RN: We’re heading east to Mitchell SD, but first, we charge in Wall, home of Wall Drug Store, for which we see many signs on I-90 so we are curious.

But first, we have lunch and Felix decides to order a beer called “Buffalo Snot”. Here he is checking it out… turns out, Willard ordered the same beer when he was here earlier this summer (haha).

Wall Drug Store is the largest building in Wall and it houses all sorts of wares: not only the usual sundries, but souvenirs, western art, clothing, hats, (lotsa) cowboy boots, toys, games, books, ceramics, a cafe, western baby clothing, guns, and, best of all, these boys and animals singing cowboy songs…

It’s a short trip from Wall to Badlands National Park, where we disappear into an other-wordly land of mounds, spires, and stripes of crazy colors. The Badlands are formed from a combination of soft sedimentary rock and volcanic ash layers. They erode at the rate of 1 inch per year, which contrasts with the rate of erosion of granite (eg., in the Black Hills) at a rate of 1 inch per 10,000 years (!). The sedimentary layers are also perfectly flat and straight across, in contrast to Utah or Colorado, where seismic activity has lifted and tilted layers. We are totally awed and can’t help but take lots of photos and videos!!

FE. Layers upon layers

Flowers and colors

Light and shadow

A Rae popping up in the rocks

Driving on Mars

Swallows building their mud homes from badlands dirt

Clouds and erosion

Give me thought

RN: Did not know Felix is a poet!