Places gwenleif Wants to Go

The final resting place and once home of the Bandit Queen of the West.

One believer transformed a local curiosity into proof of Vikings on the Great Plains.

This former mining town was named the most toxic town in America.

Where hills of dirt conceal the burial ground of one of the most powerful ancient Native American societies.

This century-old roadside attraction is full of bizarre rock formations.

A winding, blood-red tunnel of hardened lava navigable by foot.

Essence of hound's tongue and tincture of bloodroot are just the tip of the herbalist iceberg at this beautiful, impressively-stocked apothecary.

Make your reservation to have coffee with some kitties.

Site of the greatest known waterfall that ever existed.

A walk through the historic city center, under the streets of Seattle.

This historic building provides a powerful glimpse into the lives of Japanese Americans forced to relocate during World War II.

A short hike into the mountainside forest reveals a decaying 1890s town.

An exercise in patience and imagination, where Mother Earth turned common stuff into precious hidden treasures.

Legend says that these tall basalt pillars are the petrified wives of a trickster god.

The highest point in Washington state is a volcano covered in glaciers.

An institution that preserves the history of institutionalization.

These old stone ruins in the Oregon wilderness were once bathrooms and are steeped in legends of murder.

The world's smallest park was dedicated in 1948 as the only colony for leprechauns west of Ireland.

A beautiful 62-acre Catholic shrine and botanical garden.

This perfectly preserved Chinese medicine shop was untouched for decades before being reopened as a museum.

An extraordinary mixture of natural beauty and man-made phenomena.

A roaring, awe-inspiring double cascade of icy water flows through woodland Oregon like something out of a Tolkien novel.

This extravagant Art Nouveau rest stop features a million-dollar view of the Columbia River.

A plaque commemorates the spot in the Oregon woods where the first-ever Geocache was hidden.