A trading post in the North Pole where children send letters.

Four-story concrete hotel never opened to customers.

Mind-blowing carvings and fantasy ice scenes grace the largest year-round ice environment in the world.

This monastery set over a holy cave contains the oldest known painting of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Isak Heartstone, a 15-foot wooden troll made out of recycled materials.

Meet Rita the Rock Planter, one of Danish sculptor Thomas Dambo's enormous wooden trolls.

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

This shrine is an ode to the region's rich Hispanic heritage.

This unassuming layer of clay boasts an out-of-this-world origin story.

These unique volcanic rock formations offer the perfect opportunity to camp and hike.

A frozen oasis lies beneath the scorching New Mexico desert.

A monument dedicated to a local softball team full of clowns.

Apparently, the whole cosmos emanates from this plain concrete tower.

Explore a misty river canyon from a metal bridge system.

This remote camping site offers incredible stargazing opportunities.

Catch two 18-foot-tall ranchers mid-brawl as you drive by on Highway 285.

This small canyon park was once the main street of Silver City—until a flood washed it away.

This cheery fruit farmer welcomes visitors to a classic roadside emporium.

This building is a recreation of the gatehouse that separated Los Alamos from the outside world during the era of the Manhattan Project.

The hallowed remains of a 900-year old Ancestral Pueblo great house.

The land is full of geologic eye candy, such as otherworldly spires, mushroom-shaped hoodoos, and prehistoric fossils.

Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.

This large, circular tomb is the final resting place of the first emperor of Rome.

The great polar explorer is remembered in this far northern town, where he embarked on his final expedition.