# Driving from Madison to Denver via Omaha, and back via Sioux Falls **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 4, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762 "2016-08-04T18:10:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/41 "2016-08-04T23:59:09Z")
Falls Park in Sioux Falls is nice. Interesting natural stone formations around a small river, railroad bridge, and grassy areas. Our then-4-year-old loved it. Good family-run Thai/Vietnamese restaurant in a house, about a mile from the park. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/42 "2016-08-05T00:02:09Z")
[Here’s the restaurant (Lam’s)](http://places.singleplatform.com/lams-vietnamese-restaurant/menu?ref=integration). ---
**Author:** ![moldmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@moldmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moldmonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/43 "2016-08-05T12:58:03Z")
The Badlands are well worth the time. If you are into archeology and have lots of time Mitchell has a nice but small museum of a Indian village from c900-1000. Otherwise I90 between Sioux Hills and the Black Hills is pretty damn boring and I am a native of SD. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/44 "2016-08-05T14:28:18Z")
OK, first, The Iowa 80 Truck Stoppe isn’t just the largest truck stop, it also has a truck history museum (not in the same building). If you like old trucks, it is pretty neat. Just went there last week. The truck stop itself has this HUGE area to buy custom stuff for your rig, so if you find large trucks fascinating, you’ll find it interesting. If you don’t, it’s just a large specialty store full of nothing particularly useful. The SAC museum is great. If you like planes, it is a must-see. It has one of only 5 B-36 on display. It has an SR-71, and tons of great planes in the great plains. The Arch-thingy mentioned above in Kearney is nice, and instructive, but is a bit pricey for what you get. Still, worth a stop if you want to spend a little. Mt Rushmore, always a good stop. Also, Wind Cave is nice. As are the Badlands. And, Ellsworth AFB has another great museum. Wall Drug, as mentioned, is fun. As is the Pioneer Auto Museum (not to be confused with the Pioneer Village, in Nebraska). SD also has the South Dakota tractor Museum. A nice stop, if you like that sort of thing. Iowa, off the beaten path, also has the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville, (near the Field of Dreams). Spillville IA has the Bily Clocks and Antonin Dvorak Exhibit. A nice small museum. Western IA has the Grotto, briefly shown in The Straight Story. It is way cooler than it appears in the movie, and worth a look if you’re in the neighborhood, even if you aren’t religious. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/45 "2016-08-05T15:12:21Z")
Just across the river from Omaha is Council Bluffs, IA, which has the interesting [Squirrel Cage Prison](http://www.thehistoricalsociety.org/museums/squirrel-cage-jail.html). Then, just up I-29, [The National Music Museum](http://nmmusd.org/) in Vermillion, SD is interesting, and would seem to be on your route. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/46 "2016-08-05T15:27:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The SAC museum is great. If you like planes, it is a must-see. It has one of only 5 B-36 on display. It has an SR-71, and tons of great planes in the great plains. And, on a teensy weensy ground cart under a wing of the B-36, it has one of only two (ever, in all existence) [XF-85 Goblin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_XF-85_Goblin) parasite fighters, which was going to solve SAC’s escort fighter problem. :rolleyes: A great testimony to “WTF were they thinking” in the arms race. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/47 "2016-08-05T16:16:59Z")
> [@moldmonkey](#): > > Sioux Hills and the Black Hills is pretty damn boring and I am a native of SD. Sioux Hills? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/48 "2016-08-05T16:18:31Z")
When you come back east via I90 in South Dakota: [ul] [li][Wall Drug](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Drug)[/li][li][Badlands National Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badlands_National_Park)[/li][li][Minuteman Missile National Historic Site](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuteman_Missile_National_Historic_Site) (east entrance to Badlands NP)[/li][li]At Chamberlain SD, get off of I90 and take the business route. Take a picture of [the big bison on the west side of the river](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/6556)[/li][li][Mitchell Corn Palace](http://cornpalace.com/)[/li][/ul] From Mitchell to the Mississippi River is drowsy boring. Stay awake. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/49 "2016-08-05T16:19:10Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > SD also has the South Dakota tractor Museum. A nice stop, if you like that sort of thing. Which is in my hometown of Kimball. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/50 "2016-08-05T16:24:26Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Wall Drugs seems like fun is a kitschy kind of way. It’s not. Unless you like being in the middle of several thousand sweaty tourists looking at Chinese-made crap, and eating bad food, I’d avoid it like death. Opt instead for Rushmore and The Badlands. There’s also a mothballed Minuteman missile silo you can tour along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/51 "2016-08-05T16:32:26Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It’s not. Unless you like being in the middle of several thousand sweaty tourists looking at Chinese-made crap, and eating bad food, I’d avoid it like death. Opt instead for Rushmore and The Badlands. There’s also a mothballed Minuteman missile silo you can tour along the way. One of my co-workers gave me the same advice about Wall’s at the end of the day yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/52 "2016-08-05T16:42:02Z")
It’s **Wall Drug** because it’s in the town of Wall. It is not Wall’s or Wall Drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/53 "2016-08-05T18:25:22Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > If you do go through the quad cities (Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island and Moline), (and are a fan of American Pickers on History) you could visit the original Antique Archaeology store in Le Claire, IA. They also have the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. I’m seeing a bunch of stuff listed for Bill Cody in Cody, WY, but nothing in Iowa. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/54 "2016-08-05T18:55:10Z")
Another co-worker suggested Evans Plunge in Hot Springs, SD. Anyone familiar with it? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/55 "2016-08-05T18:59:06Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’m seeing a bunch of stuff listed for Bill Cody in Cody, WY, but nothing in Iowa. [http://buffalobillmuseumleclaire.com/](http://buffalobillmuseumleclaire.com/) Apparently he was born there or something. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/56 "2016-08-05T19:02:18Z")
It’s quite surprising that I have counted up 21 suggested sites, and more than half are in South Dakota. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/57 "2016-08-05T19:06:39Z")
And I don’t think anyone has mentioned the [Chief Crazy Horse Memorial](https://crazyhorsememorial.org/) yet! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/58 "2016-08-05T19:12:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It’s not. Unless you like being in the middle of several thousand sweaty tourists looking at Chinese-made crap, and eating bad food, I’d avoid it like death. Opt instead for Rushmore and The Badlands. There’s also a mothballed Minuteman missile silo you can tour along the way. I’ve enjoyed Wall Drug, so YMMV. And you don’t think you’ll see several thousand sweaty tourists at Mt Rushmore? That the food there is any better? About the only thing that is different is that the heads aren’t Chinese made. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/59 "2016-08-05T19:45:22Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’ve enjoyed Wall Drug, so YMMV. > > And you don’t think you’ll see several thousand sweaty tourists at Mt Rushmore? That the food there is any better? About the only thing that is different is that the heads aren’t Chinese made. Yeah, Rushmore has become a giant parking lot. It’s still cool to see a sculpture of that size, though. In Deadwood, you can visit the cemetery and see where Bill Hickok, Seth Bullock and Calamity Jane are buried. The downtown is mostly bars and other touristy places trying to play on the whole wild west theme. I seem to remember a museum that wasn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762/60 "2016-08-05T19:57:33Z")
The only thing I remember about Wall Drug is the 5-cent cup of coffee and the Ukrainian summer-work-visa cashiers who can’t speak English. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-madison-to-denver-via-omaha-and-back-via-sioux-falls/761762.md?page=4)