We drove all day to get to Badlands National Park, a 245,000 acre park protecting eroded rock formations, while also boasting the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The Lakota Indian tribe (the original inhabitants) first coined the term “mako sica”, meaning “bad land”, due to the extreme temperatures, lack of water, and rugged terrain. The drive through the park is absolutely stunning, with breathtaking views of the vast prairie and staggered rock formations on either side of the winding road. It took us about an hour and a half to drive, with plentiful stops at all of the pull-offs for pictures. We stopped in the visitor center to get our National Park Passport Stamp Cancellations, continuing a tradition that began when my family first started taking road trips. My grandfather did not have a stamp book, but he now has one and is excited to get more stamps! Along the remaining drive, we were all able to stop and get great pictures, which I will be uploading onto the “Pictures” tab above.
The end of the Badlands drive dropped us out right outside the city of Wall, South Dakota, where the famous Wall Drug Store is located. It was established in 1931 and although business was dangerously slow in its early years, the founder’s wife had the brilliant idea to advertise free ice water to travellers along the route to nearby Mount Rushmore. Since then, business is booming and the Drug Store brings in around $10 million a year.
We ate dinner in the small restaurant inside and enjoyed homemade donuts after dinner. In 2007, my family took a similar road trip. Although we did not travel anywhere near Alaska, it is really interesting to go back to some of the same places 7 years later. I found a stamp in my passport from the Badlands, dated May 26, 2007 and we stopped at Wall Drug that same day. It’s hard to believe how much has changed since then, yet the places we visited today looked no different.