Places va2mph Wants to Go

A free, canine-friendly alternative watering hole near the more famous Barton Springs.

The only retired U.S. nuclear missile silo that is open to the public.

In the early 1900s, hundreds of Black Americans found opportunity in this now-abandoned rural community.

On the edge of grassland in northeastern Colorado, these rock formations are some of the few remnants of a high plain that has eroded away over millions of years.

After sitting abandoned for decades, this historic mine is now the only publicly accessible chalk room and pillar mine in North America.

For one month, the fields and skies of Gibbon, Nebraska, come alive with one of the largest gatherings of sandhill cranes in North America.

In addition to fishing and camping, this spot in Nebraska’s Sandhills is one of the world’s darkest places.

What do a giraffe, an elephant, and reasonably priced steaks have in common? This roadside restaurant filled with exotic taxidermy.

The abandoned remnants of a little sanctuary for world peace that fell into disrepair.

Underneath downtown Lincoln resides a network of caves that was also the city's first brewery.

Once a slice of Cold War-era military history, this museum is finding its future in the stars.

A brick-paved former section of the historic coast-to-coast highway.

A miniature baseball stadium honoring Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, home of the College World Series from 1950-2010.

Hidden behind Lincoln's head is a chamber containing enamel plates documenting American history, sealed in a teakwood box in a titanium vault.

Dedicated to the history of the 1,000 nuclear missiles that once covered the Great Plains.

One of the first intercontinental ballistic missile sites in the United States.

A ghost town now swarming with dozens of prairie dogs.

The oldest extant wooden jail in South Dakota and possibly the United States. 

Abandoned businesses, homes, and rusted cars are all that remains of this stopover town.

Otherworldly rock formations and ancient fossils abound in this unique stretch of Nebraska badlands.

An experimental, automotive replica of Stonehenge.

This erect, phallic geological spire wasn't always named so domestically.

From this scenic rockface, you can still see the paths Western pioneers followed.

The same security that protects our nukes accidentally protected a gentle herd of antelope.