Visiting Wall Drug & Badlands National Park

We decided to check out of our house rental one day early.  We had an 8 hour drive from Rapid City, South Dakota to Omaha, Nebraska and at the last minute we decided to split that up into two days.  We loaded up the car and headed to Mitchell, South Dakota with a stop at Wall Drug and the Badlands along the way.



It seems like you can't visit the Badlands and not stop at Wall Drug!  The signs are quite comical along the way and I knew the boys would enjoy some freshly baked treats once there.  It's basically a giant shopping center all under one roof.  We did walk around for a bit and then the boys settled with their father in the café and ordered freshly baked donuts and cinnamon buns while my mother in law and I walked around to do some shopping.




We headed back on our way and soon found ourselves entering the Badlands.  The rock formations were pretty amazing to see.





We did go into the visitor's center and there is a mini museum set up inside that we walked through and learned about the history of the area.  We also sat and watched a short video on wildlife in the Badlands before heading out on a short hike of our own.


We settled on the Door Trail but didn't end up hiking the whole thing as it was a very sunny and hot day, once again.




The Badlands appear to be made of sand but once you get up close you see that is actually a very hard rock.


Deep craggy cuts and valley's wind their way all throughout the rocks.



There are so many colors and layers and it's pretty amazing to see just how far the landscape stretches.


We piled back in the car and drove to another overlook spot before piling out of the car and walking to the end of the trail.




We were so happy to have gotten to see this natural wonder then we piled back in the car for our ride to the Holiday Inn in Mitchell where the younger two boys decided to check out the pool before we headed out for dinner.





Other posts from this trip include:

Driving from Denver to Cheyenne
Where we stayed in the Black Hills
Custer State Park Wildlife Loop Trail
Driving the Needles Highway through Custer State Park
Visiting Mount Rushmore
Our afternoon at the Reptile Gardens 
Hiking Sylvan Lake at Custer State park
Visiting Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo


Linking Up With:


Comments

  1. DawnOctober 27, 2019 at 8:38 AM

    Your trip was just amazing. I love it all!
    Blessings, Dawn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3October 27, 2019 at 2:04 PM

      It really was! Though I was quite happy to be done with travel by the time we arrived home. :)

      Delete
  2. Kari WagnerOctober 27, 2019 at 9:18 AM

    I have always wanted to visit Wall Drug. I got a postcard from a friend who did visit there when I was in high school and it looked like so much fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3October 27, 2019 at 2:05 PM

      It was a lot of fun and we had such a hard time settling on the treats-- there was taffy and ice cream and fudge too. Such an odd conglomeration of everything under one roof.

      Delete
  3. Adoring FamilyOctober 27, 2019 at 4:25 PM

    This looks like an amazing hike! I love the layers in the rocks. Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3October 28, 2019 at 4:40 PM

      I loved the layers and colors; each section of the Badlands had it's own unique look to it.

      Delete
  4. Veronica LeeOctober 28, 2019 at 5:52 AM

    WOW! I would love to visit this park! Fabulous photos!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dara @ Not In JerseyOctober 28, 2019 at 9:01 AM

    Wall Drugs is so fun. A great place to stop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3October 28, 2019 at 4:50 PM

      It was a lot of fun; such an unusual shopping experience.

      Delete
  6. csuhpat1October 28, 2019 at 1:22 PM

    What a beautiful trip. So lovely. Thanks for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AniOctober 28, 2019 at 3:52 PM

    I've been to that area before but never heard of Wall Drug! Looks like so much fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tamar SBOctober 28, 2019 at 9:15 PM

    What a truly beautiful place to visit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3October 29, 2019 at 5:52 AM

      It really was and I just could not get over the sheer size of it all.

      Delete
  9. Claire JustineOctober 29, 2019 at 1:04 PM

    Looks amazing here. What beautiful views :) Thanks so much for stopping by the linky party #TheWeeklyLinkUp

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3October 29, 2019 at 4:37 PM

      It was unbelievable; I had seen pictures before so I sort of knew what to expect but it surpassed my expectations.

      Delete
  10. AmandaOctober 31, 2019 at 7:59 PM

    The Badlands were one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. I really fell in love with South Dakota when we drove through it on our move out here.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dee | Grammy's GridNovember 1, 2019 at 7:09 AM

    Enjoyed seeing your pics!! Thanks so much for linking up at the #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 6. Shared.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kristen of A Mom's Quest to TeachNovember 1, 2019 at 1:30 PM

    Such a beautiful looking place!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3November 1, 2019 at 5:19 PM

      It really was pretty stunning; I just love nature's beauty.

      Delete

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