We did not stop at Wall Drug or the Badlands National Park on our drive across South Dakota yesterday, so today we back-tracked 50 miles to the east in the car to visit these iconic places. While there we also discovered the Minuteman National Monument, but only had time to visit the headquarters trailer. Tours of the missile silo and launch control center will have to wait for another visit to the area.
Wall Drug, Wall, SD
Wall Drug, in Wall, South Dakota, is one of the iconic shopping experiences in the USA. I saw it as a pre-teen on a trip to Yellowstone with my family, and again 25 years ago when traveling to Washington with our son for my best friend’s wedding, but it was Linda’s first visit. This completed the trifecta of American shopping, having already been to the Mall of the Americas in Minneapolis / St. Paul and the Iowa 80 Truck Stop. (5th Avenue in New York and Rodeo Drive in California have nothing on these places.)
After seeing Wall Drug, we walked around town and discovered the Headquarters and Visitor Center of the U. S. National Grasslands. There are nine (9) of these grasslands across the USA, but the headquarters, and only visitor center, for all of them is in Wall, South Dakota. Who knew? We certainly didn’t.
U. S. National Grasslands HQ & Visitor Center
The staff was very friendly and helpful, and we got maps and a lot of good information about the surrounding area, including Badlands N. P. We also bought a National Parks passport and got it stamped; our first of what we hope will be many such endorsements.
Wall is near the west entrance to Badlands N. P. Like Wall Drug, I visited the park as a boy and again 25 years ago with our son. We camped there in a tent, and had to seek shelter in the bathhouse building due to a tornado. No one was injured, and none of our equipment was damaged, but it made for some exciting moments, and we made a lot of quick friends while hunkered down.
A sleeper coach! at Badlands N.P.
When entering Badlands N. P. we used our Senior Access pass for the first time. It’s a $10 lifetime pass for “people of a certain age.” The Badlands are a strangely beautiful place. Like most tourists, we drove through on the main road and stopped at most of the scenic pull-outs to gaze and take pictures. At one spot we hiked out on a trail for a half mile or so and then back. Any farther than that and we would have needed more equipment and adequate water.
Badlands National Park
We exited the park at the east entrance, and that is where we discovered the headquarters of the Minuteman N. M. It is a relatively new national monument and the headquarters is housed in a trailer. Even then, it has that distinctive National Park Service look and feel; a look and feel that I have always liked.
The monument consists of a missile silo and a Launch Control Center, both of which are located near the headquarters, but not right there. The missile silo permits self-guided tours, but the launch control center is a guided tour by reservation only. They actually take you down the elevator to the control room, and can only accommodate six (6) people per tour, which I think they run on the hour. If you want to see the launch control center, arrive early to sign up for a tour time that day or the next. There is no charge for the tour.