The Badlands ... not bad!

Three blogs in two days - it's good to have time to catch up, and we've seen so much that we want to share it!
Yesterday was a leisurely day, to explore the Badlands of South Dakota. For those who, like us, have enjoyed the Bungle Bungle ranges in Western Australia, the Badlands are not dissimilar, except that you find them below the level of the prairie, descend down amongst them, and drive up and over peaks, as well as between them. Row upon row of steep, craggy, eroded peaks reach up like fingers, for about 40 miles (some 60 km), forming a difficult area for early settlers, wanting to travel to the west - truly Bad Lands for them. This was home to the Lakota people, and is still home to many of them.
In the summer the Badlands are almost desert-dry, with small cactus growing, although cattle are successfully farmed in the grassy valleys. Our appreciation was enhanced by snow gleaming whitely from every niche and crag - we could see just how rugged they were. We visited the wonderful visitors' centre and appreciated two films on the area, as well as visiting the excellent museum, then quietly wandered along, stopping every mile or so for yet another photo opportunity. One stop was on a grassy knoll, where dozens of prairie dogs - not unlike a big guinea-pig, but with a skinny tail a few centimetres long - popped up from their holes to observe us. They were quite unfazed by us, rolling around in the sunshine, chasing one another - then disappearing down their holes if started. We also saw quite a number of bighorn sheep, and a really cute deer, which stood in the snow right beside us, and stared at us, before disappearing over a bank. For us, the Badlands were terrific!
We visited two other places of note, as well.
The first, at Cactus Flat, where we entered the park, was an information centre about the Minuteman missiles, stored by the US during the Cold War. Dozens of local farms were secretly bought by the military, and silos were erected, each having a missile and up to 50 men installed under them. None were ever used, the farmers, who kept operating the farms as cover, had their farms returned to them, and life went on .... except that there are still at least 100 missiles buried beneath the prairie!
We had lots of warning about our other destination ... for hundreds of miles we had seen repeated signs for "WALL DRUG", each one cornier than the last. Well, we visited Wall, and its drugstore - only 2 of 100 or so people yesterday - in the summer more than 5000 people visit every day!!! It was just as corny as its signs, but huge fun - a country drugstore which made its name by offering free ice water and 5cent coffee to travellers across the prairie. We had a late lunch of buffalo burgers and cherry pie, and felt that we really fitted into American life ... what a hoot!