Backroads Across America: Wall-to-Wall Wildlife

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

From prairie dogs to a rattlesnake, the wildlife was out today during our roadside stops in Badlands National Park as we drove toward the Black Hills in South Dakota.

Then, a brief visit to Wall Drugs brought Sue up close to another kind of wild guy.

The town of Wall, South Dakota, on I-90, was named after the spectacular 50-mile mountain wall, or ridge, in the national park. Wall Drugs is a series of gift stores and eateries that attracts two million tourists a year. Its claim to fame began with billboard ads offering free ice water. The signs were originally modeled after the infamous Burma shave roadside ads. Today’s signs along the interstate are much larger and are posted for many miles.

Perhaps the wildlife at nearby Badlands National Park need a similar campaign. They see just one million visitors annually.