A brothel nestled amongst ghost towns, with an abandoned plane wreck to greet you.

An abandoned early 20th-century gold mine in a spectacular setting overlooking Bridgeport Valley and the Sierra Nevada.

Red ocher pictographs survive in this tufa rock shelter on the shore of an ancient lake.

The summer home of the largest colony of bats in the world.

This beautiful grotto is one of those places where you can't believe you're just outside Austin.

Texas's oldest bakery serves authentic German pastries, including legendary strudel.

Human remains in varying states of decay are strewn about this Texas State facility for scientific study.

This eclectic Austin curiosity shop is home to all things strange and unusual.

One part antique store, one part curiosities hodge-podge.

A synth musician's paradise at the heart of a community responsible for the soundtrack to 'Stranger Things.'

DIY collection of eclectic holdings.

Home to an endangered salamander, a full moon celebration, and a large spring-fed outdoor swimming pool.

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

A store full of vintage and indie toys designed to bring out the kid in even the crustiest of adults.

Continuing the tradition of the dime museum in style.

Eclectic collection of dark and macabre antiques.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.

A huge collection of rocks, gems, and crystals.

This museum boasts the ninth-largest collection of insects in North America.

A fascinating and comprehensive look at the evolution of medical practice in the Sacramento Valley since the mid-1800s.

A mine in the Sierra Nevada that produced nothing but barren quartz.

This wilderness hike to a waterfall has an unlikely beginning in suburban Reno.

An eccentric millionaire's personal curio collection includes at least one shrunken head.

The original building of a mining school endowed by one of the barons of the Comstock Lode now houses a museum of earth science and mining history.