We left the park behind.
Tip for travelers: I think we spent the perfect amount of time in the Badlands. We arrived around 6:30pm on Saturday and left around 10:00am on Monday. We weren't rushed, and I think we saw everything there was to see.
The western exit of the Badlands Loop Road took us to Wall, South Dakota. For hundreds of miles in either direction, Wall announces itself with billboards for "Wall Drug".
Wall Drug became famous because of free ice water. Yup. Free ice water.
Ted and Dorothy Hustead had bought Wall Drug in December 1931. These were the depression years. The dust bowl had dried up most of the west. And Wall, South Dakota, was the middle of no where. Not surprisingly, the store was struggling. By 1936, the Husteads were just about ready to close up shop. But then Dorothy got an idea. She would post signs on Route 16A (the interstate didn't exist yet) advertising "Free Ice Water." The signs were a huge success.
Today, twenty-thousand people show up each day to see the famous "Wall Drug". Here's Ma sampling their free ice water.
In addition to the dozens of boutique stores under its roof, they've added all kinds of oddities to keep people streaming in.
You can ride a fake bucking bronco...
...wave goodbye from a fake caboose...
...and even slap the reigns on a fake covered wagon.
These are just a small sample of the quaint and bizarre things to do at Wall Drug. You can also climb aboard a giant jackalope, pose inside a teepee, and hear the roar of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Our next destination was Custer, South Dakota. We drove through the Black Hills to get there. It's truly spectacular scenery.
We arrived at our hotel and checked in. We ate leftovers and chilled out in front the of TV. But the torrential rainstorm proved to be even better entertainment. And it left behind this stunning rainbow.
End Day 3.
