# Places of interest near you: Have you been? Worth a visit? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055 "2011-04-03T17:58:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/41 "2011-04-05T18:00:09Z")
I live literally within five minutes of several major Abraham Lincoln sites (most notably his home and tomb), as well as the [Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum](http://www.alplm.org). Home: Worth it. Tomb: Worth it. Former law office: Never been. Old State Capitol (where he served as a state legislator): take it or leave it. Library: Never been, can’t see a reason to go. It’s a research library and you’re not allowed to check anything out. Museum: Worth every penny. A lesser-known (but IMHO equally cool) tourist attraction in town is the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed [Susan Laurence Dana House\*](http://www.dana-thomas.org), which is worth a side trip if you’re in town for the Lincoln sites. \*I steadfastly _refuse_ to call the house by its official name, the Dana-Thomas House, as the “Thomas” part comes from a publishing firm that basically used the house as a factory for a few decades. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/42 "2011-04-05T18:20:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The spectacular Oregon coast, Mt. Hood, Mount St. Helens Park, the fruit loop (groves of fruit trees laden with good eats). Been to them all. > > John Day Fossil Beds and many other attractions in Oregon: not yet, but coming this summer. There several good hot springs in Oregon that I remember. [Bagby Hot Springs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagby_Hot_Springs) is a short hike in Mt. Hood National Forest outside of Estacada, and [Cougar Hot Springs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar_Hot_Springs) is between Eugene and Bend. Nothing like a good mineral soak. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/43 "2011-04-05T19:13:55Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > **Flutterby** you must go to Head Smashed In and report back. I’ve been amused by the name of it since I heard about it more than 20 years ago! I can report now, my Dad tool us when we were younger I just want to go back. 🙂 Mostly I remember lots of prairie and this huge cliff you could hike around and the museum with native artifacts (can’t recall which tribes though). The museum had 3 stuffed buffalo above the escalators looking like they will run off and onto you. There was a video also, where they tossed the stuffed buffalo off the cliff. 🙂 Basically it was a place where they would run the buffalo off the cliff so they could prepare the meat/hide at leisure. Less work than just straight hunting them, much easier too. Well there is a legend associated with it too, about a young man who wanted to go but was told he couldn’t for whatever reason. Well he ended up at the base of the cliff and the buffalo jumped/fell on top of him, killing him. Thus Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/44 "2011-04-05T19:20:43Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [America’s Stonehenge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Stonehenge) is not far from us. It is a complex of stonework ruins that the owners promote as the oldest pre-Colombian structure in the United States, cryptically linking it to Celtic monks and the Da Vinci Code. Most archaeologists believe they were built by New England colonists. > > i haven’t been yet. At ten bucks for adults, it seems like a lot to walk around some ruins of indeterminate origin. I’ve been, several times. Even if you don’t buy their explanations, it’s a nice day out in the woods, a fun hike, and you can consider that H..P. Lovecraft was probably inspired by this sort of place (if not exactly this place, if S.T. Joshi is correct) to write _The Dunwich Horror_. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/45 "2011-04-05T19:21:33Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > **Rock and Roll Hall of Fame** - yeah, been there 3 times. Pretty cool if you’re in to rock 'n roll. I’ve been and hated it. I expected to hear music throughout, but I didn’t expect to hear 30 second snippets of song cut off by more 30 second snippets. Play the whole damn song already! I found that so frustrating, I had to leave before I was finished with the Elvis exhibit (this was a while back). > [@](#): > > **Amish Country** - Yeah my grandparents live there. I’m there all the time. I think it’s more interesting to speak to actual Amish people that my grandparents know than to be a tourist or just to gawk. but plenty of stuff to see and a cheese factory with free samples! My grandparents used to live slam in Amish Central and my dad also lived near another pocket of Amish population. Been there, done that, bought some jam, bread & cheese. Not worth driving two hours from Cleveland or Columbus, but if you’re in the area, there’s nothing _else_ to do. > [@](#): > > **Cedar Point** - Never been. Not in to roller coasters. I am sort of ashamed of this. But I hear it’s worth a long trip if you’re in to coasters. I used to work there. Best amusement park ever, if you’re into coasters. I was a games hostess; my job was to heckle everyone who walked by my game in hopes that you’d see the cute chick and give me a dollar. Stripping would have been more efficient. 😉 > [@](#): > > **Cleveland Clinic** - Kings go there. Famous movie stars go there. I go there too 😛 Sorry, never been. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/46 "2011-04-05T19:23:23Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > That’s especially impressive coming from someone from the home of [Big Bone Lick State Park.](http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/recparks/bb/) Fact: it is not humanly possible to hear the words “Big Bone Lick” and not become a puerile, sniggering 14-year-old boy about it. > > Big Bone Lick! (snerk) I’ve been there, too. It’s just down the road from Beaver Lick. I am not making this up. I was near there for an Indy car race in Sparta, and my 18-year-old nephew and I took the time to drive down to Big Bone Lick and Beaver Lick for the obligatory Kodak moments. The photos are priceless. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/47 "2011-04-05T19:24:46Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > A little over 2 hour’s drive from me is the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. > > [http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org/home.html](http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org/home.html) > > Been there many times, and yeah, it’s TOTALLY worth it! You can get up close & personal to a couple hundred big cats. They have nice big enclosures but most tend to hang out near the fencing to greet people. > > If you like big cats it is a MUST SEE place! I really want to see that now. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > \ > > My grandparents took me to the [Behalt Amish & Mennonite Heritage Museum](http://www.behalt.com/) and THAT was cool. Very interesting to learn the history of these people.\ We’re planning to go to the [Canadian Mennonite Heritage Village in Manitoba](http://www.mennoniteheritagevillage.com/) this summer. Since I’m half Mennonite, I’m particularly interested in this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/48 "2011-04-05T19:48:09Z")
I’m close to the Saugus Ironworks > **[Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/sair/index.htm)** > **[Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saugus_Iron_Works_National_Historic_Site)** > > Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site is a National Historic Site about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Downtown Boston in Saugus, Massachusetts. It is the site of the first integrated ironworks in North America, founded by John Winthrop the Younger and in operation between 1646 and approximately 1670. It includes the reconstructed blast furnace, forge, rolling mill, shear, slitter and a quarter-ton trip hammer. > The facility is powered by seven large waterwheels, some of which are rig... It’s pretty neat, and I’ve been there several times. I’ve made a nail and our family has made molds into which molten iron was poured. We’re also near Salem, site of the 1692 withcraft trials. They’d rather you remembered it as the port that competed with Boston, though, especially in the Far East trade. The Peabody-Essex Museum is a major thing to see there. It’s also the place Nathaniel Hawthorne worked at, and the House of Seven Gables is there. There’s also the reconstructed Salem Pioneer Village, which is woefully under-promoted. but the witch stuff is the most fun, despite being highly hokey. We go there all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/49 "2011-04-05T20:12:31Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > There’s the Log Cabin Village, the Fort Worth Zoo, the Botanic Gardens, and the Museum of Science and History. I’ve gone to them all several times and greatly enjoyed them. I think there’s also a Cowgirl’s Museum and some sort of aviation museum, but I haven’t been to them at all. There’s also the Water Gardens, and when I was a teen, I enjoyed them…but I haven’t been lately, I’ve heard that they have been allowed to deteriorate horribly. I haven’t been to Log Cabin Village since I was a kid! I used to live a couple of long blocks from the Museum of Science and History, so I’ve been there more times than I could count, as well as the Amon Carter and Kimbell museums. I’ve been to the Fort Worth Zoo and the Botanic Gardens numerous times. The [Japanese Garden](http://www.flickr.com/photos/zyada/479178074/) is one of my favorite places in Fort Worth. I love to sightsee in my own town. In addition, I’ve been to Dinosaur Valley State Park and, a little farther afield, Enchanted Rock State park, but I guess a 4 hour drive isn’t considered “near me” 😃 Does anyone remember the Pate Museum? It’s apparently closed now. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/50 "2011-04-05T20:22:25Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I live literally within five minutes of several major Abraham Lincoln sites (most notably his home and tomb), as well as the [Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum](http://www.alplm.org). Have you been to the New Salem living history thing? My folks have that on the “maybe” list. ---
**Author:** ![Kingfisher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc8723/32.png) [@Kingfisher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kingfisher)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/51 "2011-04-05T20:23:52Z")
I just found a place last summer called Woolaroc just outside Bartlesville, OK. It’s a museum containing the art and artifacts belonging to Frank Phillips and his family. Frank Phillips was the founder of Phillips Petroleum. From the outside, it looks like a small rock building, but most of the museum is underground. It contains Indian artifacts, Western art, gun collections and the first plane to fly from the mainland to Hawaii. The plane was sponsored by Phillips in a contest and was also named Woolaroc. I was wowed by the quantity and quality of the items in this museum literally in the middle of nowhere. It’s located on the ranch that served as a retreat for the Phillips family. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/52 "2011-04-05T21:10:38Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I’ve been there, too. It’s just down the road from Beaver Lick. I am not making this up. > > I was near there for an Indy car race in Sparta, and my 18-year-old nephew and I took the time to drive down to Big Bone Lick and Beaver Lick for the obligatory Kodak moments. The photos are priceless. 🆒 Thanks for the Head Smashed In update, **Flutterby** … and waving to **Dogzilla.** Been to Big Bone Lick a few times, too, but not Beaver Lick. It’s not an attraction, just a town, and not much of one at that. Well, apart from the name. 😃 We used to say there was a Beaver Lick Baptist Church there, but I can’t remember if there actually _was_ one — or if we just liked to say it all the time when were teenagers. C’mon back and I’ll show ya around [Monkey’s Eyebrow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkeys_Eyebrow,_Kentucky) sometime. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/53 "2011-04-05T21:39:35Z")
The closest point of interest to me is [Old Sturbridge Village](http://www.osv.org/). I have not only been (many times), my boyfriend and I are members. We go 3-5 times per year now that we get in for free. If it’s just us, we only go for the special stuff, like Maple Days (we went for that 2 weeks ago). But, we also like to take any family or friends who want to use our friend/family discount. In those cases, we see whatever they want to see (which is usually everything). Since it’s under 10 minutes away and we get in for free, we like to stop in just for lunch because the have awesome chicken pot pie and bread pudding. Even though I’ve been there many times, I still haven’t been able to see the lumber mill or the cider mill in action. However, I did finally get to ask one of the blacksmiths how anvils are made. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/54 "2011-04-05T22:50:07Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Have you been to the New Salem living history thing? My folks have that on the “maybe” list. Yes I have (Lincoln’s New Salem State Park is the official title, btw). IMHO it’s totally worth the time. HOWEVER, be warned that only the site of the park is authentic; the buildings are all re-creations. Still worth the trip, though. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/55 "2011-04-05T23:44:09Z")
My town is considered an attraction for the ski area and historic downtown. But I go there every day. The mountains around us are a scenic feast, but I live _in_ them so that doesn’t count. It’s about an hour to [Mesa Verde National Park](http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm). I’ve only been once and it was just before I moved here, so 1993ish. Really should go back since it’s so close. Arches and Canyonlands NPs are more like 2-2.5 hours away (which I consider close), and I’ve been to both several times. Spectacular and vast. It’s definitely worth a trip to see canyon country. You could spend weeks just in the parks, and there’s more to see outside of them. Silverton/Durango [narrow gauge railroad](http://www.durangotrain.com/). I’ve never done it, but I’ve heard it’s cool, if a little long. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/56 "2011-04-06T00:04:52Z")
I’ve lived about 30 miles from Denver for 20+ years, and I’ve never been to the Mint. I’d probably really like the tour, too. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/57 "2011-04-06T00:17:22Z")
[Dublin City](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin) has bits and pieces of historic interest and some nice pubs. It’s kinda bedraggled these days, lots of empty shops etc. [Newgrange](http://www.newgrange.com/) is always worth a look. I’ve been there a few times. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/58 "2011-04-06T00:30:29Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > I haven’t been to Log Cabin Village since I was a kid! I used to live a couple of long blocks from the Museum of Science and History, so I’ve been there more times than I could count, as well as the Amon Carter and Kimbell museums. I’ve been to the Fort Worth Zoo and the Botanic Gardens numerous times. The [Japanese Garden](http://www.flickr.com/photos/zyada/479178074/) is one of my favorite places in Fort Worth. I love to sightsee in my own town. You should go see the Log Cabin Village again…check the website first, they have different presentations, most of them geared towards kids. However, even the regular exhibits are interesting for adults as well as children, and I’ve found most of the docents know quite a bit more than their canned speeches, and are more than willing to talk your ear off about their interests. You will also find at least a couple of buildings there that weren’t there when you were a kid. The weather’s nice, you should go soon. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/59 "2011-04-06T00:41:19Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [America’s Stonehenge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Stonehenge) is not far from us. It is a complex of stonework ruins that the owners promote as the oldest pre-Colombian structure in the United States, cryptically linking it to Celtic monks and the Da Vinci Code. Most archaeologists believe they were built by New England colonists. > > i haven’t been yet. At ten bucks for adults, it seems like a lot to walk around some ruins of indeterminate origin. Is this the one south of the Washington (State) Tri-Cities? . ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055/60 "2011-04-06T00:49:06Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Is this the one south of the Washington (State) Tri-Cities? > > . No. [Salem, NH](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Stonehenge) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-of-interest-near-you-have-you-been-worth-a-visit/577055.md?page=4)