If tight economic times are keeping you from exploring the world this spring, don’t despair. Indy may not have the shrine-to-adoration Taj Mahal (unless you count Lucas Oil Stadium) or the Great Wall, but we have other local and regional wonders worth visiting – or eating, in one case. Here are seven area marvels to check out, ranging from inspired art to natural beauty.

1. Sculptural wonder: Twisted House, Indianapolis Art Center.

ARTSPARK at the Indianapolis Art Center, 820 E. 67th St., (317) 255-2464

Found within the 12-acre ARTSPARK sculpture garden on the Indianapolis Art Center grounds, “Twisted House” turns the concept of home, sweet home upside down. Created by Evansville artist John McNaughton in 2005, the 14-foot-tall cedar structure invites visitors to explore the familiar in an unfamiliar way. You can walk around, through – even inside its curves.

McNaughton is no stranger to such whimsy. The Ball State University grad spent 35 years at the University of Southern Indiana teaching woodworking, sculpture and drawing. Other works by the two-time National Endowment for the Arts Award winner can be seen at such prestigious digs as the Smithsonian Institution and the White House Collection of Crafts, as well as in more than 250 private collections.

2. Edible wonder: Butterscotch pie, Gray Brothers Cafeteria.

Gray Brothers Cafeteria, 555 S. Indiana St., Mooresville (about eight miles south of I-465 on Ind. 67), (317) 831-7234

This Mooresville restaurant has been serving made-from-scratch comfort food since 1944, but nothing draws visitors from the Circle City more than the homemade pies. Among the dozen-plus offerings, the gooey butterscotch version is the best, says Thom England, a culinary instructor at Ivy Tech Community College.

“When I saw it there the first time, I ate a slice – and ended up taking two whole pies to give to other people,” he says. “It is thick, rich and ‘butterscotchy.’ It’s like putting a creamy Brach’s butterscotch in your mouth.”

3. Natural wonder: Pine Hills Nature Preserve, Montgomery County.

Pine Hills Nature Preserve, adjacent to Shades State Park 17 miles southwest of Crawfordsville; from the entrance of Shades, proceed east on County Road 800 South; turn north onto Ind..234. Continue to a marked lot on the west side of the road. (765) 435-2810

Nestled next to Shades State Park in Montgomery County, you’ll find the state’s first nature preserve. It gained preserve status in 1969, several years after it was acquired by the Indiana Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and conveyed to the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

Some of the state’s deepest gorges are here, a product of glacial meander. Melting water from receding glaciers cut streams and caverns into the bedrock, says Rick Crosslin, school liaison for science learning at The Children’s Museum and host of the WFYI-TV program “Indiana Expeditions.”

Today, a trail offers visitors breathtaking scenery courtesy of several steep ridges, or “backbones.” “There’s a 15-minute beautiful walk through the Indiana forest, and then all of a sudden, you come to the edge, where the trail goes down one of these backbone ridges, and the views from there are just fantastic,” Crosslin says.

4. Artistic wonder: Audubon’s Birds of America, Indiana History center.

Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St., (317) 232-1882

When ornithologist/painter John J. Audubon published his groundbreaking four-volume “Birds of America” between 1827 and 1838, it was the culmination of more than 14 years of observing and drawing birds in their natural habitats.

“Audubon was an Indiana Jones (type),” says Barbara Dirks, director of Collections Digital Resources for the Indiana Historical Society. “He was a romantic character……. It was a real adventure story.”

Experts estimate somewhere between 185 and 220 full sets of “Birds of America” were created. Today, only about a dozen complete sets remain intact – and IHS has one.

Purchased by the organization at a property sale in 1933, the work consists of four bound sets of engravings on double-elephant folio paper.

While the sensitive nature of the glazes requires the full set to be stored in a light-sensitive environment, one of the four volumes is always on public display at the IHS, open to a different page. “Audubon wanted these to be seen,” says Dirks. “He wanted to share the birds with everyone……. He gave us inspiration for well into the future.”

5. Architectural wonder: Bona Thompson Memorial Center, Irvington.

Bona Thompson Memorial Center, 5350 University Ave., (317) 353-2662

As director of A2SX (the digital design branch of local architecture firm A2SO), Wil Marquez sees his share of flashy buildings. But Marquez says one of Indy’s richest architectural treasures is in a quiet Eastside neighborhood.

The Bona Thompson Memorial Center served as Butler University’s library when the school was located in the area. Built in 1903, it honored a young Butler grad who died in 1899, only two years after receiving her diploma. One of the center’s architects, Jesse Johnson, went on to design Arlington National Cemetery.

Pass through the Greek Ionic columns and you’ll find art on exhibit.

6. Nostalgic wonder: Cal Ripken Jr. Etch A Sketch portrait.

Catch the Sketch through March 30 at the National Art Museum of Sport, University Place, 850 W. Michigan St., (317) 274-3627

For some of us, simply drawing a house on the Etch A Sketch proved challenging. So it’s no wonder that the portrait of baseball great Cal Ripken Jr. at the National Art Museum of Sport “has had people stopping in front of it with open mouths,” according to executive director Ann M. Rein.

Cleveland-based artist George Vlosich III drew his first Etch A Sketch work of art at the age of 10, creating a depiction of the U.S. Capitol during a road trip to Washington, D.C. Twenty years later, he has “etched” a who’s who of celebrities, sports figures and politicians. Each portrait takes 70 to 80 hours to complete.

7. Whimsical wonder: Martini-Drinking Pink Elephant, Fortville.

Wagon Wheel Liquor, 308 W. Broadway, Fortville, (317) 485-6282

Have you had too much to drink, or is that really a life-size statue of a pink elephant holding a martini glass in its trunk?

A Fortville fixture since the 1980s, the elephant holds court in front of a liquor store – perhaps as a cautionary lesson in what customers might see if they over-indulge – and has appeared in “Weird Indiana” and RoadsideAmerica.com.