The World's Largest Truckstop

Where is it? On the way to South Dakota from Indiana, on interstate 80 West. Yesterday, we went to the license branch to get Indiana plates for the motorhome. We were expecting a sizeable increase from last year, because Indiana now collects excise tax on RV's through license plates. If it wasn't too bad, we were going to go ahead and pay it so we could go south for awhile, we were thinking North Carolina, maybe South Carolina. But we weren't expecting a triple digit license plate fee! Not only that, but if you buy a vehicle in another state other than Indiana, it has to be visually inspected for the VIN number, you have to physically bring the vehicle to the license branch. O-o-o-o-k-a-a-a-y...you want us to bring the motor home to the license branch? But we're sitting on a site all hooked up, that would be a bit of a hassle... OK, the representative says...I understand that, then you'll need to get the police to come out to your campsite to visually inspect the number, I'll give you a paper for him to sign verifying the VIN number. At that point, Eldy says, I think we'll go to South Dakota. We understand the reasoning behind the inspection, but we had lots of paperwork to prove who we were, and where the vehicle came from.  I know, I know, we should have bought the RV in Indiana, but that was not where the best deal came from for the Tiffin, nor is anybody selling Tiffins locally. So, we are on the interstate 80-90 toll road today, traveling to Iowa for our first stop on the way to South Dakota.

This afternoon we stopped at the WORLD'S LARGEST TRUCKSTOP,  Iowa 80, in Walcott, Iowa and it lived up to its reputation! A full semi trailer truck inside the building and a couple of cabs. Old vintage cars and farm trucks inside as well, with every available piece of merchandise you could think of that a traveler or a trucker could want. There is 100,000 sq. feet in the main building, and 30,000 sq. feet in the truck showroom. There are 50,000 items in the store with more CHROME than you can imagine and lots of Toby Keith playing in the background...They even had a 60 seat Dolby surround sound movie theater in there! A trucker haven for sure! I wouldn't want to leave  and get back on the road if I was drivin' truck. We ate in the main restaurant, and it was ok. Instant mashed potatoes are just not my favorite. There was a Gramma's Kitchen across the street, I think we'll try that the next time we are in the area.

full length semi inside the store

After covering about 405 miles today, we stopped this evening in Kellogg, Iowa. The campground is called Kellogg RV Park, right off interstate 80, exit 173. Price is right, $19.00 for water and electric, no sewer. Good deal! Tomorrow, we continue on to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Eldy will establish residency, get a new driver's license, and plate the motor home. South Dakota is so RV friendly that all you need to do is spend one night in the state, and you are officially a resident. No state income tax, low insurance rates, so many RVers claim S. Dakota as their state of residency even though they don't live there. We're looking forward to seeing the state after we get all the licensing taken care of...