Originally published at: List of the largest roadside attractions in the midwest | Boing Boing
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Does leaving Missouri count as an attraction? 
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That’s why the most interesting parts (Kansas City and St. Louis) are on I-70 as you leave the state…
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I’ve been here! Great museum in a cool little town (Lucas, KS, also famous for Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden).
Now, now. Missouri has lots of interesting stuff, and besides, one could just as well say that the “most interesting parts” are just after you enter the state on I-70.
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I am quite familiar with that Jolly Green Giant! It’s on the way to Valley Fair and/or Minnesota Ren Fest. I’ve been by it probably 100 times.
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So, I have to start this by observing that almost nobody ever drives across northern Minnesota by chance. There are few reasons to be there, no real throughways or highways, no giant industries, and the roads don’t even take you from major city to major city - the most I can contrive is from Minneapolis to Winnipeg. So if you’re there at all, you’re likely there to fish, hunt, or visit someone who fishes or hunts.
That said, if you ever find yourself crossing the border between Rainy River, Ontario, and Baudette, Minnesota, you’ll certainly pass by Willie the Walleye, a new 40 foot statue that replaced the old Willie Walleye around 2018. It’s likely the largest roadside walleye in the Midwest.
Here’s the original Willie Walleye erected in 1959.
And a few dozens of miles south on Highway 72, in Blackduck, Minnesota, near one end of the totally-worth-driving-in-late-May Lady Slipper Scenic Byway, you’ll find … a large black duck. While not nearly as physically large as Willie, the concrete duck is almost certainly more massive.
And for sheer size alone, you can hardly top the Pequot Lakes Bobbin Water Tower.
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Those are both on my list of places to visit the next time I have to drive across Kansas.
Of course there are plenty of interesting things in the state. But a surprising number are State Parks and other natural features that involve getting as far away from other people as you can (for the most part, anyways). A few niche cities/towns (Hannibal, Branson). But it deserves some grief, too…
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I think you forgot about Giant’s Ridge? Went there with the x-country ski team my senior year. Or, say, Isabella, where we went to winter camp in 7th grade (this paragraph may be the most Minnesota thing I ever typed - just to top it off, would you like some hot dish?).
I’ve actually been to Pequot Lakes, my BFF’s grandparents lived on a private lake a few miles from town.
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Are you shitting me? Branson is what you consider an “interesting” place in Missouri?
I’ve called Columbia home since 1985, and I guarantee there are lots more interesting places here than you give us credit for.
Well I can’t argue with that.
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Hey, KC made it with the Shuttlecocks. High brow “largest” attractions.
In Lucas, KS, there is a whimsical/weird roadside attraction called The Garden of Eden. Check it out if you’re in the area.
The overall area is large, even though there isn’t a single large thing to call out.
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Chatty Belle doesn’t hold a candle, not a candle, to Salem Sue off I-94 exit 127 in North Dakota.
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I believe you owe me a Coke.
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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been past Chattie Belle and never noticed her. Why? Because she’s nestled into the back of the parking lot of this building:
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Aw crap, I do!
And there is interesting stuff just outside of Branson. The town is a tourist trap, but the lake has nice spots, and cool caves, and the Ozarks in general are very pretty.
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It’s interesting, in a similar fashion to Gatlinburg, TN is “interesting”. I’m not judging on quality here.
A younger sibling of mine went to Mizzou, so I’m familiar with the place. It’s a good town, no doubt about it. But, you know, I can’t list every point of interest in these posts…
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Oh, we’ve dragged our camper to all these places. We’ve visited every Minnesota State Park, except for Garden Island. (And I used photos from the web instead of personal snaps of me and/or my dear wife holding our dogs in front of the statues.)
Yes, Giant’s Ridge is certainly a destination for skiers (which we are not) but Baudette, Blackduck, and Pequot Lakes are not exactly on the way to Giant’s Ridge from anywhere (except Manitoba or North Dakota, places where you’d be foolish to head to Minnesota to ski.) You’re much more likely to be near Giant’s Ridge if you’re in the BWCA, which is certainly a worthwhile destination on its own; but all roads to and from the BWCA tend to enter from the Lake Superior shore, and along the Gunflint Trail. Thankfully there are no roads through the BWCA. So again, nothing is there to divert you to Highway 11 across northern border or Highway 72, which bisects the big bog.
But Giant’s Ridge is only a few miles down the road from Eveleth, home of the Hockey Hall of Fame, so you might be there for that. And if you’re in that area, I strongly recommend driving an hour north to visit the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park. The brand new campground at Lake Vermilion is really nice. But the real attraction is taking the underground mine tour in Tower. The hoist will lower you half a mile into the earth’s crust, and you can tour the mine just as it was when it was shut down in the 1960s.
Sadly, they have no oversized statues of iron miners, so they don’t really fit in this topic.
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The list is missing the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota
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That looks worth visiting just for the building alone!
Now I’m trying to figure out if the satellite dish ruins the aesthetic, or if that’s just space-aged enough to improve on it.
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For some World Class curling! (Fer realz, the world championships were held there last season) 
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