This surprising gem is a world-class archeological museum hidden at the University of Chicago.

This urban drawbridge gained eternal pop culture fame when the Blues Brothers jumped it while it was raised.

One of Chicago's last seafood smokehouses perfects a dying breed of fishcraft.

What may be America's largest classic video game arcade lurks inconspicuously in a Chicago suburb.

This lovely tree was a thank you gift from the man known as "Public Enemy No.1."

Once part of a dam servicing an early 19th century grist mill, the tucked-way falls are a tricky-to-find urban oasis.

A model of a dinosaur that was named for Andrew Carnegie stands outside the museum that also bears his name.

These Great Lakes sea caves accessible by boat in the summer turn into temples of ice reachable by foot in the winter.

Amateur taxidermy museum known for its large collection of white squirrels.

A house and yard adorned with bizarre concrete sculptures in a Milwaukee suburb.

An optical illusion found amid a logged redwood forest.

You might know it as the Overlook Hotel, but the inside is not going to be familiar.

A surreal landscape where fanged rocks rise from the ground and the ocean feels like a great mystery.

This $3 million model train takes you through Chicago, Seattle, and the thousands of miles in between.

The granddaddy of all tourist traps, built on ice water, jackalopes, and a giant dinosaur.

Each of these gorgeous, intricately decorated rooms is painstakingly crafted to the scale of 1 inch: 1 foot.

Ancient pueblos built into the base of a natural canyon wall.

A modern day curiosity cabinet.

What's left of the ruins of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, or World's Fair, also known as the White City.

Shoreline strewn with the remains of ghostly fallen trees.

These abandoned grain silos and tunnels are an urban exploration dream.

A still functioning vaudeville carousel that has operated for over a century boasts a colorful menagerie and past.

One of the most enjoyable bits of history at Coney Island and “the most romantic ride in the world.”

The story of Two Guns, Arizona could easily be described as a Shakespearian tragedy on Route 66.