Buffalo Gap National Grasslands & Badland National Park(Dispersed Camping) – Wall, South Dakota

This area has been on Mitch’s bucket list ever since he watched a video on it.  Offering dispersed camping on a cliff overlooking the Badlands National Park.  It did not disappoint, and we had an incredible view.  We visited the Badlands and took its #1 hike- Notch Trail.  Not a long trek, but one has to climb a ladder to get to the top.  Coming down the ladder was a different story.  We were fascinated by the birds in the canyon as they flew about and then went back to a tiny circular abode lining the cliff. It looked like a multitude of small bird condos. This national park won’t take more than a day to cover and explore.  The scenic road allows you to tour the park and offers viewpoint stops of the Badlands.  The colored lines are beautiful, and the origin of these lines is too scientific to explain. 

When you visit this area, everyone tells you a stop at Wall Drugs is a must.  For us Floridan’s, this is equivalent to Webbs in downtown St. Petersburg years ago.  Two hundred miles before you get to Walls, South Dakota, you start seeing multiple signs touting this as a not-to-miss stop.  We went, we saw, we left.  It is a tourist attraction with numerous theme stores within one building.  It was very crowded, and many waited in line to get their famous doughnuts and five-cent coffee.  For us, it was a one-and-done experience, and we found the story of the store more attractive.  In 1931, Ted and Dorothy decided to buy a drug store in Walls, South Dakota, a town of 326 people- impoverished people.  They struggled and gave themselves a five-year commitment.  At four and half years on a sweltering day, Dorothy could hear all the cars traveling along Route 16A and came up with an idea to get travelers to visit their store. She knew they would be weary from the heat and traveling across the prairie, and the one thing they would want was ice-cold water.  Ted put up signs along the highway offering FREE ice water, and before you know it, travelers were stopping by for water, and why not get an ice cream cone as well.  By the following summer, they had to hire eight girls to serve all the customers.  Today, they give away 5,000 glasses of ice water every day, and the store has expanded to a whole block.