Four wheels. Three seniors. One free road trip.

One hundred and thirty-six years ago, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" captured the hearts of the American public. Since then, popular culture has experienced a romantic love affair with stories of adventurous and insightful road trips. While most of us read about great road trips, three seniors embarked on one of their own this summer. 

Earlier this August, William Clifford, Kevin D'Angelo and Kevin Speirs tackled the mighty Mississippi, and in the process,  won Sears' Explore My America contest. Clifford and Speirs, both Englsih majors, and D'Angelo, a communication major, or, as the rest of the world knows them, the Van Buren Boys, received about $4,000 for their efforts.

In order to win, the Van Buren Boys had to submit a YouTube video each day of the trip. People watched the videos from each of the 21 participating teams and chose a winner.

 "The $500 first prize was really just an incentive to make good videos," D'Angelo says. "We got $1,500 for food and gas, and Sears gave our car a free tune up before the trip."

 "We weren't the only ones who got money," Clifford says. "People had a chance to win $100 every time they voted. Our friends and family ended up getting some of that money."

Teams they competed against included Han Solo and Chewy and Marty McFly, which drove the Millennium Falcon and the  DMC-12 DeLorean, respectively. Meanwhile, the Van Buren Boys cruised through the Mississippi in a Chrysler Aspen. 

They drove their Aspen through the Great River Road, a historic drive that starts in Minnesota and follows the Mississippi River all the way to New Orleans. The Van Buren Boys were asked to tackle the second half of the Great River Road — from St. Louis to New Orleans. In order to make the most of the experience, they traveled on U.S. highways instead of the giant Interstate roads. 

Coincidentally, the Great River Road took the Van Buren Boys through Van Buren, Mo. The small town with a population of about 800 was a bit of a disappointment to the three travelers. 

"We originally wanted to camp out in Van Buren," Speirs said. "But the campground was under a highway bypass. We took our things and checked into a hotel."

The highlights of the trip included a visit to Graceland, outside of Memphis, and New Orleans. In Memphis, they paid their respects to Elvis and had some of the best barbecue they have ever had. In New Orleans, they made it in time for the Red Dress Run — a party in which everyone celebrates by wearing a red dress.

 "A lot of times we think of cool things to do but never end up doing them," D'Angelo says. "This is something we can say we actually did."

For more stories, pictures, videos and a strangely entertaining Green Man sighting, go to exploringmyamerica.com and meet the Van Buren Boys for yourself.