Day Six
Yesterday was kind of epic. We had a huge and delicious breakfast at Wall Drug which is, I think, the largest drugstore in the US. The town of Wall, SD is centered completely around the drugstore and would probably not exist without it. It was started by a pharmacist and his wife during the Great Depression. When they weren't getting any business the wife suggested that they start offering free ice water to customers who would be hot in their jalopies driving down the highway. She made signs that they posted along the highway and the people started pouring in. Now they have 20,000 people (that is not a typo) in the store on a good summer day!

 The pancakes were so good!

 Chris read to us about the history of the store while we ate.

Rosie models the giant fly swatter that I was tempted to buy for crowd control in the car. They also had an extendable fly swatter Sara! We didn't buy it, though it would probably have reached the back of the   Pickle Bus. Max wants me to tell you that the swatter said, "This swatter is for buffalo-sized flies."

After breakfast and some shopping, we went to the Badlands. There was some general moaning and whining about it being boring, until we actually got there. We were greeted by spectacular scenery and a herd of long horned sheep. They were so docile that we were able to get within 10 feet to take pictures.

 Did you know that, if you are blind, you get a lifetime pass to the Badlands?  David Letterman is making a joke about this somewhere.

We were brave and hiked out on a thin point of soft, perpetually eroding soil.

We met Prairie Dogs and 3 Bison, all of whom were remarkably unafraid and undisturbed by us. 

We spent most of the day at the Badlands and then wandered off to Mount Rushmore at dusk. We were lucky enough to stumble on a concert by the 44th annual Mount Rushmore music camp playing in an open ampitheater under the monument. 

Our original campground was sketchy looking so we switched it up and came down to Custer State Park and a camp ground that it very fancy (as far as campgrounds go). However, the tent sites are all on small gravel and hard surfaces, not super comfy but nothing some Advil PM couldn't conquer (at least for me!). 

Custer State Park, the  Crazy Horse monument and then a drive to Montana are on the schedule today. We're going to try to deviate from the plan and visit Glacier Park in the next two days.

So far, so good. Though Max and Rosie both got cap guns at Wall Drug and have been dueling all morning. I'm pretty sure the other campers will not be sad to see us go!