2026 May 27: Wall SD and the final National site visits for this trip

The weather forecast for the area between Custer and our next stop, Wall, SD, called for increasing windiness through the day with wind gusts getting well above 30mph. Our philosophy has been to avoid wind gusts over 25mph, they make driving much harder. Our next campsite, which was two hours away, said we could show up early, as in 9am (normal check-in was 1pm.) So, we left Custer’s Gulch at 7am and got to Binn2Quinn just after 9am. Binn2Quinn is a small, private RV park with five campsites and a cabin from repurposed grain silos. But everything worked great, and there weren’t many other people there. We never saw a property manager, but they lived across the road. The site was sparse with but included a picnic table. The campgrounds were between a large field (where turkeys could be seen) and a pond formed by Tennyson Dam. V: also had a larger dock on the pond where we sat and enjoyed the wildlife watching a large bald eagle, lots of birds and turtles.

Binn2Quinn campground. We had the second site from the right. V: Old picture shown from their website. They had actually made a lot of improvements from a covered gazebo to a covered tiki bar area with several tall tables and stools, not in this old picture.

We parked the RV and quickly set it up. We turned on the AC and left Lexie in charge of the RV while we went to Wall Drug. That place is huge and has a great story. We went to the cafe and ordered coffee (5 cents) and breakfast ($20) because we hadn’t eaten that morning. Wall Drug takes up a full block. Across the street from Wall Drug are smaller tourist shops. There wasn’t much more to see in Wall, SD. But Wall Drug is most certainly worth a visit, highly recommended.

Signs for Wall Drug (and assorted attractions)

We also walked around Wall Drug, buying souvenirs.

Wall Drug inside alley leading to specialty shops

The story of Wall Drug began in 1931 when Ted Hustead, a Nebraska-born pharmacist, bought the only drugstore in Wall, a 231‑person town in the middle of the Great Depression per Wikipedia. His wife, Dorothy, and their young son Billy struggled to keep the store afloat. Dorothy suggested putting up signs every mile or so advertising free water/ice/ice water to travelers – like the old Burma shave signs. This route was on the way to Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park. check it out https://walldrug.com

We returned to Binn2Quinn and gave Lexie some attention.

Our plans for the day were to visit two sites in our National Parks Passport. So getting to our campsite early helped for a more leisurely afternoon.

Our next stop was to visit the Minuteman National Historic sites, a tribute and reminder of the nuclear arms ready for use during the Cold War.

The first stop was at de-commissioned Minuteman Silo.

Minuteman NHS Vicki looking at launch site – it was pretty windy out on the prairie.

Minuteman NHS Vicki entering launch site

The next stop was to the visitor center that described the operations of the Minuteman missiles and the mindset of the cold war (and mutual assured destruction.)

Minuteman NHS visitor center entrance sign

After the Minuteman National Historic Site, we went to the Badlands National Park. This park was conveniently located three miles south of the Minuteman NHS visitor center.

Badlands entrance sign – Vicki’s shirt reads “Do Not Pet the Fluffy Cows”

The Badlands were different than the other canyons and geologic structures we had seen before. First, the Badlands start where the plains end. And the plains extend into the canyons of the Badlands (there is green growth on the floor of the canyons!)

Badlands Big Badlands Overlook scan

Second, the rock formations in the Badlands are rounder than the ones we had seen in the southwest. The rocks are also softer, eroding at the rate of one inch per year. And the erosion is caused by both rain (16″ annually) and wind. Then the lightbulb went off: the high winds that were forecast for the area are normal. And we could feel the winds as we stood at the various overlooks in the park.

We drove along the Badlands Loop Road from the Northeast Entrance to Pinnacles entrance, stopping at some (not all) of the overlook points.

Badlands across from Window Trail trailhead

The Badlands visitor center had an interesting video that showed the movement of the continental plates for the past 540 million years. The current borders for the states of the US are shown, so you can watch the seas rise and fall over time. This video is over six minutes long, so be aware (or speed up the video). I also posted a similar video that takes less than 100 seconds but doesn’t have the state outlines.

6 minutes of plate tectonics

100 seconds of plate tectonics.

Badlands White River Valley Overlook w Vicki too close to the edge

Badlands Big Foot Overlook (we will be on the road in the middle of the picture)

We saw quite a few prairie dogs in the Badlands. And a couple of Pronghorn Antelopes. Sadly, we did not see any big horn sheep.

Badlands Burns Basin Overlook prairie dogs

Badlands Burns Basin Overlook prairie dogs 2

Badlands Yellow Mounds Overlook: colors made Steve hungry for sherbet

Badlands Pinnacles Overlook w Steve unsuccessfully looking for bighorn sheep

We wrapped up our day with a return visit to Wall Drug for a bison burger and ice cream. We arrived there just after six, and had to beg the ice cream counter for ice cream since it closed at seven (and we saw them putting up the “CLOSED” sign)