An overnight stop in Iowa, then across Minnesota and South Dakota with several stops including a visit to Badlands National Park

After leaving western Illinois I stopped overnight in Iowa and then continued north and westward across Minnesota & South Dakota.

Cornfields about as far as the eye can see

My home for the night in Waterloo, Iowa was the Lost Island Waterpark KOA, a simulated tropical paradise I reached after traversing miles of Midwestern cornfields.

It's a KOA RV park with the addition of fake palm trees out front and some thatched / stylized roofing here and there.  Probably a good place to take kids or grandkids in warm weather because it  has a water play area and right next door there's a huge water park.

The Lost Island?

Minnesota welcome center and rest stop

60 ft tall Jolly Green Giant Statue in Blue Earth, MN

South Dakota attractions where I stopped

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD attracts a lot of visitors.  There are more corn themed (and other) souvenirs than you could imagine available.

Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain, SD

A history museum with exhibits honoring the Sioux Nation featuring displays and artifacts from American Indian life past and present.

Some of the many quilts on display that illustrate themes from traditional life

I stayed for a couple of days at Badlands National Park where otherworldly scenery emerges from the prairie.

A quick stop at Wall Drug after passing billboards promoting it all the way across South Dakota. 

Any kind of souvenir you might desire (or not!) is probably available here.  Wall Drug fills up more than a whole block of storefronts.

Chief Crazy Horse Monument construction site  https://crazyhorsememorial.org/

It's practically a theme park along with the monument to Chief Crazy Horse.  His head can be seen carved into the rock in this photo.

Models of the monument 

Mount Rushmore National Memorial  https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm