The Boondocks - Williams, IA

I recently had the exciting opportunity to switch drivers near Williams, Iowa, on my way to a wedding. We pulled over at the Boondocks Truck Haven Cafe on Interstate 35. My first clue that we had chosen a gem was the rusty VW Beetle parked in the garden with grass growing out of the top. The second clue was the smell of delicious chili wafting from the cafe, overpowering even the staple Iowa manure odor.

Inside the truck stop, the women's room is helpfully marked as "around the corner." The bathroom is a bit cramped with some awkward angles. I suspect the ladies' latrine was built as an afterthought - perhaps the contractor forgot that sometimes women come to truck stops, too. There are two shower stalls, in case you've been hauling for a few days and need to rinse the road grime off ya. As un-handicap accessible as the bathroom is, there is one handicap stall and one normal stall. I chose the normal side, and immediately wished I hadn't because my knees hit the door when I sat down. This stall is not for the long-legged nor the wide-waisted. But I did have a bit of good luck - there was a live cricket in the bathroom, which made for some lovely natural white noise. The single-ply paper was unsurprising, but it did the job. I was also disappointed at the lack of offensive vandalism which always makes for good reading. Hopefully there's more of that in the men's room. I guess lady truckers have cleaner minds and are less inclined to deface private property.

Spacious it is not, but for a truck stop in the middle of Iowa, the Boondocks provides a sanitary (enough) latrine for when you tire of relieving yourself into empty Mountain Dew bottles.

Rating: 6/10