8th Place Winner: Caroline Scanlon

Roadtrip America

There were times in that car when I couldn't take it anymore, when I thought I might explode from being trapped so long or scream at my sister for being too annoying in such a small space. But I didn't. Each time I was about to reach my breaking point, we stopped at some new and wonderful place. Some place totally different from home: new people, new foods, new smells, and new surroundings. My anger would melt away as I stepped out of the car and stretched my sore legs. I'd look around at places like Austin, Minnesota, or Wall, South Dakota and drink it all in. Even though I think my hometown of Olney, Maryland, is boring, small towns like these make me thankful to live where I do. But small towns can sometimes house some of the best things to see. On a recent cross country trip I definitely saw my fair share.

Austin, Minnesota, for example, is the proud home of the Spam Museum. Never been there? You should go. I've been twice. The Spam Museum is a wonderful little place that tells the history of America's favorite canned meat, and who doesn't need that? At the Spam Museum, I learned how Spam got its name, that it's popular all over the world (especially Japan – who knew?), and I even got to experience what it was like to work on the Spam assembly line. Of course, after doing all this, there was no way I couldn't win the quiz show at the end of the museum, before I was gently dumped out into the gift shop, where "Spam" was written on just about anything you can imagine. Returning home, my friends were delighted to receive their Spam coin banks and chapstick cozies. The Spam Museum has provided me with countless conversations and an entirely new perspective on canned meat; but, I still don't like it.

Right up there with Spam on my list of dislikes would be snakes, particularly venomous ones. I was lucky enough to meet one of those bad boys at our next stop: the Badlands. As my mother, sister and I were strolling along the boardwalk path there was a sudden noise from the bushes. This may have been the most frightening second of my life, I instantly thought: "Rattlesnake!?" My mother, being the fearless woman she is, searched for it while I dragged my sister back. After a moment, my mother spied the snake and tracked its progress as it slid under the pathway. Then, I sprinted for the car.

If it weren't for the rattlesnakes slithering amok, the Badlands would have been truly enjoyable. They are mesmerizing and mind-boggling at the same time. I couldn't seem to wrap my head around how the Badlands were even created, how they could stand for thousands of years and still seem, for the most part, untouched. They were amazing and so extensive. I just couldn't get over the sight of them, until we got to our next quirky destination in Wall, South Dakota: Wall Drug.

Wall Drug might be impossible to accurately describe. Actually, I'm sure it is, because even though I have been there two or three times, there is still a massive amount of Wall Drug I have yet to see. Wall Drug has just about everything you could ever need. The store takes up an entire block all by itself. As you approach the front door, a line of windows displays items Wall Drug has for sale and many windows contain taxidermied animals dressed up in children's clothing, posted to look like they are in a living room or at a hoe down. Looking around inside, those taxidermied animals are everywhere. Around every corner, above every door frame, mounted heads of boars, deer, coyotes, and other assorted wildlife hang, staring out of their dusty marble eyes at the mother of all kitschy places. Walking through Wall Drug you are surrounded by postcards, magnets, t-shirts, weird South Dakota paraphernalia (like jackalopes) and a variety of other things nobody needs. There are also a lot of food services in Wall Drug, though I've only ever found the ice cream, and according to the map (because you need a map) there is some sort of playground in the center of the store. The town of Wall may be in the middle of nowhere but the drug store is a destination in itself.

We encountered an interesting place in Abilene, Kansas: the Russell Stover Outlet. The Outlet is chock-full of holiday candy, which because of its expired status, is sold for ridiculously low prices in large quantities. We bought a case of 48 chocolate peanut butter bunnies for $6.99. It probably wasn't smart to buy that many because then we had the issue of what to do with the bunnies when we were not in the car. Certainly leaving chocolate bunnies in a car in August heat would result in very melted bunnies, so we resolved to carry them everywhere. It takes a large box to fold 48 bunnies, so we looked awkward and suspicious walking into restaurants and gift shops. It was fun at the same time because we had constant access to the Easter delicacies, and because of our obscene abundance of them, we got to hand them out when we stopped for the night in St. Louis, a bellhop took our bags, and with his cash tip, we gave him a chocolate bunny. In the middle of August, who wouldn't like the delightful surprise of an Easter bunny, even if it is expired? We might have walked around looking suspicious, but we spread cheer.

My family takes a lot of cross country trips; we've been on so many that they now define my summers. So far I've enjoyed every minute of these wacky American adventures and I can't wait to have some more. I've got 38 states down and 12 more to go.