Wall Drug marketed “free water” for decades as a promotional giveaway to generate store traffic from weary travelers passing through or stopping in the nearby Badlands. Bumper stickers from Wall Drug can be seen across America on RVs and worldwide in expat bars and pubs. The current version of Wall Drug is a tourist trap with nearly every square foot dedicated to selling trinkets. However, the walls of the dining rooms are covered in Western-themed art depicting prairie life including cowboys, best described by:

These non-commercial rooms are the true gems of Wall Drug, free from merchandise and cash registers. Dozens of paintings and sculptures depict the west and specifically South Dakota as uniquely wild or lonely, tamed by wild men that have barely tamed themselves. Imagining each character as damn glad to live in South Dakota was not difficult. Perhaps the character arrived and became glad, or never left and stayed glad. Or returned and became glad. I see enough lined faces in Chicago, but rarely is it obvious the person is damn glad to live in Chicago. “Damn glad to live” is a powerful phrase by itself, too, without regard to a location. A day later I met a person that moved to Rapid City from Dayton, Ohio, and was damn glad she lives in South Dakota.

In an unexpected connection to Chicago, the artist Keith Avery received training from the Chicago Professional School of Art which became known as the Art Institute of Chicago.

A scoop of pumpkin ice cream and a casual stroll through the empty dining rooms capped the quick visit.