We departed Ellsworth AFB fairly early and after a stop for some breakfast we hea
ded toward the Badlands National Park. The name tells all: This area is bad. That is, it is desolate, at times like a moonscape or some other uninhabitable planet. Unbelievable that people lived there and some still do. To see it was interesting, but I didn't need to do what some people did - they went for hikes that took several hours through this desolation. At the trail heads there were warnings to take plenty of water and to watch out for snakes - brrr! I was glad to get out after taking the scenic route through the park.
One refreshing tidbit was that on the highway leading to the park entrance we were the only car at a traffic stop where a nice young lady held up a "stop and go-slow sign" because one lane was closed due to construction. She had little to do because there were not many cars on the road. Although we were in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland and not in the Badlands directly, the area was still daunting because of the loneliness it projected. So there was this young girl, sucking on her water bottle which actually contained a block of ice which was slowly melting. Since we had to stop because it was time to let the one or two cars from the other direction pass the construction, we engaged the young lady in a conversation. We asked her what it was like to live out here in all these wide open spaces. She replied that it was fine, to her it was like living anyplace else. We told her that we live in Germany and that such wide open spaces are unheard of in Europe. She seemed amazed that on
e could not see "forever" as one can in her part of the world and that one practically cannot take a step anywhere in Europe or in other parts of the US without constantly running into other people. We in turn were amazed with what little regret she talked about living near the Badlands of South Dakota, but I guess it's all in what you are used to. Our conversation eventually was terminated by the car that comes by regularly with her substitute. The car then takes her for a potty break, she told us. I don't know why they go through all that effort, with the small number of travelers on that road and the absence of inhabitants nearby, she could easily take her potty break right there at her place of work.
As we were making our way out of the Badlands National Park we kept seeing signs announcing free ice water and coffee for 5 cents at the Wall Drug Store. Wall is a small town near the Badlands National Park on Interstate 90 named that way because it was built on the edge of the northern extension of the "Badlands wall." The major attraction is the Wall Drug Store, a large complex consisting of a pharmacy, soda fountain, museum, amusement center, mall, restaurant, and heaven knows what else we didn't get to see during our short stay. It takes up a whole block if not more.
The part about the free ice water and the 5 cent coffee is true. According to the brochure, they give away an estimated 5,000 glasses of ice water every day during the summer! An
d the coffee is self served, you fill a mug from an urn that sits near the place where the silverware is available and "if you have a nickel put into the wooden box," the sign says. There are several dining rooms that can accommodate hundreds of people, the one we were in was cafeteria-style and quite efficient with lots of nice young people behind the counter (this may be the best or only summer jobs they can get in Wall).
The free ice water came about this way: A young pharmacist from somewhere else in South Dakota bought the drug store in 1931. The town of Wall had 326 poor inhabitants, most of them farmers who'd been wiped out by the depression or the drought. Consequently, the drug store was not doing well. By 1936 the pharmacist was about to give up and to move away when his wife had the idea to offer free ice water to thirsty traveler who were passing by on a highway. It worked and they haven't been lonely since then. Once people stopped for ice water they ended up buying ice cream cones, etc., before they went on their way. The next summer they had to hire eight girls to help out and in 1982 the founder of the drug store wrote that Wall Drug draws up to 20,000 people on a good summer day! The American Dream come true.
Full of ice water, coffee, and whatever we had to eat (I forget) we moved on. We drove west past Rapid City, braved a major thunderstorm whose accompanying rain shower washed our RV better than any ca
r wash could, and ended up in Wyoming at the entrance to the Devils Tower National Monument. It was getting dark so we settled into the only campground available without going into the park.
ded toward the Badlands National Park. The name tells all: This area is bad. That is, it is desolate, at times like a moonscape or some other uninhabitable planet. Unbelievable that people lived there and some still do. To see it was interesting, but I didn't need to do what some people did - they went for hikes that took several hours through this desolation. At the trail heads there were warnings to take plenty of water and to watch out for snakes - brrr! I was glad to get out after taking the scenic route through the park.One refreshing tidbit was that on the highway leading to the park entrance we were the only car at a traffic stop where a nice young lady held up a "stop and go-slow sign" because one lane was closed due to construction. She had little to do because there were not many cars on the road. Although we were in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland and not in the Badlands directly, the area was still daunting because of the loneliness it projected. So there was this young girl, sucking on her water bottle which actually contained a block of ice which was slowly melting. Since we had to stop because it was time to let the one or two cars from the other direction pass the construction, we engaged the young lady in a conversation. We asked her what it was like to live out here in all these wide open spaces. She replied that it was fine, to her it was like living anyplace else. We told her that we live in Germany and that such wide open spaces are unheard of in Europe. She seemed amazed that on
e could not see "forever" as one can in her part of the world and that one practically cannot take a step anywhere in Europe or in other parts of the US without constantly running into other people. We in turn were amazed with what little regret she talked about living near the Badlands of South Dakota, but I guess it's all in what you are used to. Our conversation eventually was terminated by the car that comes by regularly with her substitute. The car then takes her for a potty break, she told us. I don't know why they go through all that effort, with the small number of travelers on that road and the absence of inhabitants nearby, she could easily take her potty break right there at her place of work.As we were making our way out of the Badlands National Park we kept seeing signs announcing free ice water and coffee for 5 cents at the Wall Drug Store. Wall is a small town near the Badlands National Park on Interstate 90 named that way because it was built on the edge of the northern extension of the "Badlands wall." The major attraction is the Wall Drug Store, a large complex consisting of a pharmacy, soda fountain, museum, amusement center, mall, restaurant, and heaven knows what else we didn't get to see during our short stay. It takes up a whole block if not more.
The part about the free ice water and the 5 cent coffee is true. According to the brochure, they give away an estimated 5,000 glasses of ice water every day during the summer! An
d the coffee is self served, you fill a mug from an urn that sits near the place where the silverware is available and "if you have a nickel put into the wooden box," the sign says. There are several dining rooms that can accommodate hundreds of people, the one we were in was cafeteria-style and quite efficient with lots of nice young people behind the counter (this may be the best or only summer jobs they can get in Wall).The free ice water came about this way: A young pharmacist from somewhere else in South Dakota bought the drug store in 1931. The town of Wall had 326 poor inhabitants, most of them farmers who'd been wiped out by the depression or the drought. Consequently, the drug store was not doing well. By 1936 the pharmacist was about to give up and to move away when his wife had the idea to offer free ice water to thirsty traveler who were passing by on a highway. It worked and they haven't been lonely since then. Once people stopped for ice water they ended up buying ice cream cones, etc., before they went on their way. The next summer they had to hire eight girls to help out and in 1982 the founder of the drug store wrote that Wall Drug draws up to 20,000 people on a good summer day! The American Dream come true.
Full of ice water, coffee, and whatever we had to eat (I forget) we moved on. We drove west past Rapid City, braved a major thunderstorm whose accompanying rain shower washed our RV better than any ca
r wash could, and ended up in Wyoming at the entrance to the Devils Tower National Monument. It was getting dark so we settled into the only campground available without going into the park.The campground offered a daily attraction: When it gets dark they show the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which was partially filmed near Devils Tower, at an outdoor theater, weather permitting. The atmosphere was spooky, befitting the theme of the movie! I watched a few minutes of the film, but the sound was bad and it was getting cold, so I opted to sit in the RV to write a blog entry. My f
riend called me several times to come outside to hear the group of young people who were singing folk songs around the communal fire pit. I was bound and determined to finish my narrative and when I finished, unfortunately, the singers packed up their guitars and retreated into their school bus which was converted into a camper. I regretted missing out on the folk music greatly, the blog could have waited, no one reads it anyway. This was one of those opportunities that will never come my way again. Oh well, thus ended day 24.
No comments:
Post a Comment