Places From the Backwoods Wants to Go

Hub of Scandinavian culture in a Minneapolis deli.

14th century Norse artifacts in Northwestern Minnesota could have proved a Viking landing before Columbus.

17,400 lbs., 12 feet in diameter, and 29 years in the making.

When flour explodes, it's not a pretty sight.

At this Minnesota state park you can easily wade across the source of the mighty Mississippi.

An unusual assortment of art, furniture, and other curiosities.

Home to the Amorphophallus titanum "Corpse Flower," which is among the largest flowers in the world and also smells powerfully of rotting flesh when in bloom.

The Midwest's reigning king of surplus stores is full of nothing you need and everything you want.

A whimsical sensor instrument for Minneapolitans to play on their walks to work.

20,000 pieces in a Frank Gehry-designed building.

Enter the Forest of the Elves.

A butcher shop in Minneapolis has all the meats and cheeses you’d expect from any of its kind—except that all the products are vegan.

Equal parts record-breaking temple to consumerism and bizarre fun park, it's more than you think it is...

This massive roadside mascot was the first version of the giant to illustrate his butt.

An architecturally-focused antique shop.

Funhouse of found art and participatory sculpture.

These curious caverns have been home to mushrooms, gangsters, and disco.

This large midwestern cavern features impressive rock formations and an underground waterfall.

The famed architect designed this Minnesota gas station of the future with a lookout tower.

Half of a waterfall goes into the river while the other half seems to disappear.

A quarter-scale locomotive wonderland built by one man and his family.

The museum moved on, but the diorama remain.

Weighing 30,000 pounds, this monument represents Detroit's first industrial era.

A series of 33 stone markers maps an ancient 55-mile transportation route.