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When I worked there, many customers said the place had the best steak, and every year on their route they would stop for dinner. It seemed to be true, and I was waiting for a good steak. But, not this time! It was half meat and half fat!
Wall Drug Store, which became known for its free ice water and 5c coffee, changed dramatically. It's maybe 8 times as big, and added more and more tourist trap stuff. It also added 3 places to eat. You can grab something, order and take it to a table, or sit down with waiter/waitress service. And, it discovered jackalopes in SD. I thought they were only in Jackson Hole, WY. There were lots of people walking around, but the cashiers, attendants were not busy at all. The billboards must pull people in to look and look only. The billboard said the coffee was still 5c. I was going to comment on that, but I couldn't find it - or the free ice water.
The Badlands were even different, but for good reasons. Since 1970, it became a national park, with a loop road, visitor centers and lots of places for pictures. I forgot how majestic they are. I can remember seeing them in different light, at different times of the day. I drove the loop, went oooh and aahhh, took pics and thoroughly enjoyed the park.
In Wisconsin, I went to the House on the Rock. I had heard about this, and saw all the amazing features. This house was the Builder's passion. His story is interesting. When a child, his family picnicked on the rock. At one point, he paid the farmer $20 rental fee to picnic there. Then, when the place was available, he bought it. He built a "studio" where he could relax. Then he started charging all the people who wanted to see his studio 50c, and it grew and grew from there. It was a bit much for me, but I loved the huge inside carousel, and the numerous mechanical instruments/orchestras/??? You put a token in a slot and the band, the calliope, the ???? starts playing. The calliope was great. Then there is a room as big as a 5 floor residence, which houses a sea display, with a whale, waves?, octopus, etc. made from what looked like papier-mache. Collection after collection of things - dollhouses, miniature circus pieces, guns, etc, etc, etc. He actually lived here too. How many sitting rooms did I walk through? I saw one kitchen(???) with some burners, a sink and refrigerator, on the back side of another sitting room. I don't remember a bedroom, but, of course, some of the house may have been blocked off, or redone, to accommodate the thousands of people walking through at $26-28, who needed pizza, water, beer, etc. Two things kept coming to mind: The builder had quite an imagination; and the maintenance must cost a fortune.The next day I headed to Elkhart, IN. A few hours down the road, someone was trying to get my attention. I needed gas, so I thought I'd pull off, do that, and check the rig. As soon as I emerged from my RV, a young man (my savior) asked me if I knew I had a problem with my tire. He brought me around to the back left tire of my towed car, and all I saw was the rim with a rubber fringe around it. Bless him for changing it. I then spent 1/10th of a tank of gas trying to find a tire store. Directed to one, I found it out of business, directed to another, it had changed. Gypsy brought me to another, where the doors were locked and no one was around. Then I decided to go to a Walmart, and on the way, came to a Goodyear store. The people were great, starting to work on it right away, even though most of the people went to lunch between 12 and 1. This confused me since my watch said 11:15. That pesky little problem of time zones reared its ugly head again.
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