9. Check Out the Crop Art at The Corn Palace
This Mitchell, South Dakota site is literally one the corniest roadside attractions in America. Built back in 1892, the whimsical Moorish building celebrates all things corn. Over 275,000 ears of colored corn make up the inside and outside adornment of the palace annually. Throughout the years, “crop artists” have created corn murals and exhibits to depict themes like life on the farm and the space age, plus corny reproductions of Elvis, Martin Luther King Jr., and Lewis and Clark. It’s an a-maizing museum for you and the kids to see. The Corn Palace hosts an annual rodeo and polka festival too.
10. Meet the Meat in a Can at the SPAM Museum
The uncanny mystery meat has its own shrine/museum in Austin, MN. There you’ll find 3000-odd cans of SPAM on display. The exhibit takes you through the much-maligned product’s historical role in feeding Allied troops to its spotlight in the famous Monty Python skit. The SPAM museum is currently closed, but will revamp and reopen in 2016. In the meantime, the SPAM store is still open for business so you can pop in to pick up some SPAM swag and snacks for the road. The SPAM With Bacon or SPAM Teriyaki are particularly recommended.
