So, we got up and left the crappiest motel ever into the crappiest vacation weather ever. Rain and gray skies. Blech! Luckily - we were already on the back-side of the big blob on my trusty (when there's a good cell signal) radar thanks to weather.com on my phone. And, as we were traveling west, we would be moving away from the rain. By the time we reached Wall, SD the sun was starting to peek through.
And, the first intersection off the highway that required attention certainly let you know it!
I wish I would have gotten the kids out to show the scale of this sign because it's hard to tell from the picture - but apparently they don't want people to miss this stop!So, we found parking on Main Street - which was already crowded, at 9am on a Sunday. And talk about parking! If you're headed north on Main St. there's parking on both sides of you, turn and head south, and you can park along the right side. And, most of this parking was already full when we arrived.
So, we got out and decided to head in - not knowing what to expect, and hoping to find breakfast. (Since we had passed on the 4 english muffins that were who knows how old at the motel.)
And, across the street... there's this... now - maybe it's because I've grown up in a more suburban environment that has the occasional Adult Store and billboards for gentlemens clubs, and I know that A LOT of bikers stop here in the summer on the way to Sturgis - but is this really an appropriate location? Then we get a little closer, and see the details on the awning - South Dakota's Finest Gold... it's a jewelry store! Seriously?!?And, in case you were wondering the exact, specific location of Wall Drug - here you go:
And, Sofia... the one who won't sit next to Ronald McDonald on a bench was really excited about the creepy cowboy statue just inside Entrance 3 - the door we chose.
Then there was the saddle over the barrel - I was happy to get a couple good pictures of them being slightly normal (it was still relatively early in the morning... and I had told them they could have pancakes for breakfast.)
Thankfully, Sofia didn't notice these decorations that adorned the upper walls of Wall Drug.
And, right as Alan was asking to go potty, we came across this sign in the "Backyard". I can't say that they were any fancier than any of the other restrooms we'd come across as of yet (besides creepy motel bathroom).
Then, Alan asked the question of the day... "These are the faces in the mountain?" (Which is what we had been calling Mt Rushmore in order for them to somewhat understand what we were going to see.) Considering there was an in ground 'dancing fountain' (which would have been more fun if it wasn't 65 degrees and still drizzling) - I could see where the confusion came in.
And again, did amazingly well - I didn't think Sofia would get nearly this close to the stuffed buffalo.
And then there's the Jack-a-lope. I have no other words for that one.
And, the well that started all of this. Apparently a family, The Hustead's were on their way out west and discovered this Ice Water well. So, they decided to open a drug store, centered on this well - and offering Free Ice Water to travelers passing through.
I'm surprised that the water is still free -but it was far from ice cold... but maybe it's because it wasn't blazing hot outside. It tasted pretty much like the well water that comes out of the tap at my mom's house in Warrenville.
After this mildly refreshing drink - we headed back inside to eat breakfast. They had a very strange setup. You could get the buffet breakfast (which had about 6 different things to pick from) or your could order meals from a menu. We chose the menu route because the kids wanted pancakes, and those weren't available in the buffet. The food was only OK - and the 5 cent coffee was surprisingly good... considering we'd seen billboards advertising it starting in Minnesota... seriously... Minnesota!!
After breakfast, we walked a little down Main Street and up the other side. Between Wall Drug itself, and the stores along the street. Imagine all of the Wisconsin Dells souviner and t-shirt shops, various art stores, and cram them all into one block. Oh, and replace all but one of the fudge shops with jewelry stores selling South Dakota genuine gold. There was one candy/fudge shop inside Wall Drug. The kids each got a souviner from here, thanks to grandpa. Sofia picked a stuffed white buffalo and Alan picked a stuffed black bear with a Wall Drug t-shirt on it. I also grabbed a rememberance... a baseball cap & t-shirt combo.
Then as we were heading back to the car to get on the road again Dave spotted this. The coolest road-trip vehicle ever! I could totally imagine being retired and taking trips in this!So, we were on the road again... next stop - Mt. Rushmore!
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