Wall, South Dakota

This is part fifteen of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

If you are driving out west from the east, you will most likely to pass through Wall South Dakota.  Because I have been out west before, I have written about Wall  in 2019 in THIS POST;   so I'm not going to go into all the details that were in that original post.  If you're interested in hearing more, check it out!

Wall is not only the gateway to the Badlands, and all destinations west, but it is a great spot to spend the night, get some eats, and stretch your legs.

We spent the night in Wall on the way home from Yellowstone.  Below is a panoramic view of the main shopping street.

The street is so vacant because it was about 7:00 am on a Sunday morning.  We wanted to get a head start on our last leg home, so we arrived at a restaurant that was serving breakfast before it even opened.  It gave me some time to get some unobstructed views of the cute downtown buildings because normally this area is so crowded with cars, tourist buses, and buildings it is hard to get a descent photograph.

The Wall Drug and Cafe is the most famous part of Wall known for their "Free Ice Water" and 5 cent coffee.  We were bummed we couldn't eat breakfast there because they didn't open till 8:00.

The main reason I wanted to do a second post on Wall is because they have a new attraction I really wanted to share:  A GIANT JACKALOPE!

The Jackalope is a mythical animal of North American Folklore described as a jack rabbit with antelope horns.  You can find Jackalopes for sale all over in gift shops across the west.

The 42 foot tall Jackalope was built in 2022 by chainsaw bros Jarret and Jordan Dahl.  They built it to attract customers to their chainsaw shop, and by golly, it sure does.

For a small fee, you can go up inside the Jackalope and get great views of the town of Wall, but the inside, is the real treat!  The interior is filled with chain saw carving wonders and pictures of the old west.

There are 71 "wood spirits" carved into the support beams and railings.  According to the bros "some were hidden pretty good".

We loved the twisted wood used for the staircase. 

This is the door leading to the balcony.  Isn't it incredible?

My husband always asks me to wave when he's photographing me or taking a video.  So silly. Oh, and we went to the Jackalope right after dinner and had leftovers, that's why I'm holding a styrofoam carton.  

You would think something so intricate would have taken forever to complete.  Nope, the bros completed it in 21 days.  I have no idea how they did it.  They used 60,000 nails and 3,000 different pieces of wood.  

Here is a video we made for the grandkids showing us walking through the Jackalope.

If you're ever swinging through Wall on your way out west, be sure to stop by and check out the Jackalope!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more information on our trip out west, please check out these posts:

YELLOWSTONE:

Old Faithful

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Paint Pot, Lake Hotel and Cabins, and Hayden Valley

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Caldera, Tower Fall, Calcite Springs, & the Roosevelt Arch

Mammoth Hot Springs

The Golden Gate of Yellowstone, Mud Volcanos and the Fishing Bridge

Nearby Western Towns Not To Be Missed:

Jackson Hole Wyoming 

Cody, Wyoming

Buffalo, Wyoming

The Grand Tetons:

Mormon Row, Craig Thomas Visitor Center, and Jenny Lake

Mt. Moran, Signal Mountain, Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Jackson Lake Dam, Jackson Lake Lodge, Oxbow Bend, Elk Ranch Flats, and Snake River

The Buffalo Bill Dam

 

How To Wear Spring Graphic Tees with Ageless Style

Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women of all ages.   Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme.  This month's theme is "Spring Graphic Tees" and was picked by Leslie.

Spring is really trying to make its way to Wisconsin, but Mother Nature seems to be fighting her every step of the way.  I do see bulbs popping out of the ground now, but the grass is still brown and temps vary from the 30's to 50's with a surprise 60 degree day now and then.  With these fluctuations in temperatures, dressing in layers is essential and using a cute graphic spring tee as your base layer is one way of welcoming spring even when the weather says something else. 

My spring graphic tee not only has a spring graphic on it (butterflies) but is also a spring color.  I paired my graphic tee with a white denim jacket because of course, it was chilly outside;  too chilly to just wear a t-shirt. 

I wore my t-shit with a long denim skirt to dress it up a bit.  I'm not the type of gal who wears t-shirts out in public much, and when I do, I tend to dress them up.  I added a white belt to pull out the white butterfly graphic, and I wore neutral, comfy athletic sandals.

For jewelry, I kept it simple with a white pearl shell necklace, white stud earrings, and a couple of brightly colored bead bracelets.

So what about you?  Has spring arrived in your neck of the woods?  Do you wear graphic tees out in public?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Now, check out how the other ladies in the group are styling their graphic tees, and be sure to link up with us as well.

Amy ~ Amy’s Creative Pursuits

Blog | Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook 

Bo ~ Bo's Bodacious Blog

Blog / Instagram /Pinterest / Bloglovin'

Jennifer ~ Overflowing with Thankfulness

Blog/ Instagram/ Pinterest

Joanne ~ My Slice of Life

Blog

Jodie ~ Jodie’s Touch of Style

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Leslie ~ Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After

Blog | Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook 

Marsha~ Marsha in the Middle

Blog /Instagram

Mireille ~ Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

Blog | Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook |

 

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A Stop in Buffalo, Wyoming

This is part fourteen of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

Once our vacation in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons came to an end, we began the long journey home stopping at a few towns a long the way.  Last week I wrote about Cody, Wyoming, this week I'm going to share Buffalo Wyoming.  

Buffalo is located about three hours from Cody.  This town really took us by surprise.  It wasn't on our itinerary at all, but we were ready to stretch our legs so we thought we'd check it out.  

The downtown historic treat was so cute!  We also liked how it wasn't super busy like a lot of other touristy towns are. 

We weren't hungry for lunch yet, which was a real bummer as The Busy Bee Cafe had rave reviews, so we spent our time walking up and down the Main Street and doing some shopping.  And yes, we actually shopped here!  Normally when we go sight-seeing shopping we never buy anything. The stores are either too pricey or don't have anything we want.  But the prices in Buffalo were very reasonable and we found a lot of goodies to take home like a cast iron tea kettle and an antique shovel for our wood stove.

The highlight of Buffalo Wyoming's main street is the Occidental Hotel.  Oh, this place is so cool!  It has so much history.  And guess what?  You can go inside and tour the entire downstairs, but you're not allowed upstairs where the rooms are.  It is so beautiful inside, and they have old photos and old newspapers framed on the walls so you can read all about the history of the hotel.

This is the lobby.  Just look at that ceiling!

The hotel was founded in 1880 and was visited by many famous people of the Old West due to its proximity to the Bighorn Mountains and the Bozeman Trail.  Buffalo Bill, Teddy Roosevelt, Calamity Jane, and even Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid spent time at the Occidental Hotel.

As I said earlier, only registered guests were allowed upstairs.  But all their beautiful rooms are available to view on line.  All the rooms and suites are furnished with antiques and decorated in elegant period style.

A dining area.

The bar was the most incredible bar I've ever seen.  Just look at that wood work!

The hotel is registered on the National Historic Register.  The owners took exceptional care to keep all its original beauty in tact including antiques original to the hotel and bullet holes in the walls of the saloon.

There is a lot of taxidermy in the hotel.  My daughter would not like this place because she doesn't like dead animals used as decorations, but hubby found the brown bear too irresistible.

In the gift shop I found this t-shirt.  How fun!

Back outside, we found their town square where they had a new looking covered stage area. 

Buffalo has the coolest murals.  We loved this one with the wild horses!

Lolly's Sugar Shack is the place to get your caffeine and sugar fix in town.  Once again, I fell in love with their tin ceilings.

If you're ever near the area on your way to Yellowstone and need a place to stop and stretch your legs or grab something to eat, stop in Buffalo Wyoming! You won't regret it!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more information on our trip out west, please check out these posts:

YELLOWSTONE:

Old Faithful

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Paint Pot, Lake Hotel and Cabins, and Hayden Valley

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Caldera, Tower Fall, Calcite Springs, & the Roosevelt Arch

Mammoth Hot Springs

The Golden Gate of Yellowstone, Mud Volcanos and the Fishing Bridge

Nearby Western Towns Not To Be Missed:

Jackson Hole Wyoming 

Cody, Wyoming

The Grand Tetons:

Mormon Row, Craig Thomas Visitor Center, and Jenny Lake

Mt. Moran, Signal Mountain, Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Jackson Lake Dam, Jackson Lake Lodge, Oxbow Bend, Elk Ranch Flats, and Snake River

The Buffalo Bill Dam