Traveling to Wall Drug Store

We left Sioux Falls to travel west toward Pierre, SD and eventually, Deadwood, SD. Of course, we could not simply go directly to these spots! Our first stop was at Cabelas Sporting Goods store in Mitchell, SD. This is an amazing store with virtually any outdoor-related item you could ask for. Cabelas also is very friendly to RVers and has great parking and a dump station for use. We were in for a special treat on our visit when we saw the National Eagle Center display supporting Eagles and Veterans. We got up close to this amazing bald eagle -- great!

We then headed to Pierre, SD and the city RV park seen above. This is a great place to camp when in the Pierre area and is right on the Missouri River and offers 50 amp service and a full dump station for $15 a night. Plus, you are right in town and can quickly get anywhere in a hurry.

We left Pierre on Highway 14 which is an excellent 2 lane road that works great for the motorhome. Shortly after leaving town, we noticed several signs informing us that the highway followed the old Ft. Pierre - Deadwood stage route. Cool! We even noticed the old wagon wheel ruts that you can still see today. Must have been many, many stage coaches traveling over this route 120 years or more ago.

Of course, today, there is another destination at the end of Hwy 14 westbound. That, of course, is Wall Drug in Wall, SD. We saw many signs advertising the unique things available at the Drug Store, in addition to the famous Free Ice Water!

The Wall Drug Store is an amazing place with a great history. It is absolutely a must stop if you are heading on I-90. Located at exit 110, it is unique in the world.

Admission to the store is free as is parking -- even for a rig like our coach. The town is very small (802 residents!), but hosts over 15,000 visitors A DAY! Even with this volume of visitors, there is no feeling of crowding you can look at the many items, pictures and information kiosks at your leisure.

The Drug Store occupies most of the town and you can still park right in front. It is fun to see the many license plates from all over the country in this small town. Orinda and Erica had no problem stopping for a quick picture in front of the store (where Erica worked for two summers while in college).

There is a large restaurant in the store that features a fantastic collection of western art. You can see that behind Rick and Orinda is a remarkable collection of Charles Russel bronze castings. We love coming here for lunch and wandering around taking all of it in.

Orinda has found an old coot to talk to in the mall area of the Drug Store. Fortunately, she decided to hang in there with Rick for the future. Wall Drug is a great stop anytime of the year!