World’s Largest Truck Stop?

Intro

We jump in the van after the zoo and end up about 160 miles from Peoria, IL.  The drive went well after leaving the Columbus Zoo.  It was only a few hours, but I was tired after walking around the zoo.  We make it to a Comfort Inn in Crawfordsville, IN.  It felt good to crash and get ready for another travel day.

We briefly discussed a plan before bed about leaving the next day, but really, the only plan was to be loaded by 8:30 am.  If we could pull this off, then we would be in Iowa around dinner time the next day.  

The next day

I got up and used the restroom.  I noticed that whoever decorated the hotel had a sense of humor with this picture hanging in the bathroom.  I started laughing and woke up the family.  Oh well, laughing dad is better than grumpy dad, I guess. 

We packed, ate breakfast, and loaded the van.  We got down the road and discovered the best part of a road trip: spontaneous stops.  You know, the places you didn't plan but discovered by accident? Well, we found one.

How did we find this place? 

We were making decent time.  No real traffic to slow us down.  Construction did not put us in a stop-and-go situation.  So, we were doing well.  I wanted to stop and stretch my legs.  A lot of times we look for a cheap place to eat by a park.  That way, you can take your food and just walk around.  

So,  I asked my wife to open the maps app on her phone and see if she could find something interesting.  She scrolled through some things.  We said, no, no, no, then we heard, “World’s Largest Truck Stop.”  Now, I heard of Buc-cee’s, but this is a shot right across their bow.  Buc-cee’s is supposed to be the truck stop of truck stops.  However, this is the World’s Largest Truck Stop!”  Oh, I had to see this.  So, we put it in the maps app and set our next stop. Sure enough, as we crossed the Iowa border, there was the World’s Largest Truck Stop in Walcott, IA.

Did I like this place?

Did Dodge make the Hemi?  Did the Camaro ever come with a 302?  Is the Trans-Am with the 455 one of the coolest muscle cars ever?  Well, if you answered correctly to all these questions, then yes!  I want to go back and do some more exploring. 

What brings me back?  I don’t think that the food was exceptional.  There is a large cafeteria that hosts Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, and a Starbucks. This is also a buffet in the truck stop.  I hate gorging myself on road trips. And so I tend to avoid buffets. If you are interested in the buffet, it was 16 dollars per person as I write this piece. 

We opted for the food court.  They have a large food court where you can sit down and enjoy your meal.  It is a good experience.  When I got up to get more iced tea, I noticed a guy with an American flag helmet.  It looked like an Evel Knievel retro helmet.  I could not control myself, so I asked the guy if he had an Evel Knievel retro helmet.  He said, “I don’t know. I think this is a Harley helmet for Captain America.”  I realized that he did not pick the helmet, and his accent made it clear that he was not from America. 

So, we started talking.  I found out that he was from Ireland.  He flew into Chicago, rented a motorcycle, and rode Route 66 out west.  He is on his return trip to Chicago. I congratulated him on his creative plan to tour America.  It was cool to see people enjoying our country like that.  My family wondered where I went, so I told them about the dude I met and how he was riding back to Chicago.  The truck stop is a cool place, and it would be fun to do a spontaneous interview podcast with different people driving through it.  I wish I had my digital recorder because it was interesting to hear how he planned the trip and chose Route 66.  I don’t think it is my place to share his story here, but this is one example of why going to places like this is just amazing.  It also made me appreciate America and other countries more.  His story inspired me to road trip on Route 66.

The Truck Stop is not only the largest, but probably the safest!  I mean, really safe!  Somehow, our van door had an issue where it would not stay closed here.  I thought we forgot to close it at the truck stop, but then it happened later in our trip as well.  I am not sure if I hit the key fob by accident.  Anyway, we came out, and the van door was wide open.  Nothing was missing.  Not a thing!  I thought that was pretty cool.  

The Car Museum

Yes, I would love to have more conversations like the one above.  However, the real reason I want to return here is the car museum they have across the parking lot.  The museum has different vehicles on display in the truck stop.  Not to mention a full semi in the museum!  It was awesome to see that. 

The very first thing that caught my eye was a semi that was parked inside the truck stop. I’m not kidding you! They have a SEMI PARKED INSIDE THE TRUCK STOP! This is a fully semi! It is not a model!

Another truck that caught my eye was the old Dodge Power Wagon.  I’m not a huge Dodge guy, but I love the old power wagons.  Some had a PTO where you could run farm equipment from the engine/transmission.  The winch was old school, powered by a PTO that ran out of the transmission.  I imagined an old codger saying, “Those electric winches will never catch on.” It made my son laugh when we were looking at the truck. 

When you walk through the door, you are greeted by an old car suspended.  Unfortunately, I do not know my old cars well enough to identify this car from my picture, and I forgot to jot down the specs.  My guess is an early 1900’s/20th century Buick.  This is why I want to go to the museum so I can read the information on the car, and get some schooling on the old cars.  

The Army Jeep caught my eye.  I love these little things.  They are/were cool in that they are small, simple, and they helped win some wars.  On a very real note, they show you don’t have to put a few years’ salary into a vehicle to get it to go places.  Watching people wheel in these things is a reminder that driving skill trumps earning skill. 

The army Jeep also makes me think of my dad.  I remember my dad telling me about driving around Korea in a jeep, chauffeuring officers.  He got this job because he was color blind. 

The back story on this is pretty funny.  My dad spent some time hunting and was a good shot.  This helped him in one training exercise where he had to put an RPG through a small window.  He could nail it on every shot.  He thought everyone just needed to learn how to shoot because those guys could not hit the target.  Then another guy in boot camp told him to knock it off.  He told my dad, “Listen, if they know you can shoot, then you are going to Korea.  Well, the cat was out of the bag.  He made it to the next series of tests.  He could hit every target, but he could not differentiate between the American uniform and the Korean uniform because he was color blind.  So, he got put in an officer taxi: a Willys Jeep.  He got paid to go wheeling around Korea.  His job was to get officers from one base to another base. He ate the finest food with the officer because he was a security detail/chauffeur. He said if he weren’t married, he probably would have kept doing the job.  It was really cool to relive that story and tell the kids about their Opa (grandpa).

Conclusion

This was an amazing stop.  I wish we had more time because I would have loved to go across the parking lot and check out the museum.   If you like cars, I would recommend you budget some time for the museum.  I was happy that even getting a taste of the museum led me to reminisce about some good memories. The kids learned a little more about our family history, and we got to laugh together.  A road trip really does bring out the best.  So, this is another Paulie’s Pick.