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Anyone ever been to Wall Drug, SD? I was driving home from Seattle and saw signs for Wall Drug about 800 miles before arriving there. Tiny town of about 500 people with a drug store and shops. What the!@$%^
I know what you mean and see those signs on I-90, 300 miles away on the other end of the state. Some of those signs are cheesy. I have been there several times and its OK but would not have the same feel to a South Dakotan as opposed to someone from another area. It is a good place for families and older people. It is a good to see it once or wait 10 or more years to see again. I personally would be more interested in looking at the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, or Black Hills.
This area of South Dakota has overpriced hotel rooms (during the Sturgis bike rally-need a bank loan for a hotel room) and I will not go out there in the summer and would go either in the spring or fall on a weekend to see the sights there.
South Dakota has quite a few tourist traps, many along I-90. One is the Corn Palace, which is a high-school gymnasium in a city of 14,000. There are basketball tournaments held in there in February and March. Quite a corny place.
I like some tourist traps but would rather see natural and historical attractions due to greater meaning and a more enriching experience. Tourist traps I love is Graceland in Memphis, French Quarter in New Orleans, and Niagara Falls. Las Vegas is OK, but three or four days is the limit for me or it would get old. I do not mind the souviner shops and restaurants within reason, but sometimes the commercial stuff goes overboard and dillutes the character of the attraction (and some areas do a poor job of managing the commercial stuff).
Wisconsin Dells is known as a tourist trap in South Dakota and other areas in the Upper Midwest. Wisconsin Dells has a lot of shops and a big indoor waterpark. It is an area where there are cliffs and is wooded. My parents went there three years ago and throught that it was too crowded and overpriced and thought the Amish villages in Eastern Iowa were more interesting to see.
Wisconsin Dells is known as a tourist trap in South Dakota and other areas in the Upper Midwest. Wisconsin Dells has a lot of shops and a big indoor waterpark. It is an area where there are cliffs and is wooded. My parents went there three years ago and throught that it was too crowded and overpriced and thought the Amish villages in Eastern Iowa were more interesting to see.
They have way more than one waterpark and theme parks too
Wisconsin Dells is known as a tourist trap in South Dakota and other areas in the Upper Midwest. Wisconsin Dells has a lot of shops and a big indoor waterpark. It is an area where there are cliffs and is wooded. My parents went there three years ago and throught that it was too crowded and overpriced and thought the Amish villages in Eastern Iowa were more interesting to see.
Wisconsin Dells is a city in Wisconsin about 50 miles north of Madison with themed indoor water parks. Rip off. We just drove through there on our way back from Chicago. Could not eat lunch fast enough to get away from the crazed tourists.
Anyone ever been to Wall Drug, SD? I was driving home from Seattle and saw signs for Wall Drug about 800 miles before arriving there. Tiny town of about 500 people with a drug store and shops. What the!@$%^
Actually you can find signs in many parts of the world in rather obscure places that say "Wall Drug, Wall SD XXXX miles" on an arrow pointing in the general direction. I have seen these signs in Copenhagen, Sao Paulo and Kiev.
You know that one place that gives you shudders. That's filled with overpriced attractions and shops that are disgusting. List them here.
(In no order)
1.Myrtle Beach/Grand Strand, South Carolina(Thank God Charelston is right down the coast)
2.Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville, Tennesse (This one is quite a shame because the Great Smokies park is beautiful. Again, thank Jesus that Ashville's near by)
3.Branson, Missouri
4.Virgina Beach, Virgina
5.Panama City Beach, Florida
6.Niagra Falls, NY/ON(At least the falls are there)
Good heavens you have named all the places I love! (Well, I have never been to Gatlinburg, but I'm sure I'd love it, from what I have heard).
Personally, THE worst place I have ever had the misfortune of spending any time was Santa Fe, NM which seems to exist solely for the purpose of shopping. When I went to the chamber of commerce to ask about the Native American Pueblos, I had to talk with three separate people before I could get *any* information at all (the first person I spoke with just stood there and blinked at me, as though she had never even heard that there were pueblos in and around Santa Fe). The place seems *very* impressed with itself.
I was *not* impressed with Vail or Aspen, Colorado either. It seemed very over-priced and ostentatous to me. (I'm not sure if I spelled that word right).
Well Las Vegas Sucks! I mean if you wanna see casinos ..just go to any southwestern state, big deal ..
You're fortunate that you have NICE casinos in Albuquerque. We used to make road trips down there from Durango (CO) all the time because we were so insufferably bored. (There are casinos closer, but they are somewhat lame).
Personally, I love Las Vegas but it is sooooooo hard for me to get there. One of these days I'm going to have to go back. It's been about 7 years since my last junket and I really would love to go back.
I would say anyplace that takes an area of natural beauty-an awesome setting-and turns it into a theme park with the touristy glitter and souvenir /shopping crap and silly attractions. Put that stuff in places that already have nothing--let the kids enjoy. But turn more beaches into national seashore with national park type facilities, and places like Sedona, Ariz.,the Wisconsin or Tennessee wilds--leave them alone and set up some accommodations that fit in with the terrain and natural landscape and only allow shoping and dining in the already established nearby towns. If there are no towns nearby--then rough it!
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