Places onoma Wants to Go

A sculpture for the sun and stars, created by Nancy Holt.

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

On La Gomera, "Silbadors" communicate in a 4,000-word language of whistles.

A local dialect born in the late 19th century is only spoken in this isolated California valley.

Trace the history of writing at this unusual North Carolina destination.

Hundreds of thousands of ancient documents offer a unique glimpse into Jewish life in Cairo.

Museum devoted to the artificial language of Esperanto.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

The rustic cabin-like decor of this Arts and Crafts-style church reflects the love of nature central to its little-known theology.

A one-of-a-kind collection of a unique medium.

A Swedenborgian glass church surrounded by redwoods sits perched atop a massive landslide area.

"The most colorful grottoes of the world.

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

Santa Monica's oldest restaurant, decorated with set pieces from the Mutiny on the Bounty.

A library of rare occult books in Los Angeles.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

An underground mansion with fruit-bearing trees and grapes growing beneath the surface of central California.

Macabre astrological automaton clock dating to the late 1400s.

A mysterious light of unknown origin on the backroads of Missouri.

Synagogue built from the stones of Solomon's temple contains the golem of Prague.

Hiding amid the largest camellia collection in the country lies a charming children's maze, donated by a secret admirer.

Acres of natural wonders left behind by a socialite-turned-gardener.

Gnomes have their very own bonsai-landscaped settlement on a university campus.

A ring of creosote bushes that are estimated to be 11,700 years old.