Places Opinicus Wants to Go

A remarkably opulent mansion with a tragic history.

A big museum full of little worlds.

Like Stonehenge, but with boats and oodles more charm.

This historic cliffside mansion uses a natural cave for air conditioning.

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

In the St. Francois Mountains in the Ozarks at 1,772 feet above sea level, Taum Sauk Mountain is the highest (and possibly oldest) peak in Missouri.

This is not your typical jungle gym.

The show pony of cave systems, Fantastic Caverns manages to live up to its name.

A geological oddity formed by two rivers carving out a mass of limestone on both sides.

This mosaic-covered bar is brimming with curated curios.

If there's another drive-through golf-cart bar in a bat-filled cave on top of a mountain, we don't know about it.

A creepy sculpture of a decapitated head invites viewers to see St. Louis through its empty eyes.

400 million-year old limestone caverns nestled in the Ozarks served as shelter and a hideout for cultures throughout North American history.

Erosion and time have created a naturally-formed water park.

European castle ruins in an American state park are actually the product of death and grief.

The world's largest man-made underground caverns offer unparalleled underwater wonders.

Once an ambitious nature spa, these forest ruins now provide a serene monument to failure.

Less a museum than a bizarre fantasy world created by artists and engineers.

An abandoned concrete jungle surrounded by a lush park.

The maximum security facility was once thought to have "the bloodiest 47 acres in America."

A Kansas grassroots sculptor decorates the local roadways with his sculptures made from found objects.

This historic folk art garden contains a nightmare tower that claims to be the world's largest concrete totem pole.

A 35-foot-tall fork stuck in the ground outside an office building in Missouri.

When you can afford only half a road, you build only half a road.