Cartaceous Gardens is as fictional as the “Plains-dwelling sedans” who once roamed the West, but there are plenty of real-life places dedicated to dinos that are both educational and entertaining, including Dinosaur Land in White Post, Virginia.

The Destiny Hotel isn’t real, but there’s no shortage of haunted hotels across the country to test your tolerance for things that go bump in the night, including Stephen King’s real-life inspiration for The Shining: The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

While the existence of cryptids and aliens may be up for debate, museums and festivals started by those who hunt them are very real, including the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

The Greatest Show on Earth took its final bow in 2017, but its (sometimes not-so-great) history lives on at Circus World in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

While Truckey’s only exists inside of the Cars universe, Mater would find a similar camaraderie year round at truck stops across the country—but especially in Walcott, Iowa, every July when Iowa 80, the World’s Largest Truckstop, hosts its annual Truckers Jamboree.

You don’t have to get lucky to get a glimpse at what happens behind the big (or small) screen: Take a Warner Bros. studio tour in Southern California.

While 1986’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (the inspiration for episode 8) was filmed mostly in Australia, any of Utah’s “Mighty Five” national parks, including Arches, offer plenty of red rocks, post-apocalyptic vistas, and challenging hikes—just leave the flamethrowers at home.

The location of the Tow Mater's sister's wedding is never specified, but New York’s Hudson River Valley is home to several grand properties that offer a similarly striking backdrop in the fall, including the Gothic marvel, Lyndhurst.