In 2006 I spent a day driving through SD during MINI Takes the States. It was one of my favorite days ever. This trip didn’t disappoint. I drove through Deadwood on my way out of town and then took the Black Hills Parkway to Rapid City. From there it was a quick trip down the highway to Wall, SD.

You can’t drive through South Dakota without being enticed to visit Wall Drug, there are ads for it every hundred feet or so across the state!

Wall Drug is famous for offering free ice water. That’s how they began to draw people in and it’s only grown from there! I hadn’t had breakfast so I got a maple donut and a large coffee and sat in the Art Gallery Dining Room.

After breakfast, I did a little shopping and spent a lot of time just wandering around ogling the sights.

When I left Wall Drug, I drove to the Badlands. There was a little wait to get in and the Park Ranger was very enthusiastic about my car! I drove the Badlands Loop Road and stopped occasionally for photos.

The other thing I love about South Dakota is the 80 mph on their freeways! I saw one state trooper and he was busy and didn’t seem to notice when I blew past! It’s a good thing South Dakota doesn’t appear to care much about limiting speed because I had to drive across the state to get to my next stop. I stopped for a quick lunch and then set out for the Corn Palace.

It took hours to get to Mitchell, home of the Corn Palace. And it was pretty crowded so I had to park a block away and walk in. I read some corn facts and then did a little shopping.

That was my last stop so I hopped back on the freeway and motored down to Sioux Falls> Tomorrow is my final vacation day as I work my way back to Chicago. Sad that it’s going to end but planning to cram a couple more fun stops in before I get home.