Places Polytropa Wants to Go

The ruins of this long-abandoned unsuccessful gold mine can still be found.

This English-inspired Maryland garden is home to acres of opulent plant life including bushes shaped into an entire fox hunt.

A priceless collection of the Nation's cryptologic history.

Bizarre Cavern.

A museum dedicated to exhibiting remarkable outsider art.

It’s not hard to see why the historic Peabody Conservatory of Music’s library has been described as a “cathedral of books.”

Eighteen miniature death-scene dioramas.

The haunting "Hell House Altar" is one of the few remnants of an abandoned college that has been a magnet for local legends.

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

The graveyard holding the remains of George Washington's slaves was forgotten for nearly 200 years.

This pre-Revolutionary War grist mill ground corn and flour for soldiers in seven American wars.

400-year-old garden, restored to beauty.

This rare basilica nestled right in downtown Asheville is an architectural marvel, inside and out.

An Aztec snake god has taken the material form of an apartment complex.

This professional clown's home is an outsider art wonderland.

This eclectic, mosaic-clad home includes a bamboo ping-pong loft and a "Whispermaphones" intercom.

A folk art mecca famous among outsider art fans.

Rotting dome home spotted near Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

This too-low North Carolina railroad trestle is still a notorious big rig executioner.

Hidden amid a collection of trails is the site of a tragic crash.

The Burnside Fountain and its questionable interpretation.

A curious collection of oddities including a lock of Alexander Hamilton's hair and Harry Houdini's ouija board.

The fine fabric handwoven at Biltmore Industries was once coveted around the world.

A 17th-century bezoar, dirt from an infamous site, and other curios decorate this unusual bar.