1. The mooing of many cows is more charming upon arrival at a campground then it is at midnight or 2:00 or 3:00 or 4:00 or 5:00 or even 6:00 in the morning. Turns out, a bevy of bovines was hidden away in the corn and the wheat behind our site and they had a lot to say to each other. A lot. Loudly.
2. Most of I-83 between Nebraska and South Dakota looks like this:
3. In 1931, a young pharmacist and his wife bought a drug store in Wall, South Dakota (it’s named Wall because of the badlands, by the way, which form a sort of wall around the area.) This enterprising couple found it difficult to lure travelers off the interstate and into their store, so they hatched a clever plan to offer free ice water and .05 coffee. To advertise, they put fun signs up letting passers-by know that they were Welcome in Wall. Lots of businesses do it now so these signs are no longer a novelty, back then it was just the groundbreaking marketing needed to turn Wall Drug into a multi-million dollar tourist attraction which draws in 20,000 people every day during the nice-weather months.
4. Tourist attractions, I’ve discovered, are attractions for a reason. They are a blend of history, tradition, kitsch, and plentiful food which break up the traveling landscape and give people an excuse to stop driving already! They also provide opportunities to complete the Elvis Presley figurine, interstate casino shot glass or driftwood seagull collection. Wall Drug is a full city block and it is all these things – but one store goes beyond the borders of dusty gift shop hodge-podge and has a bit of extra badlands flavor. And by flavor, I mean boots.
5. I am a teensy bit obsessed with cowboy boots.
6. I love them.
7. I want them.
8. I can’t really afford them.
9. Wall Drug also sells hats.
10. Tess is cuter in a hat than I am.
11. Don’t let your children talk to skimpily-clad strangers
12. Unless they seem friendly and are made of something other than human.
13. If you go to Wall Drug, skip the .05 coffee and spend ALL your nickels on the donuts instead. They’re worth it.
14. Tess googled it, and I am currently about 5,309 miles from the nearest Starbucks.’
15. We were astounded at the way the scenery changes as you move outside of Rapid City, SD. It’s beautiful and it made us mountain folks feel more at home. I can’t wait to show you where we landed at the end of the day!
Loving Learning on the Road,
Bo
I told you…. No Starbucks or any other coffee that might resemble the real Joe… having a cup for you as I read your delightful post..
Love reading your travel log and seeing the pictures! Thank you so much for sharing! Happy Trails!
You won’t beliebe this but I have a picture of my dad sitting next to one of those “beautiful” women just like Josiah. I will dig it up and send it to you!!! BTW I think I have at least 10 Starbucks within a mile from my hotel in downtown Singapore……maybe 20!
Bo, you could totally pull off the cowgirl look! You look yippie-ki-yo-ki-cute in that hat! And the boots…. yes! =)
Thanks for sharing so many great pictures of your vacation. It is wonderful to see your family relaxing and enjoying life. The cowboy boots were awesome; especially the ones with the flowers. Enjoy the warm weather; it was 34 last night here in Bend. Br.Br.