Wall, South Dakota
Have you ever been to the well advertised Wall Drug Store in South Dakota?
The Hubster and I have taken many family trips over the years, always by-passing Wall Drug in spite of those famous road signs. I always thought that place would be too touristy for me. There are plenty of other places to explore.
*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!
The kids have grown and have their own families now.
Of course, when they traveled, they made Wall Drug a destination.
This year, the Hubster and I decided to stop in and see what the hoopla is all about. We can’t have our kids visiting somewhere that we haven’t been, now can we?
Wall Drug Store was founded by Ted and Dorothy Hustad in 1931 during the Great Depression.
Dorothy thought of advertising free ice water to thirsty travelers heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles to the west. From then on, business was booming.
Wall Drug has become a sprawling western-themed roadside tourist attraction known for its free ice water, 5-cent coffee, a cafe, a book shop, souvenir shops, a chapel, art galleries, a historic pharmacy and various amusements.
The complex draws some two million annual visitors.
You are going to love it if this is your thing!
We loved the cherry pie that we had for breakfast!
We would definitely stop by again just for that!
By the way, the dining rooms have over 300 original oil paintings, representing one of the best private collections of original Western and Illustration Art in the country. Who knew?!
See the world around you!
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LC's Cottage 
Yay you stopped! It really is quite something. I do remember stopping once and it was so swamped with visitors and not so fun. I loved seeing the simple chapel picture. I had not seen this 🙂
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The Hubster and I deliberately choose to travel in the ‘off season’ because we know that summers are so busy. Even so, we do run into crowds…we aren’t the only seniors to travel in the fall. Ha, ha! Wall Drug was still plenty crowded in the cafe, and we were there bright and early in the morning. We had no trouble finding parking or walking around. The chapel was a great unexpected find! 🙂
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Ride ’em, cowgirl!
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We stopped there over 35 years ago. I don’t remember the exhibits, but I do remember the pie. It was very crowded when we stopped, hard to move around.
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35 years ago I was determined not to stop there. Never say never. Ha, ha! Not so crowded when one is there first thing in the morning and it is the off season. 🙂
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Such an interesting store…amazed by the chapel and art they have there!
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I was quite surprised myself, Kathleen. I have only ever thought of this place as a tourist trap. 🙂
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