Places Edited by Samir S. Patel

This Maryland farm is known for its amazing corn mazes and its 30-foot junkbots.

This geothermal hot spring hides beneath a slowly growing mineral dome.

This Australian beach is composed of tiny shells.

This monster board rode a monster wave to break two world records.

An eerie and beautiful group of columns mark the site of a grand mansion lost to time and fire.

One man's grief over the national tragedy has manifested in a pod of homemade whales on his front lawn.

This strange seaside tower got its name from a wealthy eccentric who would hide coins among its stones.

This sidewalk monument honors more than 50 civil rights activists who helped change the face of America.

Visit the ancient, mysterious Roman catacombs ... in the Netherlands.

Georgia may have been on his mind, but this memorial in Florida shows that Greenville was really Ray Charles's childhood home.

The Tallahassee Airport serves over half a million passengers a year and is home to some permanent residents too.

The nerve center of a massive, state-of-the art radio telescope that sprawls across Western Europe.

The tiny Belgian town's ancient version of Mardi Gras involves eerie wax masks, sticks for warding off evil, and ostrich plume hats.

The largest and most famous wax anatomical collection anywhere in the world.

A fantastic Christmas tradition where defecation meets the manger.

Costumed elves and mountain bikers co-exist peacefully at this abandoned Christmas-themed adventure park.

A trading post in the North Pole where children send letters.

Graffiti, cars, and religion combine to create this jungle of scrap in the Nevada desert.

An Italian crevasse filled with abandoned buildings gives visitors a look at the world without humans.

A roadside collection of over-sized iron creations that are a bit more macabre than most.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

This lovely little burbling creek is actually a deadly waterway that has dragged down everyone who ever set foot in it.

This abandoned dream castle and its cemetery look out over the city that once inspired their creation.

These molds for fiberglass statues have formed an eerie, accidental sculpture park.