Earlier this month, DH and I went on a great big road trip to South Dakota and a little bit of Wyoming and Iowa. We took our time getting there, stopping for as many wacky roadside things as I could talk him into.
We stopped at the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, which was pretty impressive and a lot of fun. If you happen to be nearby and enjoy whimsy on a pretty grand scale, I highly recommend this stop!
Next, we stopped to see the Dignity of Earth and Sky statue. It is both beautiful and an impressive engineering feat. Definitely worth a stop!
Then, because there did not seem to be any way of avoiding it, we stopped at Wall Drug. It is an experience. If you get sensory overload, this might not be a place you want to visit for long.
In the interest of keeping posts manageable, I will post later about adventures in SD and WY – Mt. Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, the Badlands, and all the other sites.
Do you enjoy roadside attractions, or prefer to focus on destinations?
Quite A Yarn 
As you know, I love a whimsical roadside attraction. Maybe I’ll get to visit the corn palace someday!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you would love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t done roadside attractions in a long time. They are fun. No schedule. You don’t always know what to expect. Sometimes you get find great places to eat and other times your have to do with ice cream sundaes! All good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is very true!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have enjoyed roadside attractions in the past, but lately we have been traveling for the destination. It’s really hard to visit roadside attractions when you fly somewhere instead of driving.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true! That does make it harder to get to them 🙂
LikeLike
I do miss the family road trips we used to take when I was a kid, though. I know now that it was partly for the fun of a road trip and partly because it was cheaper & easier to drive a family instead of trying to fly with young kids… but it was fun!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We did road trips a lot when I was a kid as well. It was likely for practical reasons, but it was still a lot of fun. It’s definitely a different kind of trip!
LikeLike
I can’t even imagine how much more planning it took my parents, though! All trips were planned via paper maps and AAA guidebooks. No internet to help find fun roadside attractions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true! It was so much more complicated back then. I was the map reader on family trips for part of my youth. So glad for Google Maps now!
LikeLike
I’m glad for map apps, too! Though I’m also glad that I learned how to read a paper map when I was young, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s definitely a handy skill! There are places where there isn’t great signal, so it’s good to know how maps work!
LikeLike
Though, I don’t own any up-to-date paper maps anymore. I don’t even know if I have old ones of my current area.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They aren’t as prevalent as they used to be for sure!
LikeLike
Very nice! Yes Wall Drug is overload! I forgot about the Dignity of Earth and Sky statue – I would have liked to see that. I like the LOTR reference in your post title 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wall Drug is fun, but it’s a lot 🙂 I think you would like Dignity – it is beautiful and very moving. You will get there one of these days – you travel a lot! And thank you 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person