A maritime museum holding the remains of Blackbeard's pirate ship.

The world's largest vertical wind tunnel.

The Cadillac Ranch for monster truck aficionados.

A monument to the sheer amount of oddities one can collect over a lifetime.

An annual celebration of the region's successful elk reintroduction program.

This handcrafted, old western-style town is filled with deserted cars, retired movie props, and other forms of Americana.

This winding road of 318 curves is a must-visit for (careful) motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts.

This 5-by-6-foot wooden hut is the smallest historic post office in the U.S.

Step back in time on this preserved 1800s farm.

This granite rock face is named for the magnificent reflection that occurs when the sun hits it just right.

Burial site more than 300 years old.

The first statue of Christ sleeping on a bench in the United States confused its affluent parish.

Beautiful Gothic-inspired lighthouse stands out among the run-of-the-mill striped fare on Bodies Island.

The wooden house where the jazz great learned to play the piano.

Some North Carolina Cherokee have been keeping their history alive for decades with a single play.

The scant remains of this flooded historic village can be explored in one of the most remote areas of the Great Smokies.

This abandoned lighthouse looks like a rusting oil rig, but has managed to survive a number of storms.

Trace the history of writing at this unusual North Carolina destination.

These strange large stones served as a campsite and lookout post for generations of Native Americans.

The only known Futuro house in North Carolina sits along a stretch of desolate highway on the Outer Banks.  .

This rare basilica nestled right in downtown Asheville is an architectural marvel, inside and out.

A psychological self-portrait in the form of a giant, segmented head.

The highest point in North Carolina and the United States east of the Mississippi River, Mount Mitchell is named after argumentative explorer Elisha Mitchell.

This scented city oasis was a labor of love.