Crossing South Dakota

We departed the land of Laura Ingalls Wilder and started our journey to the Badlands of South Dakota, a place that I have always wanted to see. I had planned on making the trip without any stops, but previewing the winds caused me to stop early for a night in the small town of Presho SD. After we arrived in Presho, another RV arrived with their main awning ripped off, so I’m glad we opted to delay and wait for calmer winds. People that drive at 70 mph into 30 mph winds forget that that results in a 100 mph gale on their RV.

Shortly before arriving in Presho, we stopped at a rest area that had a great view looking over the Missouri River, as well as the Dignity Statue. I had never heard of this amazing statue, but CA, of course, was very familiar with it and was happy to stop. I think she would have smacked me if I didn’t. My engineer’s soul was just impressed by the hidden structure needed to hold the large statue up in the heavy winds of the Dakotas.

We also learned that South of the Border (AKA Pedro) has a competitor for roadside signs. Those of you that have travelled I-95 through the south are very familiar with these signs. We have gone up and down I-95 I don’t know how many times over the last 40+ years, so the signs are very familiar to us. I was not expecting to see similar signs along I-90 in South Dakota. The signs were not for Pedro, but for a particular drug store that I was not aware of; Wall Drug. Apparently the store is a big deal in South Dakota, and our campground in Wall SD is only a block away from it. So, of course, we had to visit. Here’s a short article about the store and their signs. Here’s a video tour that will waste a few minutes of your time.

Our arrival in Wall brought freezing temperatures and high winds, creating a wind chill of 26 degrees as we woke up on May 21st. I had disconnected our water the night before so our hose wouldn’t freeze. We opted to delay our hikes in the Badlands National Park for a day and just hang around town and get caught up on laundry and groceries, and eat lunch at Wall Drug. The Bison Bacon Burger that I had was excellent!