June 15 - 2018 Wall, South Dakota

June 15 was a day of great variation. After we moved 90 miles/145 km to Wall, South Dakota, we set out to discover nature, history and culture.
First was nature. We drove to the Badlands National Park.

The Badlands is an area created by soil erosion. Originally – thousands of years ago, the area was flat prairie land. Over time, wind and water eroded the top layer of rock, exposing the clay and sand layers beneath. These layers were very easily broken down, and the result is an amazing mixture of cliffs and valleys, in many different colors and shapes.

We were surprised sometimes, when the wide-open prairie in front of us, all of a sudden opened into a canyon. Some were very difficult to see, until we were right next to them.

Next up was history. Out in the middle of almost nowhere, the Americans built atomic missile sites, during the cold war years.

The missile sites were as well hidden as the canyons in the Badlands😊 They were built underground and blended into the landscape very well.

 We went to see one of the “Minuteman 2” missile sites, that was shut down in the 1990’s.

There are still similar sites operative in the Midwest, now armed with the Minuteman 3 missiles.
The name Minuteman stems from the revolutionary war. A group of rebellions in Massachusetts were ready to fight on the minute. The missiles can also be launched within minutes, if necessary.

We were reminded of the fear there was, during the cold war, and I was reminded of having “duck and cover” drills at school, where we practiced hiding under our school desks, in case of an atomic bomb.

After a little rest, we were ready for “culture”. The town of Wall is a well-known stop for tourists traveling through South Dakota, because of Wall Drug (En “drugstore” er en blanding af et apotek og minimarked/kiosk - cirka).

 

 It was opened in 1931 and put up billboards (store vejreklamer) advertising “free ice water” to get travelers to stop.  

Later they added “coffee for 5 cents” to the billboards.

Now, the advertising starts at the eastern boarder to Minnesota, and goes as far west as Montana (over 600 miles/ 1000km).  There are hundreds of them. After seeing those for hours of driving, you HAVE to stop at Wall Drug!

The “culture” part comes in, because the place is a center for “western” clothing, art, food, etc. The store is huge and filled with both tourist shops and cafes. They have western art hanging on the walls of the cafes, worth millions of dollars. And they have lots of other interesting things😊

If you can think of a junk souvenir - they have it there !!

It’s a tourist trap, but a fun one 😊.

Written by Mary