Places Ryan Haupt Wants to Go

This harrowing climb along West Virginia's jagged spires is one of the only Via Ferrata on America's east coast.

A 21-foot-tall statue of a miner made of scrap metal stands in this West Virginia coal town.

The "All-Seeing Eye of God" symbol on this library is a clue to one of the many former lives of this building.

This striking Victorian Home with its 113-foot turret is best known as the site where abolitionist John Brown was executed in 1859.

Once home to a thriving oil industry, this town now sits eerily abandoned.

A lighthouse on this West Virginia lake started as a joke, then the forces of nature helped make it a reality.

The largest piece of cut lead crystal adorned a grave for 75 years and is now the shining star of a glass museum.

In the mountains of West Virginia is this perfectly preserved Art Deco train station.

Winding country roads in eastern West Virginia lead to an extraordinary place populated by fiberglass giants.

In 1952, a strange encounter in the woods of West Virginia led to the legend of a 10-foot-tall monster with glowing eyes and a distinctive style.

This former fire tower is now a rustic observatory that offers amazing views of eagles, hawks, and the Appalachian Mountains.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

The only bridge in the United States where BASE jumping is legal without a permit year-round.

Members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs still net migrating salmon in the traditional way at this cataract on the Deschutes River.

The United States' first transcontinental automobile road came to its end at this spot in San Francisco's Lincoln Park.

This work of engineering is imbued with elegance and ingeniousness.

One of the smallest parks in San Francisco honors the legacy of the "Mother of Civil Rights in California."

This lonesome Monterey cypress has survived centuries of wind, salt, and at least one attempt at arson.

This plaque celebrates the sister city relationship between Fredricksburg and Fréjus.

One of the largest refracting telescopes in the world, and the first built specifically for studying astrophysics.

Home to the organ played at General MacArthur's funeral.

This watchtower once presided over the Berlin Wall.