This whimsical garbage disposal facility receives around 12,000 accidental tourists each year.

A moss-covered statue of a Japanese Buddhist deity stands at a quiet temple in downtown Osaka.

Literally a million fascinating cartographic artifacts are held in this sprawling university collection.

An unrecognized micronation declared by Greenpeace to protect the glaciers of Chile.

This exhibit is one of the largest and most well-preserved collections of Jurassic-era trackways in the United States.

Founded by the famed children's book artist, this museum spreads an appreciation of the arts through picture books.

One philanthropist's extensive collection of knick-knacks and curiosities is now a public museum of oddity.

A careful eye can find hundreds of dinosaur tracks running along the Connecticut River.

Housed in a memorial lighthouse, this museum relays the history of surfing, beginning with the antics of royal Hawaiian teenagers.

This restaurant features Native American foods from across the country.

Elephant seals and sea lions have turned the abandoned buildings on this island into their endangered love shack.

A New England-style lighthouse along California's beautiful Highway 1 gets a re-do.

The world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory continues to report on the stars.

A lonely monument to the original Silicon Valley tech campus.

A classically inspired temple in Redwood City.

This massive redwood tree has stood in Northern California for nearly 2,000 years.

Anyone can control this glittery light installation with just a phone call.

The largest permanent Monopoly board makes one of the longest games even bigger.

Hidden among the multi-million dollar mansions in the Santa Cruz hills is a sanctuary for troubled birds.

One of the largest free-standing structures ever built, this dirigible hangar is now simply a giant skeleton.

This airfield played a key role in both World War II and the Cold War.

A cruise terminal that changes the atmosphere of Red Hook's industrial waterfront.

This stunning and ethereal mural symbolizes the beauty, unity, and diversity of humankind.

A jewel of the Mexico city skyline now slowly crumbles after surviving an earthquake.