East of Sioux City, US-20 alternates between four-lane freeway and rapidly disappearing two-lane highway, passing acres of farmland and occasional towns. Sac City (pop. 2,492) is one of the few places along this stretch of road that tries to preserve its past, with a log cabin and preserved Chautauqua Hall along US-20 and a small historical museum on Main Street. It also has the nicely maintained Sac City Motel (712/662-7109), right on US-20.
Twenty miles farther east, in Rockwell City (pop. 1,981, “The Golden Buckle on the Corn Belt”), the Leist Oil Company has an incredible collection of old neon and enameled metal roadside signs advertising cars, car parts, soda pop, and sundry other things. Downtown also has a nice old Carnegie Library, a railroad station, and some nifty little shops, well worth a few minutes of wandering.
