Places mikecarlucci Wants to Go

A garden full of metal sculptures that celebrate the double bass.

Home of St. Urho, the fictional patron saint of Finland.

Eight "Guardians of Health" protect this art deco water tower from pollutants and bacteria.

Duluth mineral magnates built this charming art deco lodge to be their private clubhouse.

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

A spooky defunct railroad tunnel now part of a sprawling trail.

These crudely shaped folk giants may be the the second most photographed statues in the U.S.

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

Hub of Scandinavian culture in a Minneapolis deli.

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

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

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.

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

First known as the "Sample House," this construction mash-up was meant to be a living catalogue of building styles.

This life-size bronze statue remembers the tallest recorded human in his Illinois hometown.

Though it's thrived abroad, this forgotten Dunkin' rival has just one store left in the States.

This lovely university observatory continues to sit abandoned since its potential savior was sent to jail for fraud.

Get past the gatekeeper's apartment and enter an elaborate hoax of a restaurant with a Masonic feel.

This giant monument of the RCA mascot is a beloved fixture in Albany, New York.

When the town wouldn't allow the fast-food behemoth to build a new restaurant, they put one inside an 1850 home.

This is probably not the Target you're looking for.

The longest manmade tunnel in Queensland is now a beautiful trail, home to a special colony of bent-wing bats.

The world's longest tunnel with an undersea section.

A museum has some wedding cake dating to the Teddy Roosevelt administration, and some bacon from FDR's.