Places Edited by Rachel James

Offering an enjoyable alternative to the standard hellacious post office trip.

One of the oldest continually operating drinking establishments west of the Mississippi.

The humble gravesite of the man who failed to cash in on his Pepsi-cola goldmine.

Known as the "Dodo Manège," this carousel features a herd of animals that have disappeared—or may be gone soon.

This revered mutant tree was felled in an act of ecoterrorism leaving a legacy of myth and possibly murder.

Surrounded by low rise buildings and partially converted into an auto body shop, this marble archway is the only vestige of a forgotten Manhattan estate.

World's only nuclear reactor operated by liberal arts undergraduates.

A charming desert roadside bakery that produces 10 times more bread daily than it has residents in its town.

Iron Age grave stones and Viking burials, a short drive from Gothenburg.

A historic observatory precariously perched at the "Top of Europe."

Off of the Crawfordville Highway in Florida, nature is taking back this decrepit row of Ford trucks.

One of the final concrete ships built before World War II is now a crumbling breakwater.

A cult following celebrates the legend that belies this curious podiatrists' office sign which has worked its way into song, literature, animation, and the visual arts.

Stone shrouds of Prince Liu Sheng and Princess Dou Wan of the Han Dynasty, created to preserve their flesh for eternity.

A statue commemorating the heroic life of a Viking postman who was the Godfather of California skiing.

Do these monsters look familiar? The gargoyles on this church are all from pop culture.

Millions of glowing microscopic organisms light up the waters of this luminous lagoon.

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

A millionaire's abandoned swimming pool from the gilded age of one of America's most distinguished families.

Oh, just a motel on the edge of the desert decorated with thousands of clowns conveniently located next to an abandoned graveyard.

There's nothing creepier than a cemetery next to a clown motel.

Villas that once served as playgrounds for the rich now fall away in decay.

The eerie burnt-out remains of a prominent building where 30 protestors lost their lives.

Home of what was the largest hydraulic mine in the world, producing gold and the first diamonds in the U.S.