Wall Drug. Yep, but I bet you just sang the Sesame Street song. Gotcha!

Back in South Dakota. For miles there are signs advertising Wall Drug. It’s an enigma, an icon. And a little hard to describe. It was an old time drug store, and now it’s…the best tourist trap in the US? It has candy shops and cowboy art, a cafe to seat 530 and a South Dakota themed splash pad, an animated t-Rex and gold mining, a chapel and an apothecary. Yep, still a drug store. You name it, you can find it here. It’s fun and free, and another slice of Americana.

   
    
  
 
That just might be our Christmas card photo. 😉

Next we headed to Badlands NP. I was awestruck. The landscape for miles around was otherworldly. Beautiful and barren, except not. We hiked a little, climbed a little, birdwatched some. Then we were in for a real treat. There was an electrical storm off in the distance.  It was continuos lightning for 12 hours straight. I’ve never seen anything like it. First the backdrop of the badlands, then illuminating the night sky. Breathtaking.

   
    
 
I kept thinking of the poor pioneers. Having come thousands of miles to be confronted with this seemingly insurmountable obstacle.