#ratingreststops

[ratingreststops]

Lemoni Rest Area off I-35 South IA bathroom - 8/10, very clean and nice, again with the weirdly short stalls in Iowa, though. not AS short as others I've seen, but still short. Are people from Iowa shorter than the rest of the US???? food/drink - 8.5/10, very reasonable selection, and indoors. novelty - 9/10, the pac man stuff, the mosaic on the floor, and more; gorgeous! grounds - 10/10, this is only the second 10 I have ever given on the grounds. two overlooks, several walking trails, and a courtyard, overlooking a lake and two different rivers. this is the most nature/walking friendly one i have been two! there was also a fancy spigot. 💦 overall - 9/10, not a 10 because I know Iowa has some much better rest stops, but this is still the cream of the freaking crop compared to the rest of the country. how nice it is for the location+its location on the IA border+the empty room off to the side makes me think this probably used to be a welcome center but didn't get enough visitors to keep funding that part. it would be nice if that near-empty room could be converted into a space with some seating instead of being a weird & sad liminal space, though. :)

[ratingreststops]

Osceola, IA off I-35 South

bathroom - 6/10 - could have been a 10 because it was extremely clean and nice, but why on God's green earth are these stalls so short? I am 5'7" and the shot of above them is from my eye level. A literal child walked in with a parent while I was in there and asked her parent why the stalls were so short. bizarre.

food/drink - 7/10, decent selection. water fountain but no bottle filler.

novelty - 5/10, there was jehovah's witnesses out front which kills some points, but there happened to be a cool frog there so that gives them some back. there was no novelty there that had to do with the actual rest stop itself, let's be clear.

grounds - 7.5/10, good handicap accessible walking, and some cute picnic tables in the woods. nothing super special, but what's there is nice and very well maintained!

overall - 7.5/10, again, nothing special but everything was as clean as can be!

[ratingreststops]

I-55 south, approx 5-10 min north of Cape Girardeau, MO

bathroom - 2/10. smelled bad, diaper and other nasty stuff on the ground, sinks were nasty, a stall was closed, if your pee is an emergency it'll do but otherwise gross

food and drink - 1/10 bc there were (possibly diseased) water fountains, but other than that nothing, no vending machines or anything

novelty - 1/10, there's nothing there but the neighbors are Mr Poop and Mrs Pee and some might consider that a downside but I think it's funny so they get +1 for that

grounds - 9/10, lovely trees and great walking room, well cared for. Deducted a point for the neighbors bc even though I don't consider it a downside, most would.

overall - 3/10, if you HAVE to pee or stretch your legs, it'll do, but you could also drive 5 minutes into Cape and do that there and not have your nose hairs chemically burned off

[ratingreststops]

Goshen Road, IL

bathroom - 8/10. average bathroom, average cleanliness. good unisex/handicapped accessible restroom. nothing wrong with it, just okay

food and drink - 7/10. Good array of standard snack and drink machines. had one of those fancy coffee machines. ice cream machine was out of order, though. two points off for broken water fountains

novelty (basically anything else indoors) - 8/10. electronic weather radar screen, good IL maps, told us about the surrounding woods, and HELL YEAH help our pollinators

grounds - 8/10. decent space to walk, good grassage, had covered picnic benches, and a playground. sad that the woods behind were fenced off :(

overall - 6/10. nothing wrong with it, smelled a little odd, just a slightly above average midwest rest stop

[ratingreststops]

Information and Rest Room Building Indiana State Highway Commission on Westbound I-64 outside Ferdinand, IN

bathroom - 5/10. clean, old but if it ain't broke don't fix it. average

food and drink - 5/10. good standard stuff, nothing fancy, average

novelty - 7/10. Lincoln Boyhood National Home is apparently nearby and some interesting info there. point for attraction brochures+multiple maps. had a help desk but no one was there, but was after 5:00 so no hard feelings or anything at all.

grounds - 5/10. a few picnic benches, but no shade so kind of useless like half the year. used to be a gazebo or something there but now there's just a big span of concrete. signage about it being on a memorial highway. Spigot but broke. lots of grass and a cute field, but the grass of the rest stop was long with lots of old dried grass clippings on top and it's copperhead season so I felt like I had a 60/40 percent change of death on the way to look. I like the giraffe rock on the exterior. Lots of potential just unloved

overall - 5/10. nothing against it, solid average, could be a 6 or 7 with love

[ratingreststops]

Tennessee Welcome Center along I-24 East in Clarksville, TN

bathroom - 7/10, it was pretty clean and didn't smell

food/drink - 10/10, first perfect score I've ever given. They had 8 different machines including one with medicine and other essentials, a keurig, and a microwave. it was indoors with seating and none of them were caged up like animals

novelty - 6/10, this was a welcome center as well and I'm only judging the rest stop-y part. thus, they didn't have much in terms of normal rest stop novelty. HOWEVER, I would love to mention that there was a dolly parton cardboard cutout, which doesn't add to the score cause it was part of the welcome center, I just wanted to say so because Dolly

grounds - 8/10, fairly roomy with handicap accessible walking trails, large picnic shelters, some spigots, and a large sculpture. the building itself looks like a cute little cabin from the outside

overall - 8/10, not show stopping, but pretty dang good!

[ratingreststops]

I-70 East in Edwards, CO

bathroom - 7/10, moderately clean and didn't smell

food/drink - 6/10, your average drink and snack machines, but did not notice a spigot

novelty - 7/10, on the inside there's a lot of information about native plants and wildlife! I used the pic I took of their evergreen identification guide all the time for the rest of my trip

grounds - 9/10, not super spacious on the outside, but they make the space they have count! The mountain view in the distance is gorgeous, and it runs along a beautiful creek that leads to a trail down below. there are some very nice and large picnic shelters, and the paths are handicap accessible!

overall - 7.5/10, beautiful on the outside and clean on the inside, can't ask for much more!

[ratingreststops]

Rend Lake Rest Area along I-57 South in Whittington, IL

bathroom - 9/10, nothing special but it was clean and didn't smell

food/drink - 9/10, amazing options in both regards: a coffee machine, an ice cream machine, two snack machines, and two drink machines, with a functional water fountain. and, none of them were caged up like they had done something wrong!

novelty - 8/10, there wasn't really anything "novelty" here, but they get this score just because everything else was so good.

grounds - 10/10: huge, lush, handicap accessible grounds with bridges, great picnic shelters, a playground, emergency buttons (which I appreciate bc I typically feel like i'm going to get stabbed in many rest stops), and a gorgeous lakeside view.

other - 10/10, I added this category just to say that they had recycling, which I've never seen at a rest stop 😍

overall - 9.5/10, no notes. good job, IL <3