When we're traveling, we take the back roads as often as we possibly can. It's always more interesting than the freeway and sometimes you stumble across something so crazy-wonderful that you just have to jump out and take a picture. How could you resist this record-breaker? The world's largest ball of twine is on Main Street in Cawker, Kansas.
I guess collecting string is as good a thing to do as any if you live in nearly deserted Cawker. 
Cawker is pretty close to the middle of the country. But the actual exact center is in Lebanon, Kansas. That's the marker on the left.
Here are a couple other interesting places for short stops. Both are a little more touristy and a lot more well-known than Cawker. But just about as kitschy.
This is the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. All surfaces of the building, including temple-like domes, are artistically covered with dried corn and other area crops. There's been a different theme each year. Except I recently read that last year they couldn't redecorate because of the terrible drought conditions of 2006.
For some reason, until we visited, I'd always thought that the Palace was just a decorated facade, but it is actually a fully-functioning meeting/convention/entertainment arena.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/SDMITcorn.html
Wall Drug in Mitchell, SD, is a hoot. Jackalopes, animatronic bands, western gifts, fake TRex, and all. It was fun to read about this family business though. The owner of this little country drug store wasn't doing too well way out here in the sticks. His wife suggested he offer free ice water as a way to entice highway travelers to stop and through word of mouth, the business took off. Now the store offers a lot more entertainment. And a lot of things to buy that you wouldn't necessarily expect to see at a drug store. But they still offer the free ice water. Wall Drug signs show up all over the world.
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Spud Break! This sign on the school grounds at Fremont, Idaho made us slam on the brakes. We knew, of course, about "Idaho's Famous Potatoes" and we knew it was harvest time because the very air smelled like a potato cellar as we drove that day. We did not know that harvest-time is still such a big deal in the area that school lets out so the kids can help.
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