Places sawilliams Wants to Go

The mysterious, fantastical woodland inspiration for "The Lord of the Rings."

A 1,000-foot-long railroad tunnel under Shavers Fork connected the towns during West Virginia's logging boom until its closure in 1985.

The world's largest fully steerable radio telescope.

This red-eyed chrome beast pays homage to the popular modern myth of West Virginia's insectoid monster.

The 10th-tallest pyramid in the world, this former sports arena is now home to a massive Bass Pro Shops store.

All you ever needed or wanted to know about America's favorite whiskey, but not a drop to drink.

A failed utopian experiment for British expats in the American South is now a Victorian village frozen in time.

Railroad came. People came. Railroad left. Town died.

An abandoned town is hidden in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

This replica of the Greek structure is in the heart of Nashville.

A sweet tribute to Georgia's official state vegetable, which even has its own mascot: "Yumion."

A 200-year-old building in the French Quarter that was to be Napoleon's home in the New World.

Philadelphia boasts one of the best — and most often overlooked — traditional Japanese gardens in North America.

The world’s first penitentiary, meant to be humane, drove men insane.

20,000 pieces in a Frank Gehry-designed building.

Half of a waterfall goes into the river while the other half seems to disappear.

The famed architect designed this Minnesota gas station of the future with a lookout tower.

Florida might be at its most surreal in this museum devoted to the famed Spanish artist.

A beautifully detailed Victorian house designed to be easy to flee, built by a man haunted by fire.

The ruins of a paper mill destroyed during the Civil War still tower over a tributary of the Chattahoochee River.

The only zoo where you can buy animals that won't need feeding.

Built in 1785, this residence is the oldest stone house in Georgia.

An eerie site of reverence for those who have completed an epic journey.

A late-night restaurant empire was launched from this humble storefront.