Send us Fan Mail

The Minnesota State Fair isn’t just a fairground, it’s a full-blown temporary city, and walking through the gates feels like crossing a border. The sounds change first, then the smells hit, then the crowd closes in, and suddenly you’re “traveling” without ever leaving the Twin Cities. We’re joined by our friend Tim, also known as Minnesota Boy, to help us translate the Great Minnesota Get Together for anyone who loves road trips, local culture, and finding hidden gems in plain sight.

We get practical about how to do the Minnesota State Fair without burning your whole day in lines: how big it really is, why you can’t simply “wing it,” and how the official Minnesota State Fair app (and even an AI-built itinerary) can help you plan around schedules, distances, and those must-try foods that only exist in one location. Then we dig into the fun stuff: Pronto Pup vs corn dog, roasted corn dipped in butter, deep fried green olives, Sweet Martha’s cookies, all-you-can-drink milk, and the brand-new foods that create blockbuster lines.

But the best travel stories aren’t only about eating. We talk agriculture and tradition too: livestock barns, 4-H competitions, the Miracle of Birth exhibit, crop art made from Minnesota-grown seeds, and the dairy building’s butter sculptures including Princess Kay of the Milky Way. Add in live music stages, grandstand concerts, classic rides, people watching, and rapid-fire “best of” picks, and you’ve got a one-day guide to seeing Minnesota through travelers’ eyes.

If you enjoy travel podcasts, state fair food culture, and quirky American traditions, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who’d love the fair, and leave us a review so more listeners can find the show.

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

Craig’s internet went down, so I grabbed the mic, opened GarageBand, and turned a quiet week into a full-on geocaching travel report. If you’ve ever wondered what makes a mega event feel genuinely worth the drive, West Bend, Wisconsin has an answer: the $1,000 West Bend Cash Bash, a town that embraces geocachers, and a lineup of brand-new hides that are actually creative, polished, and fun to do back-to-back.

I walk through why West Bend has built a reputation as the geocaching capital of the Midwest, from the scale (they advertise 1,200 geocaches within 10 miles) to the tradition of releasing 50 new caches for the event. I break down how the cash raffle and prize tickets work, what the “all things Wisconsin” theme looks like on the trail, and the specific caches that made me laugh out loud, including a cheese shop-style container, a Quick Trip multi that nails the gas station vibe, a Hodag creature build, and even a cow you get to “milk” to earn the find.

There’s also the people side: seeing familiar faces, meeting newer geocaching creators Mitch and Becca, and trading my shareables in person for the first time. I wrap with practical planning tips for next year (timing, lodging, and why an Airbnb can beat inflated hotel rates) plus a bonus detour to the Miller Brewery tour in Milwaukee, complete with a geocache that’s been around since 2001.

If you enjoy geocaching stories, gadget caches, Midwest travel, and destination-worthy hide quality, subscribe, share this with a caching friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

We head to Wauseon, Ohio for Midwest Geobash with geocacher and longtime podcaster Scott Burks, digging into why this mega feels like geocaching summer camp. Along the way, we get real about event culture, trading, and what makes a small-town weekend turn into a community tradition.
• why Midwest Geobash feels different from most mega events
• camping onsite and how it changes the whole weekend
• GCPC live call-in dynamics and building a listener community
• Area 51 nightlife rules and the late-night social scene
• vendors, food trucks, tournaments, poker run, and the massive silent auction
• pathtags, flashtags, and the rise of digital shareables
• how geocachers pump money into local Wauseon businesses
• teardrop camper pros for nimble, affordable travel
Please subscribe, rate, review on your favorite podcasting app
Yes, you can find us at patreon.com backslash treasures of our town

Scott Camper

The Geocaching Podcast

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

A random “crinkle” sound kicks things off, but the real story quickly turns into a love letter to geocaching travel as we head to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for one of our favorite kinds of adventures: an official GeoTour. We explain what a GeoTour is, why it works so well for road trips, and how it can turn a quick stopover into a full weekend of hidden gems, local history, and surprisingly good sightseeing. 

Craig is joined by Joshua and special guest Jennifer (geocaching name JayBee85), who helps pull him back to Hattiesburg to finish what he started. We talk trip planning basics that actually matter, like why an Airbnb can be a better home base than a hotel, how timing affects restaurant and brewery options, and what makes a town easy to cache in. Then we dig into the highlights that make this GeoTour memorable: murals everywhere, creative hides, a passport-style completion system, and a geocoin pickup that sends you to a vintage vinyl record shop and cafe instead of a boring counter. 

The star of the conversation is the Pocket Museum, Mississippi’s tiniest museum, tucked into an alley that rewards slow looking and repeat visits. We also share what we think tourism agencies and local geocachers should copy: real variety in locations, quality containers, and a plan for ongoing maintenance so the tour stays worth the drive. 

If you love geocaching, GeoTours, and small-town road trips in the United States, hit play, then subscribe, share the episode with a caching friend, and leave a review so more travelers can find the next great town.

Geotour LINK

Craig's Video LINK

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

You know that feeling when you’re stuck in your own routine and you’d do almost anything for a clean reset? That’s the heart of this conversation as we get back behind the mic and unpack a six-week trip that included Paris, a wedding in Germany, and a 31-day, nearly 500-mile Camino de Santiago walk across Spain with zero rest days. It’s the kind of journey most of us have heard about in passing, but rarely get the honest, practical details on what it’s actually like day to day. 

We talk through the Camino Francés in plain language: what albergues are really like, how pilgrim meals and small-town cafes keep walkers going, and why “Buen Camino” turns strangers into a moving community. We also get specific about Camino planning: booking beds ahead versus trusting the process, how mileage decisions affect your experience, and what happens when you’re committed to a schedule and your body starts pushing back. If you’ve ever Googled “Camino de Santiago packing list,” “Camino de Santiago cost,” or “how hard is the Camino,” you’ll get real-world answers here. 

Then we get into the gritty parts and the meaningful parts. Foot care becomes survival when blisters show up on the sides of your heels, and we share what helped most: socks, Vaseline, Compeed, trekking poles, and recovery habits like elevating your feet. We also talk about the people you meet when no one cares what you do for a living, only who you are and why you’re walking. That openness leads to powerful moments like the Iron Cross ritual of leaving a stone behind, and even a fun twist with geocaching that adds “hidden treasure” energy to an ancient pilgrimage route. 

We wrap with what it feels like to come home, why “Camino blues” is a real thing, and how living for a month out of a backpack changes your relationship with stuff, time, and self-worth. If this story sparks something in you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review with the question you want us to answer next.

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

A single road sign can change your whole day. One minute you’re cruising the highway, the next you’re pulling off because the town name is so bizarre you have to know the story behind it. That’s the spark we follow as we dig into five weird and wonderful town names across the United States, using our road trip instincts and our geocaching mindset to figure out what’s actually worth stopping for once you get there.

We start with Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, a hot springs town that literally rebranded itself after a famous game show and ended up with a funky, artsy desert vibe and nearby views around Elephant Butte. Then we head to Intercourse, Pennsylvania, where the original meaning of the word was far more wholesome than today’s jokes, and where Amish country shops, famous movie history from Witness, and a standout geocache turn a quick laugh into a real stop. From there it gets even stranger: Toad Suck, Arkansas leans hard into its legend with a festival and toad races, and Chicken, Alaska brings gold rush energy plus a “we couldn’t spell ptarmigan” origin story that might be the most practical naming decision ever.

Along the way we share real-life travel logistics too, including big-time vacation planning, passport renewal surprises, and the kind of small-town pride that makes places like Why, Arizona feel memorable even with a tiny population. Subscribe for more small town travel, geocaching-friendly stops, and road trip ideas, then share this with a friend and leave a review. Which town name would make you slam the brakes and detour?

ShellBee Homestead Youtube

Geocaching Vlogger Youtube

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

Four giant eggs. Four towns with big pride. One very specific kind of road trip that only makes sense once you’ve done it. We’re leaning into Easter season the way we know best: skipping the usual bunny-and-church talk and hunting down oversized egg landmarks across the USA, then using each stop to uncover the local history that made it possible in the first place. 

We start in Wilson, Kansas with the World’s Largest Czech Egg, a towering, hand-painted tribute to Czech heritage that turns the whole town into a mini egg walk. From there we head to Winlock, Washington, where the town’s egg farming past still shows up loud and proud in the Winlock Egg and the annual Egg Days Festival. If you’re planning Pacific Northwest travel, this one lands nicely between Seattle and Portland and makes a fun geocaching-adjacent detour. 

Next up is Mentone, Indiana, home of a 10-foot concrete egg built to promote a classic small-town egg festival and keep the community on the map. We wrap in Lorain, Ohio with the giant Easter basket in Lakeview Park on Lake Erie, a Depression-era joy project that’s still a perfect photo spot today and somehow has a geocaching-sized gap nearby that needs fixing. 

We also share a clear update about our upcoming podcast break and how we’ll keep patrons in the loop with golden nuggets while we regroup. If you enjoy quirky roadside attractions, small-town travel, geocaching, and festival culture, hit subscribe, share this with your road trip buddy, and leave a review so more travelers can find us.

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

A haunted clown motel next to a cemetery. A gas station exhibit simply called “The Thing.” A Stonehenge replica built from old American cars. Then, somehow, a gigantic mailbox you can walk into takes the crown. That’s the kind of chaos we love, and it’s why our annual Roadside Attractions March Madness is back. 

We’re joined by returning guest Megan Bannister of Oleo In Iowa, a roadside attraction expert who chases hidden gems, world’s largest things, and small-town oddities for a living. Together we run a bracket seeded with help from ChatGPT, debate what truly counts as a roadside attraction, and make tough calls when beauty, history, and pure weirdness collide. Along the way we hit favorites like Carhenge in Nebraska, Salvation Mountain in California, the Clown Motel in Nevada, Dr Evermor’s Forevertron in Wisconsin, and the surprisingly emotional lore of a giant pencil sharpening party. 

If you’re planning a USA road trip, a Route 66 detour, or you just want a better list of quirky roadside stops worth pulling over for, you’ll leave with fresh ideas and strong opinions. Subscribe for more travel stories, share this with a road trip buddy, and leave a review with the weirdest roadside attraction you’ve ever visited.

Megan - https://olioiniowa.com/

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

Five crowd-powered picks. One gloriously weird bracket. We asked our patrons to nominate America’s best roadside attractions and then argued our way to a final five, weighing what truly makes a highway stop irresistible: surprise, visibility, story, and a dash of “did I really just see that?”

We start by sharpening the definition of a roadside attraction—quirky, often free, and ideally something you can spot or stumble on while cruising—then put it to the test across a spectrum of submissions. Hell, Michigan brings playful immersion with singed postcards, a mini-golf gag reel, and the chance to be mayor for a day. Dignity of Earth and Sky elevates the genre with stainless steel and glass honoring Indigenous heritage, looming beautifully over the Missouri. Solomon’s Castle in Florida delivers pure maker magic, a tin-clad dream built by a single artist that turns oddity into awe.

Along the way, we explore the charm of Hattiesburg’s Pocket Museum Alley, packed with tiny installations, perspective murals, and geocaches—proof that small spaces can deliver big delight. We unpack the Thomas Dambo “Big Rusty” troll and how recycled art can spark a national scavenger hunt. And yes, we wade into Florida weird with Gatorland, tip our caps to the country’s smallest post office, and debate whether the Hollywood sign and dinosaur parks count as true roadside stops or full-on destinations. For dessert: a lonely Big Boy marooned in a Wyoming field, a world’s largest bobblehead, and the Peachoid—an unforgettable peach-shaped water tower with pop-culture cred.

By the end, we tally scores and call in our AI tiebreaker to lock the bracket. If you love geocaching, road trips, and the thrill of pulling over for something delightfully odd, you’ll leave with a punch list of must-see stops and a clear sense of what makes roadside culture so addictive. Join our Patreon to nominate future picks, vote in the bracket, and help steer the show. If this made you smile, follow, share with a road-trip friend, and drop a review—what’s your favorite roadside attraction we should feature next?

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube 

Send us Fan Mail

A century on the odometer and still full of surprises—Route 66 turns 100, and we’re hitting the Mother Road with a guide who knows every neon sign, diner counter, and roadside oddity by heart. We welcome back Val Broman of Silly America to share her audacious project: a new Route 66 video every single day this year. From Illinois to California, she’s surfacing icons and deep cuts, proving there’s far more than 365 stories hidden along 2,400 miles of asphalt.

We trade favorites and discover fresh stops that deserve a pin on your map. Think a boom in muffler men across the route, a throwback breakfast at College Street Cafe in Springfield, a retro-chic stay at Motel Safari in Tucumcari, the folk-art wonderland of OK County 66, and the serene glow of Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch in California. We also talk about the dance between nostalgia and new energy—restored service stations, fresh selfie landmarks, and neon parks reviving Main Street after dark.

For travelers who want to plan smarter, Val built Route66Roadmap.com, a free tool that organizes attractions by state and type: roadside attractions, diners, motels, museums, and shopping. You can bookmark stops, shape an itinerary, and prioritize the experiences that matter to you. Geocachers will love how neatly it pairs with Adventure Lab routes and virtuals at famous corners and whales. Whether you’re eyeing a weekend segment or the full Chicago-to-Santa Monica run, you’ll leave with a strategy that mixes history, quirky wonders, and perfect photo ops.

Join us for a centennial celebration that doubles as a practical playbook. Subscribe, share this with your favorite road tripper, and leave a review so more travelers can find these hidden gems. Which Route 66 stop would you choose first?

route66roadmap.com

Route 66 Instagram

Silly America Instagram

Support the show

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube