It reminded me of when I was nine or ten years old. We drove from Pennsylvania to Florida for a family vacation. I can remember how exciting it was to see the signs for South of the Border. I couldn’t wait to get there. I was so disappointed when we did not stop at the “holy grail” of traveling I 95.

I later went to South of the Border as an adult and realized that it wasn’t a big deal, but will always remember the anticipation garnered by those signs. It was fun to feel a little bit of that with the Wall Drug signs.

Sunflower Fields

As we drove across South Dakota, we saw sunflower fields so vast that they seemed to go on forever. Everything seemed to be larger. The cows were huge. We saw a jackrabbit on the side of the road that looked to be the size of a medium-sized dog. The speed limit was 80.

I was happy when we reached a construction area near one of the stops we had planned. There is a skeleton walking a dinosaur in a field beside the highway. With the construction speed limit, we slowed down enough to look at it and even snap a picture.

The Wall Drug signs continued, going from 150 miles ahead to 82 miles to go, then 26 miles. Our anticipation grew as the scenery changed when we neared the Badlands.

Badlands National Park

As we departed the gate to get into Badlands National Park, we noticed people on the right picking something in the field. When we asked what they were picking, they responded that they were picking native seeds as part of an ecology project. I was so interested in what they were doing that I had not looked to the left.

There were beautiful mountains off in the distance on the right. I was about to ask Chris to pull into the parking lot to take some pictures of them. He pointed out a parking lot on the left, and then I saw it, the Badlands.

Beautiful rock formations stretched out as far as I could see. When we got out of the car, we could see far into the valleys below us. It was unlike anything I had ever seen in person before. It was desolate and forlorn, very intimidating. Paths, perched atop narrow ridges, wound through the hills, but nothing I would be willing to walk. It looked like you would fall if even the slightest gust of wind were to come up. It was interesting to see pigeons perched on some of the ridges below.

To say the view was breathtaking would be a vast understatement. It was such a spectacular scene. I found myself literally in tears.

We decided to head back out of the park to gas up before going to the campground. On our way out, Chris noticed a bighorn sheep beside the road near the entrance. He seemed to be much larger than the sheep we had seen in Colorado.

On our way to the store, Chris saw an area where you can feed prairie dogs. When we headed back to the park, we stopped to check it out. There was a large fenced area full of prairie dogs, where you can walk among them. They were the cutest little creatures. I loved the way they squeaked as they jumped towards us in a “threatening” manner. We enjoyed watching them play. We even saw one laying down in his hole, almost unseen. While we were watching him, he wandered out to play.

While at the store, I had seen a poster for Prairie Homestead, an attraction with homes where the original settlers of the Badlands would have lived. It looked like it would be fascinating and a great place to take some photos. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we learned that they had closed. There had been six rattlesnakes sighted in the last two days.

We continued into the Badlands, following the scenic road. I could not get over my excitement at how beautiful everything was. We pulled off at a spot with trails into the mountains. Concerned that there may be rattlesnakes, we carefully followed the path to get a look at what lay beyond the tall rocks in front of us. We quickly popped up onto the rocks in front of us, only to realize that it was almost a straight down drop on the other side.

Camping In The Badlands

After we explored the area, we continued to our campground, with several stops along the way as the road wound up and over the mountains. The campground was a flat spot between several groups of mountains. Our view was the best we have ever had from our tent.

We decided to shower before the sun went down, hoping to capture some beautiful sunset photos. We finished the shower just in time. Sunset came earlier than I expected, I think because we had just passed into the Mountain Time Zone. We watched the gorgeous hot pink sun sink on the horizon until it disappeared behind a layer of clouds we hadn’t noticed before.

Fires were not permitted, so we heated our chili with our single-burner stove. We had our tent set up under the picnic awning. We put on some music and hooked up our multi-colored sound activated light on top of the tent. It was fun to watch the lights bouncing off the awning while we danced in the desert.

The sky was stunning, clear with a multitude of bright shining stars. Mars was distinctly visible with its unmistakeable red hue. We were even lucky enough to see a couple of shooting stars. Tired after our long day, we went to bed early.

In the morning, I woke before the alarm went off. I was happy to be up just before dawn. It was frigid, so I stole the wool blanket from Chris and sat outside the tent wrapped up with my camera ready. The sky grew lighter, and I was giddy with the anticipation of seeing the sun rise over the mountains in front of me. I was not the only one. As I sat, other photographers staked out their positions, and it seemed that the entire campground started to stir with slow, muted activity.

As I watched, the sun finally made its appearance, starting with just a sliver of pink coming over the horizon on the side of the mountain. Gradually it rose higher in the sky, the pink turning to yellow. We quickly packed up the tent and continued following the scenic road, enjoying the lovely views. We wound our way over and around mountains, enjoying every minute of the journey, stopping at every overlook. As we came to the end of the road, we saw bison in the field next to us.

My research indicated that we should allow an hour to make the scenic drive. Whoever said that must not have stopped and explored as much as we did because it took us a full two hours. We were starving by the time we finished the drive, so full of joy from the buffalo sighting, we continued to Wall Drug. The signs continued as we approached, building the excitement.

Wall Drug

Our first stop after the restroom was food. Chris ordered the famous hot beef sandwich, and I had a buffalo burger. The food was good, nothing outstanding, but pricey at $37 for the meals, a soda, and a beer.

Wall Drug has a story that I connected with as we undertake this journey into our new life. Ted and Dorothy Hustead moved to Wall, South Dakota, and bought a drug store in December 1931. They had almost no business for the first few months. Most of their family had been skeptical of their decision to move, and they began to question whether it had been the right choice. They decided they would give it five years before they gave up.

In July 1936, with the five-year deadline looming, things had not improved. Dorothy decided to take a nap with their two children. She came back, not being able to settle down because of the amount of traffic driving by their home. She had an idea. It was hot. She suggested they put signs out by the highway offering free ice water.

Ted implemented her plan on several 12 by 36-inch boards, which he put up near the highway the next weekend. Before he returned to the store, people started showing up for the free ice water. Very soon after, a man who came in for ice water asked to buy ice cream as well. They have been busy ever since. And yes, they still have free ice water, coffee for five cents, and a free bumper sticker for every family that visits.

After lunch, we explored the rest of Wall Drug and the shops across the street, enjoying the Western town feel.