USA boondocks Worth To Be Visited

“The boondocks”, “Hinterland”, “Podunk”, “middle of nowhere” - these expressions refer to the remote rural area, far away from busy cities, skyscrapers, noisy streets, and Starbuckses. These are places where cell phones are useless, where choosing radio station is simple (country or country), where roads are clear and tourist buses do not exist. These places will never make to the “must see” lists but they still worth to be visited because they are unique, picturesque and real.

All of us have the unique definition of the “middle of nowhere”. For some people who live in Manhattan every place that requires crossing a bridge to get there is a far-far-away land. For others - only deep woods of Alaska or middle of the desert in Arizona are remote enough to consider them as “boondocks”. I am somewhere in the middle. There are no places that cannot be reached by a regular mid-size car in my list  but all of them are still way off beaten paths.  So let's start.
1. Cooke City-Silver Gate, Montana is located at the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park, population - 140. Started as a miners camp in late 19 century it officially became a town in 1882. The population was going up and down with the flow of mining development and failures. Remote location and lack of roads preserved this region from being overrun by miners even when industry was on peak.

There is only one road to get there during winter time (sometimes from early September to the late May). Beartooth Scenic Byway is passing through the town and many consider this highway the "most beautiful highway in America".  There are no cell phone coverage, there is some poor internet connection and there are gorgeous mountains around.
Reasons to visit: amazing views, authentic saloon, silence and peace.
2. Windsor Ruins, Port Gibson, Mississippi. This place is located in the area that has much higher population density than the Cooke City. There is even a university nearby. Ruins themselves although are away from busy roads in a rural area with a strange landscape. The ruins consist of columns that once were a part of the  largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion ever built in the Mississippi. It was destroyed by fire in 1890 and since that time, the place became a Mecca for people who love decadence and destruction.

Reasons to visit: the place is eery, quiet and one of a kind. Usually we don’t see 23 standing Corinthian columns in the forest.
3. Centralia, Pennsylvania, also known “Real Silent Hill”. Population - 10. Once it was a little picturesque town in eastern Pennsylvania but underground fire converted it to the ghost-town. According to rumors, the fire is still visible but it’s not true. The most fire-like thing you’ll see there - some smoke coming from underground.
The Centralia now looks as a field with many paved streets. All of the abandoned building were demolished or reclaimed by nature.

Reasons to visit: to tell your friends that there is no visible fire anymore and show them pictures of badly damaged highway covered with questionable graffiti.
4. Utah's Scenic Byway 12. It goes through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, that has miles of trails, miles of dirt roads and miles and miles between human dwellings. No cars ahead, no cars behind. Free range cattle ahead, behind, on the sides and on the road. Most of the cows are black and are difficult to spot in the darkness. My suggestion - do not go there after sunset.

Reasons to visit: Extraterrestrial landscapes. Breathtaking views. Solitude.
5. Carhenge, Alliance, Nebraska. Carhenge is a replica of England’s Stonehenge. This place was built by Jim Reinders in 1987 as a memorial to his father. 39 painted automobiles standing in the green endless fields under a turquoise sky and look like a mirage at the first glance.

Reasons to visit: a bizarre and unique place that can be a perfect photo set, a temple or art installation, your choice. There is also the most beautiful sky I have ever seen.
I can go on and on. ‘Middle of nowhere’s' are my thing. I love them because they give me an opportunity to see the other side of our beautiful country, simpler, quieter, remote. These places are relaxing and calm. They are not well-known, bizarre, one of a kind, and well worth a detour on the way to something touristy or couple hours drive on the weekend.