theloushe's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Cut Bank, Montana

Coldest Spot in America

A colossal concrete penguin announces this Montana town as the coldest spot in America. But is it really?
Florence, Oregon

Darlingtonia State Natural Site

The park preserves a single, rare species of carnivorous plant that spells doom for unsuspecting insects.
Lamoille, Nevada

Lamoille Canyon

Drive up a paved road into "Nevada's Yosemite" for exquisite views and mountain hiking in an alpine setting.
Nampa, Idaho

Map Rock

A petroglyph map of the upper Snake River carved by prehistoric hunter-gatherers.
Kuna, Idaho

Idaho Initial Point

A volcanic core jutting above the plain between the Snake and Boise Rivers, a marker identifies the reference point for all U.S. Government Surveys in Idaho.
Shoshone, Idaho

Shoshone Ice Caves

This underground cave located in the most barren reaches of Idaho is filled with ice year-round.
Leadore, Idaho

Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns

These century-old beehive-shaped kilns were built to produce charcoal for nearby mines.
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Sheepeater Cliff

Around half a million years ago, these magnificent columnar basalt cliffs were formed from cooling lava.
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

The Wreck of the E.C. Waters

No Gordon Lightfoot song, only a barebones monument to greed.
Moran, Wyoming

Parting of the Waters

Creek water that starts here has a 50/50 chance of ending up in the Atlantic or the Pacific.
Cody, Wyoming

Smith Mansion

One man's ambition created this psychedelic log home.
Thermopolis, Wyoming

Hot Springs State Park

The world's largest mineral hot springs is home to a herd of bison, a free public bath house, beautiful mineral formations, and a terrifying swinging bridge.
Kaycee, Wyoming

Hole-in-the Wall Outlaw Hideout

The remote outlaw hideout of Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid.
Devils Tower, Wyoming

Devils Tower

The first declared National Monument in the United States.
Keystone, South Dakota

Black Elk Peak

The highest point in South Dakota contains the ashes of Valentine McGillycuudy, the "Holy White Man."
Keystone, South Dakota

Hall of Records in Mount Rushmore

Hidden behind Lincoln's head is a 70-foot-long chamber containing enamel plates documenting American history, sealed in a teakwood box in a titanium vault.
Custer, South Dakota

Crazy Horse Memorial

The world's largest mountain carving could fit all of Mount Rushmore inside it many times over.
Rapid City, South Dakota

Hotel Alex Johnson

One of America’s oldest and spookiest hotels, thanks to the residency of ghosts, dead presidents, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Rapid City, South Dakota

Thunderhead Underground Falls

permanently closed
A waterfall 600 ft. inside a mountain, once the bane of gold miners, is now a spectacle of nature.
Conata, South Dakota

Conata

A ghost town now swarming with dozens of prairie dogs.
Philip, South Dakota

Giant Prairie Dog

A six-ton, 12-foot-tall concrete prairie dog is touted as the largest in the world.
Wall, South Dakota

Delta-09 Minuteman Missile Site

One of the first intercontinental ballistic missile sites in the United States.
Chamberlain, South Dakota

Dignity of Earth and Sky

A striking sculpture built to honor the women of the Lakota and Dakota Nations.
Mouth of Wilson, Virginia

Mount Rogers

The highest point in Virginia can only be reached by passing through ponies and flowers.