The highlight was stopping at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. I was here many years ago as a kid on vacation with my parents, but it was nothing like it is today.
They have purchased all of the stores on the East side of the main block in downtown Wall. It is one of most massive curio shops in the US. It has fresh donuts and a cafeteria and has now grown to have an interior style mall.
I snapped this in the clothing store where Western boots and hats were mainly the theme.
I took this shot of the indoor mall area by holding the camera over my head. It has poor focus by shows the newer areas of the store.
Behind the main row of stores, there is a courtyard where various photo options are available. I thought this was kind of fun, as there are fountains that are in the cement flooring. They squirt up above your head, and the kids were running back and forth thru the water. If you look closely you can see one of the fountains squirting.
Then clear down at the end of the row of buildings back in a dark corner I found the animated T-Rex. He is about ten feet tall and sits there all shrouded in jungle plants. You didn't know that he would come to life until the lights suddenly come on and he speaks up!!
I switched the camera to the video option and caught about 14 seconds of what he had to say and put it on as a video.
There were several little kids in attendance that were caught completely off guard and it scared the He!! out of them as they began to scream in terror. If you listen closely you can hear one of them begin to scream just as I cut off the camera.
We are at the KOA in in Rapid City tonight where we were shocked at the price for camping. But with Sturgis bike week going on next week all prices in the area are adjusted. And not lower I might add.
Retired Rod
Been to Wall Drug several times and was really pleased to see they had cleaned it up and gotten rid of a lot of the junk that used to be around. KOA's are always expensive.
ReplyDeleteWe avoid them if at all possible.
Spent a week at the Wall KOA one night. Also did the Wall Drug thing, it was one of those things you have to see at least once. Like you said it does break up a long journey across the state.One thing I found a little quirky was the chip & seal coating south Dakota puts on sections of it's interstate. Must have a low highway department budget.Be safe out there. Sam & Donna...
ReplyDeleteI have never been to a Wall Drug. But it does look like one of those curious places to check out just for the heck of it. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you are finding lower temperatures. Some summer you and Loyce should head on up here to upstate NY. Our winters suck, but our summers are usually pretty pleasant. All this week we have high temps in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s. Perfect summer weather!
Must have felt good to get to Rapid City and the Black Hills! If you want to stay in the area but would like to get out of the KOA, you might want to check with Rush-No-More Campground. Their address is Sturgis, but they are well outside of town. We stayed once for a small rally and really liked the park and location:
ReplyDeletehttp://wecallithome.blogspot.com/2008/06/rush-no-more-campground-sturgis-south.html
Their normal rate at the time we stayed (2008) was $25 for FHU; we paid $15 as part of the rally.
I hope you find cooler weather.
KOA has a special going on in August where you pay for one night and get the 2nd one free. Check out their website and see if it is there. If not, let me know and I will send you a link they sent me if you are interested. I don't intend to stay at a KOA in August.
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