Places Jen Seriously Wants to Go

Rotting dome home spotted near Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Wander through more than 20,000 square feet filled with an amazing collection of orchids.

Founded in 1925, this folk school attracts students from across the country and preserves traditional Appalachian art.

The scene of the largest surrender of Confederate troops at the end of the American Civil War.

From failed port town to Civil War fort, the ruins of this former defense saw their finest day in the television age.

This winding road of 318 curves is a must-visit for (careful) motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts.

An annual celebration of the region's successful elk reintroduction program.

Perhaps the oldest vine in North America, this sprawling plant helps make a sweet wine.

Ruins of an American Civil War iron forge still survive today.

The only known Futuro house in North Carolina sits along a stretch of desolate highway on the Outer Banks.  .

One of the best places to see wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs in the United States.

Garden dedicated to native carnivorous plants and site of huge flytrap heist.

A cabin completely covered in coffee mugs, where visitors are welcome to leave one of their own—if they can find an empty nail.

These eerie outliers of the lightning bug family glow a mysterious blue color.

An abandoned village that doubled as "The Hunger Games"' post-apocalyptic wasteland is up for grabs.

A sculptor's dream castle turned fantastical ruin.

Mysterious ancient boulder carved with petroglyphs in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

This high point in the Great Smoky Mountains is said to be home to the chief of all bears.

This crumbling stump is all that remains of what was once thought to be the oldest living organism.

A Nevada mining boomtown that ran out of silver and luck.

This golf ball–shaped former desert real estate office now houses a UFO museum.

This lesser known Hearst estate is a fairytale village built from the stolen bones of historic European buildings.

This strange hill on Old Fort Road where gravity works in reverse has been fascinating locals for years.

The deepest lake in the United States, and once the site of epic destruction that lives on in legends.