We stopped by the Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota some years ago, while driving from Iowa back to British Columbia.
If you believe this recent piece in the L.A. Times, it's facing a difficult future. Sad to say, we didn't find it nearly as compelling as, for example, the Little Bighorn Battlefield along the same route.
It's certainly a different world than it used to be. We've visited a few roadside attractions during road trips in the U.S. and Canada, from South Dakota's Wall Drug to the World-Famous Hole N" The Rock in Utah (our favorite souvenir in the gift shop was an illustrated "God Bless Our Camper" plate suitable for hanging) to the long gone Santa Claus California just south of Santa Barbara. Roadside America is an elaborate website devoted to such attractions.
We can't help but wonder how many will still be around when our granchildren set off cross-country, and whether there'll be any entertainment value left to those remaining as the 21st century unfolds.
Kathy and Brian
Two retired educators alternating joyfully between seeing the world and enjoying our eight grandchildren (in order of birth), Jake, Avery, Taegan, Lily, Peyton, Riley, Blane, and Jace.
Kathy and Brian met in the clarinet section of the University of California (Santa Barbara) Symphony Orchestra several decades ago.
Brian's Western Canadian roots and Kathy's Colorado ties resulted in their making beautiful music together along with producing a cross-border crop of descendants.
Kathy spent a year studying in Vienna at the Institute for European Studies and the University of Vienna.
Brian started the school band program in Hope, British Columbia, and later became the high school's vice-principal for 6 years and subsequently principal for 15 years before retiring in 2001.
Kathy, in between raising our three children, taught kindergarten and first grade, middle school, and high school - mathematics, computer studies, ESL, and her first love, band, before retiring in 2001.
We enjoy sharing our travel experiences and providing the odd travel tip to friends, relatives, and visitors.