Terlingua, Texas
Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images
Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images
At first glance, Terlingua has the trappings of an Old West silver mining town, and the biggest reason to visit it is to access the nearby Big Bend National Park. But while that ghost town is still there and loaded with abandoned vehicles and other artifacts from the 1940s, that’s not all that makes it special.
As Southern Living reported, that’s because many of Terlingua’s residents are artists and other “eccentrics” who have remolded much of the area into their creative image, with one example of their handiwork being this big dinosaur near Big Bend. Terlingua is also the site of the annual CASI Terlingua International Chili Championship, which is described as “the granddaddy of all chili cook-offs.”