Custer State Park II

The activities  of the previous days have all been centered in and around Custer State Park. This park is one of the largest and most beautiful in the nation and it owes its continued unblemished existence to Peter Norbeck, Governor and Senator, considered the Father of Custer Park.  As an advocate for tourism he promoted the return of the native animals to the park.  He also supported the presidential carvings of Mt. Rushmore.  He advocated for the building of the Game Lodge (later the summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge and his wife in 1927).  He made sure there were roads that caused drivers to drive at 20 mph so that they could enjoy the wondrous scenery.

There are more campgrounds here than our last trip in 2008.  Most have water and power hookups.  There is park-like space between the sites.  We enjoyed sitting outside reading and/or napping while surrounded by hills.  Political comment: we wish our own Governor Jerry Brown would invest in hookups for water and power in our state parks so that they too could be used by out-of-state tourists who would spend their money in California supporting our great beauty.

We took one of Norbeck’s roads, the one to Needles.  It took us through the forest and up amidst rock spires that tower overhead.

This tunnel is a one-car only way into those spires.

We watched rock climbers ascend straight up.

This hot vehicle was having fun on the road.

We then went into Wall, SD, a small town that is a perfect example of kitsch and the home of Wall Drug.

First we visited the National Grasslands Visitor Center.

The movie and displays told of the destruction of our grasslands by the sodbusters who settled in the Great Plains.  They replaced the natural grasses that held the earth in check with crops that needed irrigation.  When the rains failed the soil was left unprotected.  The ultimate result was the Dust Bowl of the 1930s which saw the topsoil blow away.  The museum shows of efforts being made to restore some of the native grasses and the return of the animals who thrived there. 

Wall Drug is the centerpiece or maybe the whole piece of the town.

Started in 1931 by a pharmacist and his wife.  Their pharmacy was not drawing business until Dorothy Wall got the idea that all those cars they heard driving by on the highway had thirsty people in them.  They put out “Burma shave-style” signs inviting people in for a free drink of  ice water.  This is one of the modern signs.

Today the block-long complex includes souvenir shops, bookstores, cafes, an ice cream parlor, game rooms, mechanical toys, a mechanical dinosaur, and so much more.

We wandered through and cooled off with an okay iced latte.  This is a one time experience.

We returned to Custer where we enjoyed a delicious shrimp taco for lunch and then headed to check out a recommendation from friends and fellow Rvers Ellen and Mark.  They had been here and stopped at Bobkat’s Purple Pie Place.

Well, they understated the delicious ice cream and the scrumptious slices of bumbleberry pie we took back with us.  It took great willpower to make the pie slices last two dinners.

These buffalo in all their finery stand on the street corners.