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Siouxland is part of the the #Historic20 Tour!

in background, an empty highway drives through flat dusty grassland with a blue sky full of clouds. in foreground, "Join #the20Tour starting in Siouxland on Historic US 20"

If you've lived in the Sioux City area long, you've probably driven on Highway 20...after all, it's the best way to get to South Sioux City or Moville. But if you're like me, you may not have ever really thought about the history of Highway 20 or realized how special it is, like that it's the longest highway in the US and you could take it to Massachusetts or Oregon! The Historic US Route 20 Association is hosting a fun contest from now through November 2019 to encourage people to enjoy Highway 20 and all it has to offer, and it's super easy for Siouxland residents to enter. Here's how:


  • Stop at a participating location along Highway 20 (I'll list them all below)
  • Take a selfie or group pic
  • Post the pic to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and do all 3 of the following
    • Use #The20Tour
    • Mention where you are in the pic
    • Tag @HistoricUS20
And that's it! You can enter once per location anytime between now and November 2nd, 2019. Prizes will be awarded weekly from a random drawing of participants, including Casey's giftcards and lots of surprises, plus everyone who goes to every stop will win a T-shirt, bumper sticker, and more. I won passes to the historic fort museum and frontier village in Fort Dodge and a giftcard to an orchard in Fort Dodge from my Sioux City riverfront selfie, so I can verify that they really are giving out fun prizes! Also, in November, grand prizes will be awarded for:
  • Most Unique Selfie
  • Most Creative Selfie
  • Best of All Locations
  • Overall Best Selfie
  • Best Group Pic
  • Funniest Selfie
  • Best Pet Selfie
  • Best Costume Selfie
brown and white highway sign with shield motif for historic US Route 20
graphic courtesy of the Historic US Route 20 Association


Last but not least, here are all the participating locations, from west to east, with approximate distance from downtown Sioux City:

  • Andy's Sweet Tooth Drive-Inn in Jackson, NE (10 miles)
  • Lewis & Clark plaque at the F&M Bank in South Sioux City, NE (1 mile)
  • Combination Bridge Plaque along the Riverfront in Sioux City, IA 
  • Veterans Memorial in Lawton, IA (12 miles)
  • 1918 Concrete Highway in Moville, IA (18 miles)
  • Old Service Station in Correctionville, IA (33 miles)
  • Historic US Route 20 sign in Cushing, IA (39 miles)
  • State Theatre in Holstein, IA (46 miles)
  • American Legion Veterans Mural, Galva, IA (53 miles)
  • Welcome Sign, Schaller, IA (60 miles)
  • Crossroads of the Nation, Early, IA (66 miles)
  • World's Largest Popcorn Ball, Sac City, IA (76 miles)
  • Highway 20 Mural, Lytton, IA (82 miles)
  • Firefighter Statue in Rockwell City, IA (96 miles)
  • Grain Elevator in Moorland, IA (111 miles)
  • Silo Mural in Fort Dodge, IA (119 miles)
  • City Mural in Duncombe, IA (126 miles)
  • Angel Statue at the old post office in Webster City, IA (136 miles)
  • Intersection of US 20 and US 69 in Blairsburg, IA (146 miles)
  • Hemkin Collection Museum in Williams, IA (151 miles)
  • Town Dam in Alden, IA (161 miles)
  • Washington Street Bridge in Iowa Falls (168 miles) 
  • Bull Sculpture in Ackley, IA (182 miles)
  • Old Bank in Austinville, IA (188 miles)
  • Aplington Historical Society Building in Aplington, IA (192 miles)
  • Apache Helicopter in Parkersburg, IA (198 miles)
  • Public Gardens Gazebo in New Hartford, IA (204 miles)
  • Merle Blair Sculpture on Main Street in Cedar Falls, IA (209 miles)
  • Greetings from Waterloo Mural in Waterloo, IA (213 miles)
  • Gazebo at Land of Corn Park in Jesup, IA (230 miles)
  • Wapsi Mill Dam in Independence, IA (238 miles)
  • War Memorial in Winthrop, IA (246 miles)
  • Whitewater Course in Manchester, IA (260 miles)
  • Ruth Suckow Park Sign and Pavilion in Earlville, IA (269 miles)
  • Basilica of St. Francis Xavier in Dyersville, IA (277 miles)
  • Water Tower in Farley, IA (283 miles)
  • Caboose in Tower Park in Epworth, IA (287 miles)
  • Traffic Circle in Peosta, IA (291 miles)
  • World's Steepest Train Ride in Dubuque, IA (302 miles)
  • Old Train Tunnel in East Dubuque, IL (304 miles)
  • Ulysses S. Grant Home in Galena, IL (317 miles)
  • Apple River Fort in Elizabeth, IL (332 miles)
  • Glass Museum in Woodbine, IL (337 miles)
  • 100 North Main Street Corner in Stockton, IL (345 miles)
  • Swift House in Belvidere, IL (411 miles)
For more information on historic US Route 20 and #the20Tour, visit the Historic US 20 website or connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.


**UPDATE**
A lot of people were having trouble finding the Moville old 1918 concrete highway, including me. I asked the kind people at the Moville Record booth at the Woodbury County Fair, and to my delight, they knew exactly where it was. It turns out the frontage road that runs from the "Welcome to Moville" sign to the Dollar General (and beyond) is the old highway 20! So you can take a picture anywhere along there. The sign on the corner actually says "Hwy 20," and the Movillatte coffee shop has a cute "Historic US Route 20" sign, so we took our pic there, and tried their signature drink while we did!

Comments

  1. What a fun event! I have pictures with the silos in Fort Dodge and the Bull in Ackley...I'm going to have to repost with the appropriate hashtags!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm calling it now...Katy Flint is going to win cutest selfie! I'll have to brainstorm how to win funniest or best costume or something, haha.

      Delete

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