Virginia Adventurer You're just getting started. Mark 10 West Virginia places as Been There or Want to Go to unlock the Adventurer badge.
  • Badge Earned!

    Mark Your Map State Exploration Challenge

    Ford's Mark Your Map State Exploration Challenge

    You expanded your map during the Ford Mark Your Map State Exploration Challenge and reached the milestone required to unlock this limited edition badge.

  • Badge Earned!

    25 States Visited

    25 States Visited

    You've visited 25 U.S. states and are halfway to exploring all 50. Every state has its own hidden wonders, and you're well on your way to discovering them.

    50 States Visited
    Next Badge: 50 States Visited Visit all 50 states to earn the highest state exploration badge.
  • Badge Earned!

    First Contribution

    First Contribution

    This badge celebrates your first contribution to the Atlas Obscura community and the role you play in helping others discover wonder.

    25 Contributions
    Next Badge: 25 Contributions Make 25 total contributions to earn your next badge.
  • Been
  • Want to Go
  • Recommendations
  • Stories
  • Countries
  • US States
  • Added
  • Edited
  • Lists
  • Tried
  • Want to Try
62

Places I've been

Places this traveler has marked as been there.

The shrine.

Eureka, Missouri

Black Madonna Shrine

This wooded grove of beautiful hand-built stone grottos is a hidden gem within a shuttered Franciscan monastery.

The Electric Works sign.

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne Electric Works

An abandoned generator and motor factory has become a multi-use industrial campus.

The line in the sand.

San Antonio, Texas

Alamo Line in the Sand

Legend has it the commander of the defenders drew a fateful line in the dirt with his sword just before the final battle.

The American Visionary Art Museum

Baltimore, Maryland

The American Visionary Art Museum

A museum dedicated to exhibiting remarkable outsider art.

William Randolph Hearst's private castle.

San Simeon, California

Hearst Castle

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

La Porte County Historical Society Photo: Charlie Chapman

La Porte, Indiana

La Porte County Historical Society

Fort Wayne Zoo Photo: Denny Farkas

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne Zoo

Badlands National Park Photo: Chris Pope

South Dakota

Badlands National Park

Fallingwater over the falls

Mill Run, Pennsylvania

Fallingwater

Frank Lloyd Wright’s most iconic home dangles over a Pennsylvania waterfall.

Arch way for the roadway

Bellefontaine, Ohio

Oldest Concrete Street in America

An Ohio man paved the way for the future of American transportation.

Fox Cave

Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico

Fox Cave

This 1950s-era nostalgic roadside New Mexico attraction consists of a quirky curio store and museum embedded into the face of a cave.

Wood County Home and Infirmary

Bowling Green, Ohio

Wood County Museum

Evidence from a brutal 1880s murder is on display at this former infirmary house.

The historic–and potentially haunted–Blennerhassett Hotel dates to 1897.

Parkersburg, West Virginia

The (Haunted) Blennerhassett Hotel

The oldest hotel in West Virginia is reportedly frequented by ghosts.

Sponsored By West Virginia Department of Tourism
Blennerhassett Island

Parkersburg, West Virginia

Blennerhassett Island

Visit a replica of the estate where Aaron Burr allegedly plotted a treasonous scheme against the United States.

Mentone Egg

Mentone, Indiana

Mentone Egg

A giant concrete egg marks this Indiana town as the "Egg Basket of the Midwest."

Image of Dum-Dum Water Tower in Bryan, Ohio

Bryan, Ohio

Dum-Dum Water Tower

This towering sweet treat is big enough to share... with an entire city.

The James Dean Museum and Garfield Museum

Fairmount, Indiana

The James Dean Museum and Garfield Museum

Two Indiana icons are honored at this tiny museum, which features the world's largest collection of James Dean memorabilia.

The Dixie at dockside.

North Webster, Indiana

The Dixie Sternwheeler

Indiana's oldest sternwheel paddleboat has been plying the placid waters of Webster Lake for 90 years.

Huntington Sunken Gardens

Huntington, Indiana

Huntington Sunken Gardens

A former limestone quarry has found a new life as a flourishing community garden.

John Chapmnan's gravestone

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Grave of Johnny Appleseed

This grave marks the final resting place of pioneer John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed.

A row of bookshelves within Hyde Bros

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Hyde Brothers Booksellers

Indiana's greatest rare bookstore has a special shelf for Hoosier authors.

Hamtramck Disneyland

Hamtramck, Michigan

Hamtramck Disneyland

A wacky two-story folk-art assemblage of carved and found objects, with lights, motion, and sound now in need of financial support.

Rotary Steam Clock in Wentworth Park.

Lansing, Michigan

Lansing's Rotary Steam Clock

This mechanical wonder towers above a river in Michigan's capital city.

Lugnut

Lansing, Michigan

World's Largest Lug Nut

Perched atop a brick smokestack, this enormous lug nut symbolizes the local minor league baseball team.

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