Road Trip Bonus Stops
The side trips we took on our way to bigger adventures in South Dakota
Summer means travel for my family. It also means that between commentary on life, social issues, and our years living in Texas, I will deliver two to three posts a month about our family’s summer travels until the end of the year.
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Long road trips require stops to keep everyone happy. It’s even better when those stops can be in fun, sometimes ridiculous places.
And we were not above ridiculous fun as we headed out west on our 2024 summer vacation.
The I-80 Truck Stop
The I-80 Truck Stop in Iowa is not new to me. I went to college in Nebraska, so I drove past the largest truck stop in the world multiple times a year as I drove from Michigan to Nebraska and back to Michigan. I stopped a few times, but since it didn’t really fit into my “stop every three hours” plan, I usually just drove right past.
When Jeff and I drove out to Colorado for our first camping trip together the summer before we got married, the I-80 stop was a must. We were driving from Michigan to Colorado and through the night. We looked for every stop we could to keep us going out west and I-80 became a necessary stop for gas and food before we continued on our way.
When we left our first Harvest Host stop on our 2024 summer vacation, we quickly approached the Iowa border. I turned around and asked, "Hey kids, do you want to stop at the world's largest truck stop?"
Our 13-year-old son, out of a sleepy stupor, said "Yeah," like that was the dumbest question ever. Of course he wanted to see it. How could I believe he would pass of seeing “The World’s Largest” anything?
Our kids lived in Texas for six years. Buc-ee’s was a frequent stop as we traveled around Texas and they’ve become increasingly excited to see Buc-ee’s spreading throughout the southeast, so they have pretty high expectations when it comes to gas station/truck stops.
Both kids agreed that as a stand-alone stop, the I-80 truck stop was the best gas station/truck stop they had ever visited. They were amazed by the multiple floors and the stores that just just kept going. But our son said that Buc-ee’s is still his favorite. He’ll probably always be part-Texan, no matter where he lives.
Still, they had no regrets about our stop, even if we were only an hour into our long drive.
The Corn Palace
Immediately after we crossed the South Dakota border, we stopped at the South Dakota welcome center along I-90. As we looked around the displays of all the attractions around the state, our daughter saw the pictures of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.
I had known about the Corn Palace for years, but I had never stopped during my few trips through South Dakota.
“Mom,” she asked. “How far are we going to be staying from the Corn Palace?”
“Too far,” I said. “It is literally on our way to Wall, but you’ll have to convince your dad to stop.”
We kept seeing signs. They were funny and they didn’t make our daughter want to see the tourist trap any less. Finally Jeff said, “Find out if they have trailer parking.”
They did. And so Jeff pulled off the interstate in Mitchell, South Dakota so we could tour the Corn Palace.
I had no idea what to expect. I knew the outside was changed every year with a new theme and art created from corn. I knew it would have a lot of merchandise. But I didn’t expect it to be a place for public performances and sporting events. We eventually entered a large entertainment space filled with venders selling all manner of corn related merchandise. We bought a few souvineers, the kids got popcorn, and we bought corn-shaped caramel corn.
And our 15-year-old daughter was weirdly thrilled, so I guess it was worth the stop. I also didn’t mind having a good place for a lunch break, even if it meant getting lunch items out of our camper before we continued down the road.
Wall Drug
Oh Wall Drug. How does one start explaining Wall Drug?
First of all, we saw our first sign for Wall Drug shortly after we left our Harvest Host stop in Minnesota. We were nearly 400 miles away from the Badlands and we were already seeing our first advertisements for the tourist trap in the middle of nowhere in western South Dakota.
Jeff and I made our first stop at the Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota when we took our vacation out to Yellowstone 20 years ago. After several hours of seeing sign after sign for the store, we couldn’t not stop.
This time we were staying at an RV park in Wall, South Dakota while we spent a day and a half visiting the Badlands. Our family had multiple opportunities to visit the ever-expanding series of shops still known as Wall Drug.
We walked around the shops, Jeff ate a buffalo hot dog, and the kids convinced us to do the mine adventure as a family at the Wall Drug Mining Company, part of the Backyard portion of the Wall Drug chain of stores and experiences.
Is it ridiculous? Yes. Is it a tourist trap? Yes. Is it fun and worth the stop? Yes. And since we were staying a short walk away, we didn’t have to rush our decisions about what we were going to do there and immediately decide what we were going to buy.
A win for all of us.
When you are on a 4,000+ mile road trip, you have to find the fun little stops that break up the monotony of endless stretches of road. It is important for both the driver and the passengers. We’ve discovered that sometimes, even the most ridiculous of those stops can add to the adventure.
Want do know more about how I plan our vacations? Check out this blog post and get a copy of my planning spreadsheet below:
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I’ve heard that Wall Drug tourism funds all the pharmacies and pharmacists that locals in the area need and would otherwise struggle to get, so yay!