March 23, 2026 Casey IL, World's Biggest

As we were passing through Illinois, I glimpsed a sign at the side of the road advertising that the next exit was for Casey, IL, home of the World's Biggest... That's about all I was able to capture as we whizzed by, and we made the quick decision to check it out. At the next exit, we turned in to Casey, IL,  home to many "World's Largest" (verified by Guiness) things: wind chime, car key, mailbox, rocking chair, barber pole, pitchfork and a lot more (WORLD'S LARGEST | BigThingsSmallTown). Each item has scripture engraved or placed on it. There are also a bunch of items that are not necessarily the largest of their kind, but they're very large: antlers, anvil, cactus, glider plane...(BIG THINGS | BigThingsSmallTown)  This was a really cool find! I particularly liked the Mailbox, and the fact that each item has a Bible inscription associated with it. The town itself is lovely.

Here's the interesting story of how it all began: https://youtu.be/nK4SRBpTXOU?si=cmMmKVbod7xmBLA0

Uranus (not the planet)

 In 2015, Louie Keen wanted to create a roadside destination that captured the spirit of old-school Americana: fun, family, and a good laugh. What began as a quirky pit stop for travelers has grown into a full-blown attraction in St. Robert, MO. He now has 3 locations, including 2 in Indiana. The first sits on Route 66. The billboard on I44 was enough to pique our interest: 

That was after a billboard that touted "The best fudge comes from Uranus."

We pulled off the interstate, and made the stop on Route 66. It did not disappoint. It's somewhat recalls South of the Border, but is funnier. It actually is a Fudge Factory and Louie Keen built his business around one joke and a good product. There's a large store, mini golf, ice cream shop and other buildings that mimic a town. In around the store, a song plays that touts Uranus (too funny). The photos (https://photos.app.goo.gl/jJkcMnQdUYPpCMdt8) will give you an idea of the humor. Make sure you read the signs, labels, and inscriptions. 

We had ice cream (handmade here) and checked out the Guiness record belt buckle. 

Fun stop. Tomorrow we'll end up in Columbus, OH.

Cattle stink, lava , and more March 21, 2026

After almost 3 months away, we're heading home, 2252 miles and 8 states, driving 7-8 hour days, our stops are Albuquerque,  Oklahoma City,  St. Louis,  and Columbus, OH. Today could have been really boring, as we  passed through New Mexico, northern Texas, and western Oklahoma.  But it turned out to be both good and bad interesting.  

The bad? We encountered at least 6 objects on the road that Google warned us about. Of course when you have no idea where or what lane the object is in, it makes things interesting.  Most were large pieces of tire. There was a tandem instance when a large metal chunk was followed by a large pipe. At 80 mph (speed limit 75), that makes for a situation that begs for alert driving.

Somewhere around Amarillo, we passed a huge cattle stockyard with literally thousands of cattle. Before you see them, you smell them. I read that in this area there are dozens of feedlots, that hold Texas Panhandle’s massive, concentrated cattle-feeding industry. This area hosts nearly 2.5 million head in feedlots, with individual, large-scale feedyards often holding 20,000 to over 100,000 head at a time. The smell was so incredibly bad that I wondered how the paint on the car could hold up passing through. It took several miles for the stink to dissipate in the car.

The good: Along our way on I40, we passed the Leaning Tower of Texas, and discovered it has a pretty cool story: https://texashighways.com/travel/roadside-oddity-the-leaning-tower-of-texas-britten/

Extensive lava fields line the edges of I40 near Grant's, NM, part of the Mal Pais National Monument. 

The Peace Garden of All Faiths,  is a unique, roadside attraction in Amarillo featuring plaques, memorials, and a large peace sign.  https://www.facebook.com/peacegardenoffaith

Not far from the Leaning Tower is the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ ( in Groom, TX) erected by the Ministries of the same name. It is a 190-foot-tall, 1,250-ton free-standing cross monument that can be seen from 20 miles away.

In addition to all this, we saw lots of scrub land, goats keeping brush down on the edge of the highway, motionless windmills, and some later that were moving, and places where semi trucks (sans trailers) were lined up in fields along the Interstate. 

It really was an interesting ride. Tomorrow we head to St. Louis.