I’m still reeling from the sunburn of my last road trip. Rather than pick something sensible to tackle a 2,500-mile trip from the heart of bourbon country to South Dakota, we took my good buddy’s 2017 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. We ditched the top, sashed a couple of coolers to a trailer hitch-mounted cargo rack, and hit the road. 

Sunburns, wind-blown faces, and hoarse voices aside, our road trip was one for the books. The stubby, two-door JK-generation Wrangler Rubicon performed commendably. The 3.6L Pentastar V6 complied with highway driving, campsite cruising, and trail-blazing. Of course, the Jeep was frequently thirsty. But hey, who’s complaining? 

What the open-top did afford us, in addition to all the bugs in South Dakota, was visibility. The visibility to spot one of the strangest road trip stops in America: the Porter Sculpture Park in McCook County, South Dakota.

Now, when I say “spot,” I mean we couldn’t miss it. My compatriot and I, a couple of former U.S. Marines, are a bit, well, wayward. So, naturally, seeing a 40-foot metal horse next to a bull’s head one would expect to see near the Sphinx, we had to stop. We pulled the little Jeep off of Interstate 90 (I-90) and took a left under the overpass. However, our approach confirmed that the massive metal beasts were just the largest of a collection of wild, wonderful stuff.

We drove around the most vocal cattle herd we had ever seen as we reached the entrance to the Porter Sculpture Park. After crossing the threshold, we met the man behind the madness, Wayne Porter. See, Mr. Porter found his calling as an artist early in life, at around 10 years of age. However, rather than work in a medium like paint or clay, Wayne made metal sculptures. 

Fast forward decades and Wayne Porter runs one of the most well-trafficked and interesting road trip stops in the country. At the center of his collection, Porter erected a 40-ton, 40-foot horse made entirely of heavy metal plates. However, as if to upstage his own Dakotan Horse, Porter crafted a hollow, 60-foot bull’s head with obvious ancient Egyptian inspiration.

The rest of the sculpture park is something you’d expect from Dr. Seuss. That is, if Seuss had taken a mind-expanding substance and followed Alice down the rabbit hole. Bright colors, provocative forms, and wild presentations dot the landscape.

Whether or not you appreciate art in unorthodox mediums, you’ll likely get something out of a visit to the park. After all, it beats the hell out of the world’s largest pepper shaker or what have you. If you find yourself in McCook County, South Dakota, do yourself a favor. Drop by Porter Sculpture Park and check out Wayne’s labors.