Exploring and taking pictures – Badlands National Park and vicinity, August 11, 2014
After Cliff Shelf Trail, we visited a number of view points, turnouts and even a short hike (or two). I usually take photos of signs associated with places we stop so that I have something to refer to when putting together a post. It didn’t happen as much at Badlands, for whatever reason, so I’ll share a few of the better images of the Badlands.
Some time after our noon meal, we headed out of the park for the nearby town of Wall, South Dakota, for some ice cream at Wall Drug.
Wall was incorporated as a town in 1908. It was named for its location near the high wall of the Badlands. It is best known for Wall Drug Store, which opened as a small pharmacy in 1931 during the Depression, but eventually developed into a large roadside tourist attraction. Over time it has grown into into a cowboy-themed shopping mall/department store (and tourist trap).
The New York Times has described Wall Drug as “a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown [that] takes in more than $10 million a year and draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town.” (Wikipedia)
