Places Rick Brown Wants to Go

One of the American Southwest's most extensive collections of Navajo rock art.

Natural sonic phenomenon comes with a grisly legend of murder and blood.

Life-sized sculpture of a blue whale made of hand-recycled plastic trash.

Despite time, colonization, and the brutal New Mexican heat, these Pueblo ruins still stand.

Legends surround this jagged rock formation in the New Mexico desert.

The land is full of geologic eye candy, such as otherworldly spires, mushroom-shaped hoodoos, and prehistoric fossils.

One man has carved a number of natural New Mexico caves into psychedelic sandstone temples.

The first railway tunnel to cross the Continental Divide and, at 11,523 feet, was once the highest railroad tunnel in the world.

All that remains of this once-booming mining town are the ruins of a saloon.

A remote sandstone plateau named for a legendary cattle rustler.

A unique arch graces the Dolores River Canyon near the Hanging Flume.

The giant stump of the once towering cottonwood where Ute people held tribal meetings.

Once a lonely sentinel on the edge of the Great Plains, this rebuilt trading fort offers a glimpse of life on the Santa Fe Trail.

A seven-story 1920s mausoleum outside Denver houses thousands of remains.

Two creeks flow out of either end of this canyon in opposite directions.

A roadside attraction filled with an astounding array of gloriously wacky vehicles.

Air Force Academy Chapel made of 100 identical tetrahedrons works to inspire those of all religions.

Unlike most arches, this geological oddity formed in a volcanic dike.

This grand stone tower was dedicated to a famed American humorist almost by coincidence.

The largest source of fossilized insects anywhere.

Colorado's only true geyser is hidden within the San Juan National Forest.

The highest bridge in America was built for an almost unnervingly small amount of money.

This naturally-sourced hot spring is now home to a clothing-optional resort.

A breathtaking array of ancient Pueblo structures and artifacts counterintuitively preserved by neglect.