One last hurrah!

by chuckofish

Now that I’m home I fully intend to stop posting about the Big Trip. I don’t want to turn into one of those people who inflicts vacation photos on everyone ad nauseum. I may already have entered that realm, but allow me one last hurrah. So far, I have focused on spectacular vistas and outside activities, although we did make a few stops that involved interiors — and what stops they were!

First off was the famous I-80 Truck stop in Walcott, Iowa,


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which also has a very cool truck museum, complete with its own 1930s snow mobile. Really, if you like trucks it worth a stop and it’s free!

Of course, we visited John Wayne’s birthplace and museum in Winterset, Iowa. Winterset is a lovely town and I enjoyed the museum very much.

Though small, it has a great collection of items from JW’s best movies. I’m happy to say the museum seems to be doing a roaring trade.

Next, we visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. The building is covered in corn cob murals that they change every year. This year’s theme salutes the military. The corn palace is Mitchell’s only claim to fame, and judging by the rest of the town, it’s chief source of income.


Here I am in the Corn Palace ‘corn field’.


In the middle of nowhere Idaho, we stopped at the first experimental nuclear reactor, which is now a museum.

It looked exactly like a 1960s sci fi movie set! The DH makes a great mad scientist, don’t you think?

Finally, we stopped at the world famous Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot, Idaho. It has collections of potato mashers, peelers, and advertisements, potato processing machinery, and toys, featuring Mr. Potato Head. I learned a great deal about all the different types of potatoes, the history of the potato in Idaho, and how they are grown and distributed. What a great place! After perusing the displays, we went to the café, where the DH had a baked potato and I tried potato ice cream (it was tasty and slightly starchy).

The DH being a good sport.

I can’t remember what connection Marilyn Monroe had with Idaho potatoes, but the photo op was irresistible.

Next time you feel bored, go for a drive and pay attention to funky billboards. Why not stop and explore? You might learn something new, and you will certainly be supporting some local enterprise. Of course, you could end up in a horror movie situation, so be careful how you choose!