Places rshaffer Wants to Go

Dedicated to the art and science of glass in equal measure, this space is as much laboratory as museum.

Once the "Eighth Wonder of the World," this iron railroad bridge was decimated by a tornado.

Contrary to what one might expect, ice forms inside this small cavern during the summer and melts during the winter.

When the Austin Dam failed it destroyed much of Austin...and then it failed again.

"Dark Sky Park" is heaven on Earth for astronomers, one of the rare U.S. locations with no artificial light pollution.

A rock maze opens up to a panoramic viewpoint at an abandoned mine full of ghost stories.

The final resting place of two members of the infamous Doan gang, notorious outlaws and Revolutionary War Loyalists.

These lush botanical gardens employ the most purrfect pest control force.

Pennsylvanian mass grave and possibly mass murder.

One of the oldest log cabins in America is one of the last of its kind this historic Swedish dwelling remains a piece of living history.

America's first serial killer rests in anonymity.

The oldest surviving presidential residence in the United States.

A rare view of a preserved Victorian science museum.

Instruments, apparatus, and rare books all relating to chemistry and its related sciences.

Alexander Hamilton’s creation caused quite a bit of controversy.

This beloved marketplace mascot poops money and grants good luck.

The first American department store, and home to the largest operating musical instrument in the world.

All that remains of one of the Civil War's more deadly POW camps is a simple flagstone.

Hear, smell, see, taste, and touch history at this immersive Civil War hospital.

Soldiers were buried next to Lee's house in the center of Arlington Cemetery to dissuade the general from reclaiming his property after the war.

A lovely aquatic park built by a one-armed Civil War veteran who made a fortune from lotuses.

These beautiful ruins deep in the Pennsylvania woods are thought to have been a ski lodge or a speakeasy, but no one really knows.

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin all slept at this humble inn.

A "house to which to flee" for settlers in colonial Pennsylvania.