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Adventurers Program · AO Member

Monica Sanders

Joined Atlas Obscura in 2025

Monica Sanders is a writer, explorer, professor, and lifelong seeker of strange and meaningful places. Her work follows the threads between history, landscape, culture, law, and resilience, often beginning with a simple question: what story is hiding here? A New Orleans native and National Geographic Explorer, Monica is especially drawn to coastal towns, old cemeteries, local rituals, overlooked infrastructure, weathered buildings, and places shaped by memory. She writes about climate, technology, disaster, and communities, but she is just as happy wandering down a side street, reading a historical marker, or asking a local why something is the way it is. For Atlas Obscura, Monica hopes to share places that reward curiosity: sites with unusual pasts, quiet beauty, and stories that make the familiar feel new again.
@https://www.instagram.com/monicadrrprof/ monicacsanders.com

1 Follower · 0 Following

Follow travelers to discover remarkable places through their journeys.

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

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    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.

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Articles by Monica Sanders

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7

Stories

Stories shared by this traveler.

It is exactly what is looks like, zombies doing burlesque.

The Las Vegas Zombie Show Keeping the Variety Revue Alive

By Monica Sanders
Fragmented marble eyes and enormous lips peer over the terraces of Promenade Classique.

The Giant Eyes Watching Alexandria’s Waterfront

Promenade Classique: Alexandria’s Surreal Classical Ruins

By Monica Sanders
“Native flowers soften a landscape shaped by commerce, engineering, and repeated reinvention.”

Alexandria Tide Lock Park

A reconstructed canal lock marks where coal boats, Civil War armies, and generations of Alexandrians met the Potomac.

By Monica Sanders
“A glowing handmade creature floats through a factory built for weapons.”

Torpedo Factory Art Center

A former weapons factory keeps reinventing itself as a laboratory for handmade art.

By Monica Sanders
Welcome to Otakon!

When Godzilla Comes to Washington: Inside Otakon’s Temporary Anime City

By Monica Sanders
Ix Art Park

Ix Art Park

A former textile mill became a sprawling playground for murals, sculptures, performances, and immersive art.

By Monica Sanders
"Heroes Live On" a living memorial to Harriet Tubman

Heroes in Strange Places

The Harriet Tubman "Lawn Memorial" in Charlottesville, Virginia

By Monica Sanders

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