See America

The Mammoth Site

June 1974, Hot Springs, South Dakota. Landowner Phil Anderson is preparing open space on the edge of town for a new housing development.

Heavy equipment operator George Hanson was grading a small hill when his blade struck something that shone white in the sunlight, changing the destiny of the little town for years to come.

This week, the Mammoth Site museum, in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

The SPAM Museum

Pork, Salt, Water, Sugar, Potato Starch, and Sodium Nitrate. 6 simple ingredients, cooked in a can, make up the world's most polarizing meat product. When it first came off the production line in 1937, it won over the hearts of soldiers, world leaders, celebrities, chefs, kids, and parents. Some scorn its very existence, but it's more than likely they never tried it. It was born in a small Minnesota town but is now celebrated in cultures around the world.

This week, the SPAM museum, in Austin, Minnesota.

Eyes on the Sky in Platte River, Nebraska

In the heart of the rolling Great Plains, thousands of one of the largest flying birds on earth rest and feed in the light of the setting sun. They jump into the air, flap their wings, and dance after filling their bellies with corn and insects. Their calls echo across the river plains like bones rattling in the wind. Incredible as this scene is, it's just one stop along an awe-inspiring journey.

This week, the great sandhill crane migration and Nebraska's Sandhill Crane Festival.

The American Tobacco Campus and Burt's Bees

Durham, North Carolina. Home to possibly the most famous Minor League team in all of sports - the Durham Bulls. Durham has witnessed a massive revitalization in recent years, as it turned the scars of an industry in free-fall into new life and prosperity. This week, the American Tobacco Campus.

Red Rocks

In the western suburbs of Denver colorado, lies a unique music venue that many consider the finest in the world. With Mother Nature as the architect, this acoustically perfect amphitheater has hosted some of the greatest performers in the world for over a century and is the location of some of the most famous live albums ever recorded.

This week, Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Charters of Freedom

There's one room on this earth that I have walked into that left me more humbled than any other. More proud and inspired. More happy and afraid and joyful. In one, oval-shaped room, the full weight of our nation and the American experience takes hold of you and doesn't let go. No. Not that oval room.

This week, the hallowed Rotunda at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

Chicago Sculpture

Chicago, Illinois. The Windy City. The City of Big Shoulders. The City in a Garden. The City That Works. This week, three sculptures that define three different stages of Chicago, and indeed America.

The Hoover Dam, and Its Mascot

In the desert of the southwest sits a looming, concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was a massive effort involving thousands of workers, many who lost their lives. Originally known as Boulder Dam, today it provides power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California, and is a major tourist attraction; nearly a million people tour the dam each year.

This week, the Hoover Dam.

The Wave Organ

Along the eastern edge of San Francisco’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area sits a jetty, constructed from an assortment of granite and marbel pieces taken from the demolition of the Laurel Hill Cemetery. Upon it, an art installation like no other. This week, the wave-activated acoustic sculpture known as The Wave Organ, one of many pieces created on-site at San Francisco’s Exploratorium.

Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle

Hollywood,1928. One of the biggest movie stars of the silent era sets out to build herself a gorgeous dream home, sparing no expense and employing a talented legion of industry colleagues to design and build it. But this house wasn't destined for the Hollywood Hills, nor would any human ever live in it. This was the original tiny house, long before tiny houses were cool. This week, Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle, which now resides in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.