Day 2- June 5

Here we are in Rapid City, South Dakota. About 100 miles from the Wyoming border. Another 1100 km took us thru Minnesota and South Dakota today. We would have been here sooner but we spent some time looking for a certain specialty item for Rob which we felt he really needed!!

The Sioux indians called this "land bad" and it has become known as the Badlands. It's a really cool looking landscape.

As soon as we entered South Dakota we began seeing signs for Wall Drug. Easily at least 1 or 2 signs for every mile of the 400 or so we drove until we arrived in Wall, South Dakota and found the drug store. But there's a cool story. In 1931 a doctor and his wife moved from Sioux Falls to a little town called Wall on the outskirts of the South Dakota Badlands, determined to make a life for themselves. Then the Great Depression hit. They struggled to make it in the little rural town on the edge of the dusty plains. But his wife had an idea - put up a few signs offering free ice water to those weary travelers coming across the plains to see a man carving a few faces into some rock called Rushmore. That began a revolution that has seen their family turn that store into a multi-million dollar business that still gives away free ice water - almost 20,000 cups a day in this little rural town in South Dakota.

Very cool - you just never know what one act of kindness will lead to! It can lead to a whacked out tourist trap, free bumper stickers and fuzzy dice you can buy from their gift shop - but hey - it's still a cool illustration!

See ya tomorrow!