While traveling through southwest Wisconsin, we were intrigued by signs promoting the House on the Rock, near Spring Green.

When we realized we'd pass near it, we decided to make an unscheduled stop. And I have to tell you, we were totally unprepared for what we saw during the next 3 or 4 hours.

The 14-room house, built in the 1940s by the late Alex Jordan as a weekend retreat, is a wonder in and of itself. Perched on a 60-foot-high sandstone pinnacle, the sprawling home strongly mimics the Prairie Style architecture made famous by Frank Lloyd Wright.

On our self-guided tour, we marveled at the home's waterfalls, massive fireplaces, low ceilings and curving passageways. A highlight is the 218-foot-long needle-nosed Infinity Room, suspended 156 feet above the Wyoming Valley. It contains 3,264 windows, so as you walk out to the tip, you can't help but feel as though it might break off!

Our jaws dropped as we entered the Heritage of the Sea Building, where a 200-foot sea creature confronts visitors--it's longer than the Statue of Liberty is tall! There's also a vast collection of scrimshaw carvings and over 200 model ships.

Then there's the Dollhouse Building, showcasing more than 250 dollhouses…the world's largest carousel, 80 feet wide and 35 feet tall and equipped with more than 200,000 lights (and not a single horse!)…a dazzling array of animated and automated music machines that includes a mechanically operated symphony orchestra…the Circus Building, filled with miniature circuses comprised of more than 1 million figurines and objects…an elaborate collection of armor…and much, much more. It's absolutely staggering!

It's difficult to comprehend the scope of Jordan's endeavors here--it's truly a one-of-a-kind attraction that you have to see to believe. Head for the House and prepare to be amazed!

Before You Visit... Spring Green is on State Highway 23, just south of where it meets U.S. Highway 14 and about 35 miles west of Madison.

The House on the Rock is about 8 miles south of Spring Green on Highway 23. It's open from mid-March through early January; everything except the house itself is wheelchair accessible. For details, call 1-608/935-3639.

Cathedral Gorge State Park in southeastern Nevada is as fascinating as its name implies. This canyon with buff-colored clay walls has eroded into a fantastic maze of fluted spires and domes.

Two of the park's areas--Cathedral Caves and Canyon Caves--are especially fun to explore. Most of the caves are actually narrow slots that twist and turn through the clay corridors, with walls rising up to 50 feet. We thought of it as a big natural playground!

To mark the bicentennial of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's famed journey west, my husband, Larry, and I visited Fort Clatsop outside Astoria, Oregon to see where the Corps of Discovery spent the winter of 1805-'06.

As the wife of a third-generation railroad worker, I love trains. And believe me, there's no better place to enjoy railroad history than Altoona, a city in south-central Pennsylvania with a rich railroad heritage.

The Crab Cooker lures seafood lovers by the southern California seashore.

Boatloads of restaurants serve tasty seafood in southern California. But the Crab Cooker, located just about a block from the famous Newport Beach pier, hooked my family long ago!