Wall Drug
Last week I had the occasion to drive across my home state of SD both directions on a last minute trip out to Rapid City for a funeral. Growing up in SD I have made all or part of that trip countless times, though not in the last 10 years or so. Sadly, this time the trip had an entirely different flavor and I couldn't put my finger on exactly why until almost half-way back across the state: The Wall Drug signs are nearly all gone.
Growing up in SD there are a few constants that the locals all know but the tourists don't:
-Mt. Rushmore isn't really all that cool, but Crazy Horse is amazing.
-A top-down or two-wheeled trip through the Needles is an experience you'll savor.
-The Badlands are a destination spot every child should get to experience, and every adult too.
-When you drive through Chamberlain you stop and eat at Al's Oasis.
-The Iowa-esque boredom of a drive across the state is made bearable by the Wall Drug signs.
Used to be there was maybe 12 places along I-90 in SD where you could stop on the side of the road and not see a Wall Drug sign. Now you can go miles and miles and not see one. Sure they were campy, kind of like the intermission commercials at a drive-in theatre, but they were a tangible facet of that particular stretch of road. And now they're gone. I remember how my Mother cringed a bit inside as I read every sign aloud, the entire trip, in the proud but halting way only a 6-year old learning to read can. I remember playing the alphabet game with the family on a trip to the Hills and getting through the alphabet a dozen times thanks to the Wall Drug signs and SD's "AuthoriZed Vehicles Only" signs. All those things you had to do back when the speed limit was 55 and it took 8 hours to cross the state and there was no TV in the car.
I never suspected billboards would go the way of the pay-phone, and it's a bit depressing.
Growing up in SD there are a few constants that the locals all know but the tourists don't:
-Mt. Rushmore isn't really all that cool, but Crazy Horse is amazing.
-A top-down or two-wheeled trip through the Needles is an experience you'll savor.
-The Badlands are a destination spot every child should get to experience, and every adult too.
-When you drive through Chamberlain you stop and eat at Al's Oasis.
-The Iowa-esque boredom of a drive across the state is made bearable by the Wall Drug signs.
Used to be there was maybe 12 places along I-90 in SD where you could stop on the side of the road and not see a Wall Drug sign. Now you can go miles and miles and not see one. Sure they were campy, kind of like the intermission commercials at a drive-in theatre, but they were a tangible facet of that particular stretch of road. And now they're gone. I remember how my Mother cringed a bit inside as I read every sign aloud, the entire trip, in the proud but halting way only a 6-year old learning to read can. I remember playing the alphabet game with the family on a trip to the Hills and getting through the alphabet a dozen times thanks to the Wall Drug signs and SD's "AuthoriZed Vehicles Only" signs. All those things you had to do back when the speed limit was 55 and it took 8 hours to cross the state and there was no TV in the car.
I never suspected billboards would go the way of the pay-phone, and it's a bit depressing.
posted by Stephen at 5:14 PM
