As Rose checked the map she saw a place call Chamberlain in South Dakota right on the Missouri River. This is supposed to be the best spot for whali fishing, George ( the caretaker at Shade Valley) mentioned it - it was where he "ice" fished last winter. He tows his sled over the ice, drills a hole and fishes - amazing!
As we drove the interstate we started seeing signs about the town of Wall and the famous "drug" store. Wall Drug is a major tourist attraction drawing around 2 million tourists to the tiny town of Wall each year. The small town drugstore made its first step towards fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931. Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a Catholic church in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere." Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, got the idea to advertise free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles (97 km) to the west. From that time on business was brisk. Wall Drug grew into a cowboy-themed shopping mall/department store. Wall Drug earns much of its fame from its self-promotion. Billboards advertising the establishment can be seen for hundreds of miles throughout South Dakota and the neighbouring states. By 1981 Wall Drug was claiming it was giving away 20,000 cups of water per day during the peak tourist season, lasting from Memorial Day until Labor Day, and during the hottest days of the summer. Most of Wall Drug's advertisement billboards can be found on an approximately 650-mile-long (1,050 km) stretch of Interstate 90 from Minnesota to Billings, Montana. They spend an estimated $400,000 on billboards every year.
Lunch was a roast beef sandwich covered in gravy with mash - at least it was not a burger.
The Famous Wall Drug Store
Yep This is All Part of The Drug Store
A Quick Call from Wall
Lunch done we headed back down the highway. Anyone who has travelled this part of the country will know that apart from cornfields there is very little else to look at.
The things you do when you are bored - a new biker image perhaps?
Mmm, Might look Better with a Harley?
Apart from its natural beauty Chamberlain is predominately a fishing town - we considered doing a fishing charter but as it turned out the weather was overcast and windy for the few days we were there so gave it a miss. We went downtown so I could get a haircut. The barber was fascinated that someone from Australia would stop, or even consider stopping in Chamberlain - his actual words were " what the hell are you doing here!" He was about 70 still working cutting hair for $10 and until recently did it 7 days a week- I felt sorry for him - he should be out fishing at his age. We had a great chat and he made me laugh with his stories and sayings. I tipped him and we headed out to see the countryside.
We Loved Our Looking Over the Banks of the Missouri River
Beautiful
Looking Down Over Chamberlain
Peering out our window the next morning we saw what we thought were leaves from the trees all over the fly screens and walls of the 5th wheeler. On closer inspection however we realised that they were a type of flying insect and there were thousands of them! We likened it to the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds - they were everywhere! We learnt later, over a couple of afternoon cocktails, that they were Mayflies which belong to the dragon fly family. Mayflies are aquatic insects whose immature stage (called a "nymph") usually lasts one year in fresh water. The adults are short-lived, from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the species. Because of the short lifespan of the highly visible, winged adult form, the mayfly is often called the 'one-day fly' . Few species live in lakes, but they are among the most prolific. The emergence of one species of MayFly was recorded on Doppler weather radar along the shores of Lake Erie
Mayflies in August!
The Mayfly
Trying to wipe them off the 5th Wheeler was impossible as they had literally attached themselves - we were advised to just leave them be and once they died they would just 'drop off'. We certainly left a trail of them down the highway the following day!
We will never forget Chamberlain South Dekota and the invasion of the Mayfly!
Posted by RnR on their IPad
Location:Chamberlain South Dakota
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