Wall Drug and The Badlands...

Wall Drug was a lot of fun! Every souvenir you can imagine is available there. But it’s more than a souvenir shop, it’s an experience, all its own. No trip out West is complete without a trip to Wall Drug, in my opinion. The kids got to “mine” for gems and fossils, walk through the sprinklers, take goofy pictures, see a dinosaur who was very hungry and ready to eat them (this scared Jared horribly), and generally just goof off. After we left Wall Drug, we drove through the Badlands National Park. While it is beautiful, it wasn’t quite as breathtaking after having seen Zion and Bryce Canyons. I think the Badlands are probably best experienced as a “gateway” to the West, rather than as a “goodbye” to the West, as it was for us. Wall Drug and the Badlands were our final destinations. Our trip is winding down to a close. We’ll be traveling a little more intentionally toward home, now. All of the kids, at one time or other, over the past few days, have begun to ask about home. They are beginning to miss their familiar surroundings, their grandma & grandpa and their pets. I, myself, have mixed feelings about our trip coming to an end. Wherever Harold and the kids are is home for me. We have had an unforgettable time, and I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to see and do all that we have!

It’s been fun to document parts of our trip in this format. Having them here will definitely preserve some of our memories until I can find the opportunity to immortalize them in the pages of our scrapbooks. I will most likely be adding a couple more posts before we are home, because there were so many pictures that I’d like to add that didn’t really pertain to the subject of the other posts. Some just of scenery, and some of the kids.