Places bshea Wants to Go

First known as the "Sample House," this construction mash-up was meant to be a living catalogue of building styles.

Less a museum than a bizarre fantasy world created by artists and engineers.

The first rural cemetery west of the Mississippi is home to the elaborate tombs of St. Louis' local beer barons.

Speak to a companion on the other side of the room loud and clear through this architectural anomaly.

A historic house in St. Louis was plagued by a series of suicides committed by family members involved in a successful brewery.

What was meant to be a temporary exhibit is now a permanent fixture at the St. Louis Zoo filled with beautiful birds.

This is not your typical jungle gym.

What was once a presidential estate is now an exotic menagerie and home to the Budweiser Clydesdales.

The Magic House provides a beautiful and creative environment for curious youngsters to get their knowledge on.

A geological oddity formed by two rivers carving out a mass of limestone on both sides.

This majestic tree has survived 400 years of storms, droughts, and floods, and is a beloved natural landmark in Missouri.

The world's largest man-made underground caverns offer unparalleled underwater wonders.

A museum dedicated to man's boldest venture.

Curious cave that stays a cool 56 degrees all year long.

Like Stonehenge, but with boats and oodles more charm.

In the St. Francois Mountains in the Ozarks at 1,772 feet above sea level, Taum Sauk Mountain is the highest (and possibly oldest) peak in Missouri.

Giant granite rocks standing end-to-end like a train of circus elephants.

Erosion and time have created a naturally-formed water park.

This "little gallery in the middle of nowhere" is housed in a 170-year-old horse barn in the Missouri Ozarks.

Once an ambitious nature spa, these forest ruins now provide a serene monument to failure.

Eons ago, a rushing lava river formed this pristine passage through solid rock.

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

Seemingly grown on some other world, these New Mexico rock formations look like a disused science fiction set.

This secluded aqua waterfall in the Grand Canyon is the perfect swimming hole, and the Havasupai tribe's fiercely protected natural wonder.