VanCityLil's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Quemado, New Mexico

The Lightning Field

In the remote high desert of New Mexico, a strange array of poles beckon fury from above.
New Mexico

Trinity Atomic Bomb Site

Twice a year, visitors can tour the desolate site that birthed the Atomic Age.
Los Cerrillos, New Mexico

Origami in the Garden

Giant origami sculptures tucked into desert scenery beckon passers-by to explore further.
Shiprock, New Mexico

Shiprock

Legends surround this jagged rock formation in the New Mexico desert.
San Jon, New Mexico

Glenrio Ghost Town

The old Route 66 town straddling Texas and New Mexico died along with the Main Street of America.
Montezuma, New Mexico

Dwan Light Sanctuary

A futuristic temple of light uses prisms and rainbows to create an atmosphere of peace.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Site

These Pre-Columbian petroglyphs contain representations of birds, deer, hunters, and even some early Native flute players.
Taos, New Mexico

Taos Pueblo

A multi-storied adobe complex has been inhabited for more than a thousand years.
El Prado, New Mexico

Earthships

These aggressively sustainable art homes look like something out of 1970's science fiction.
Nageezi, New Mexico

Chaco Culture National Historical Park

A phenomenal assembly of pueblos in New Mexico is the most complete example of ancient ruins north of the border.
Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell McDonald's

This fast-food outlet is the only space and UFO-themed McDonalds in the world.
Farmington, New Mexico

Bisti Badlands

Seemingly grown on some other world, these New Mexico rock formations look like a disused science fiction set.
Carlsbad, New Mexico

Carlsbad Caverns

The second-largest cave chamber in the world was discovered in 1898 by a 16-year-old and a friend known as "Pothead."
Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Santa Rosa Blue Hole

A clear blue swimming hole with hidden caves, still unexplored.
New Mexico

Ra Paulette's Hand-Carved Caves

One man has carved a number of natural New Mexico caves into psychedelic sandstone temples.
Alamogordo, New Mexico

White Sands National Park

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.
Bloomfield, New Mexico

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area

The land is full of geologic eye candy, such as otherworldly spires, mushroom-shaped hoodoos, and prehistoric fossils.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

House of Eternal Return

An immersive environment that is part haunted house, part choose-your-own-adventure, and part jungle gym.
Moab, Utah

Potash Evaporation Ponds

Few things look more out of place than the electric blue ponds in the reddish-brown desert of Utah.
Boise, Idaho

Freak Alley Gallery

The largest outdoor art gallery in the Northwest United States.
Houston, Texas

Smither Park

A park filled with vibrant mosaics created by more than 300 folk artists.
Orange, Texas

Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center

Nestled in the heart of a Texas town is a dreamy secret garden dating back to the 1940s.
Hearne, Texas

Grave in the Road

This one-woman cemetery was a small civil rights victory.
Warren, Texas

Geraldine Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve

This magical oasis in East Texas is one of the most biodiverse acres in the country.