“Road Trip!” is a new series highlighting fun, cheap weekend activities you can do outside Ames to take a break from campus – and the oppressive homework workload that looms over many students’ heads.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last remaining wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. For those who simply cannot make the weekend jaunt to Egypt yet want to see something unique, they need to look no further than the state lines. A short weekend road trip might be in the cards to find out what Iowa’s own local wonders are – and no, they aren’t just corn. Well, most of them, anyway.

1. Iowa State Fair

When: Second to third week in August every year

Where: Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des Moines

Distance from Ames: 35 miles

Cost: $10 for regular admission

Listed as one of the “1,000 Places to See Before You Die,” the Iowa State Fair is the Iowa event of the year. Generally thought of as one of the top state fairs in the country, it has enough fun things for a day – 10 days, in fact. Whether seeing the Butter Cow and agricultural displays, participating in contests such as husband calling or cow-chip throwing or taking in a concert in the Grandstand, the fair is the quintessential Iowa experience.

2. Effigy Mounds National Monument

Where: Three miles from Marquette

Distance from Ames: 210 miles

Cost: $3 per person plus $5 per car

The Effigy Mounds are one of only two places listed on the National Park Services register in Iowa, the other being the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch.

Known as a monument, these 106 mounds mark Native American burial sites and are preserved in the shapes of animals, including bears and birds. The park grounds also feature a museum with the monument’s archaeological collections, as well as 14 miles of hiking trails.

3. Salisbury House

Where: Des Moines

Distance from Ames: 35 miles

Cost: $7

Tours: In October, Tuesday through Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

With its historic architecture, the Salisbury House doesn’t look like it belongs in Des Moines suburbia.

Mary Beth Hill, communications director for the house, said it was built in the 1920s and modeled after a house in Salisbury, England, and features Tudor architecture. Besides offering house and grounds tours, the Salisbury House can be rented for weddings, and it is also the site of several special events, such as Jazz in July, Shakespeare on the Lawn, the Gatsby Gala and the annual Salisbury Auto Classic.

“It’s quite remarkable because it’s a one-of-a-kind combination of historic home architecture and collections of art and rare books,” Hill said.

“I had no idea something like this existed in Iowa. There’s nothing like it.”

4. Field of Dreams

Where: Dyersville

Distance from Ames: 159 miles

Cost: Free

Season: April through November

“‘Is this heaven?’ ‘No . it’s Iowa.” Filming site of the famous 1989 movie, the Field of Dreams is located on a family farm. Betty Boeckenstedt, the business and marketing manager and owner’s sister, said last year, the field was visited by people from every state and 60 countries, including Australia.

“It was a great movie, and people from all over the world will come,” Boeckenstedt said. “There are a lot of people connected with this movie, and that makes it a tourist attraction [for Iowans].”

The grounds have the same field and farmhouse as seen in the film, but don’t expect to see baseball players popping out of the cornfields. Boeckenstedt said the field is used by a lot of families, however.

“The best thing is they can actually go out on the field, and there’s so many reasons why they come,” Boeckenstedt said. “We see father-son relationships, father-daughter relationships, mother-son relationships. They just connected with the movie.”

5. Loess Hills

Where: West Central Iowa in Harrison and Monona counties

Distance from Ames: 181 miles

Cost: Free

Although they look like the average everyday hills, these were formed 10,000 to 20,000 years ago by windblown silt from glacial deposits. When the Pleistocene glaciers melted, the water flooded the Missouri Valley and left layers of yellow loess soil on the limestone bedrock. These three layers of Loess make the topography of the land steep and rocky – and unlike any other ground in Iowa.

6. Val Air Ballroom

Where: West Des Moines

Distance from Ames: 40 miles

Cost: Varies per concert or event

The Val Air Ballroom opened in 1939 and operated as a traditional hardwood ballroom until it burned down in 1961. It was rebuilt and continued to offer entertainment that catered to the changing music styles, including big band and rock ‘n’ roll. Today, the ballroom serves as a popular party site and concert venue. Upcoming shows this fall include Sugarland and Dashboard Confessional.

7. Dan-D Corn Mazes

Where: Ames and Knoxville

Distance from Ames: Knoxville, 71 miles

Cost: $6

Hours: September and October; Ames Maze: 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 1 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Knoxville Maze: 1 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday only

What better way to celebrate Iowa’s wonders than with a cornfield?

It’s what is most associated with Iowa – as seen on ESPN’s coverage of the ISU-Iowa game – and is particularly fitting for a fall activity.

This year, the farm will feature a family spook night the last two Saturdays of October. Dan-D Farms open two large mazes in Iowa, each with two mazes within them.

“If you’re directionally challenged, and you’ve decided you’ve had enough, you can complete just one and still have a good time,” owner Jana Dennison said.

The maze has been nationally recognized by Dateline NBC, CNN and USA Today, Dennison said. This year’s 12-acre Ames maze pays homage to the Special Olympics, which took place in July. Don’t worry about getting lost – staff is always there to come in and rescue any strays.

“It’s just good old-fashioned Iowa farm fun,” Dennison said. “If you’re not from Iowa – and even people that are – you get out in the cornfield, and here the corn is 12-feet high, and it’s just amazing walking down the tunnels of corn.”