Our first stop was intended to be Badlands National Park, about 30 miles southeast of Rapid City. However, we were first instructed to stop at Wall Drug, in the town of Wall, which is 10 miles north of the park. By "instructed", I mean that once you left Rapid City, there was a billboard advertising Wall Drug approximately every 50 feet along the interstate until you got to Wall. I am told that South Dakota was once entirely covered by dense forest, but the construction of the billboards for Wall pretty much turned everything into grasslands.
Actually, Wall is worth a short stop, not that you can avoid it. And there is even a drug store in the sprawl that is Wall Drug, not to mention an actual church.
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| The main street in Wall, consisting of Wall Drug |
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| Inside Wall Drug |
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| The only moose we saw on the trip |
Having made the obligatory stop in Wall, we headed for Badlands National Park, which is on my list of Places That You Have Never Been To But Should Go (5 stars on TripAdvisor!). The pictures below pretty much tell the story.
Next: Mt. Rushmore, Spearfish, and Devil's Tower
