Black Hills, Wall Drug and Badlands South Dakota

The southwest corner of South Dakota is home to the

Black Hills National Forest and Badlands National Park.

 

 

The town of Wall is situated near both parks.



 

Wall Drug opened in 1931. 

The owners came up with the idea of offering free ice water

 to entice travelers to stop at their store.

 

 

This idea made Wall Drug famous and now has 20,000

visitors a day during the hot summer.



 

The Drug Store has grown to a full city block and is now like a

mini mall with many specialty stores.



 



 



 

There is still a drug store..... but also a







fierce dragon, restaurants and ice cream store.

 

 Free ice water is still available.

The Badlands offer a beautiful stark contrast to the
touristy Wall Drug.

 

 

The surface of today's Badlands is the floor of a

sea that once covered the land. About 75 million years ago

the earth climate was warmer and the shallow sea covered

the region splitting North America in two parts.

 

 

 Grayish-black sediment rock remains

after the sea evaporated.





 

 Time zones of the color in the rock.

 

 The mountains were created by volcanos and

the landscape was covered in ash.

 



 

Tropical climate supported alligators at one time.

 

 



Mount Rushmore National Memorial is in the Black Hills 



Between 1927-1941 Sculptor Gutzon Borglum with the help of

400 workers carved a memorial to the history of America.

The faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln viewed by more than 3 million visitors a year.

 

 

The donkeys have learned to block visitors on the

roadway at Custer State Park looking for treats.

 

The town of Sturgis is know for

annual motorcycle rally each August.