24 hours at the world's weirdest drug store

If you've never heard of Wall Drug, it is a South Dakota icon. What started as a humble drugstore in a town of just a few hundred people has now become a pilgrimage site for travelers, attracting over 2 million visitors per year. So we're going to spend the next 24 hours living here in the parking lot to give ourselves plenty of time to figure out what the hype is all about.

As soon as you enter the state of South Dakota, you start to see all these hand painted signs advertising everything from free ice to western wear. And they're all advertising for the same place. It's called Wall Drug. And if you drive through South Dakota, you can't miss these signs. We actually read that there are over 3,000 of them, and we've probably driven past hundreds ourselves. And after driving past enough of these signs, you can't help but get curious. Or at least we did. The world famous Wall drag, here we come.

Bucket list item. The anticipation has really been building on the interstate. I'm not going to lie.

All right, we've made it to Wal Wall. It's a tiny town of 818 people.

So yeah, it was our curiosity that brought us to the parking lot of what could be the world's weirdest drugstore. Not too long ago, we spent 24 hours living at the world's largest gas station convenience store in Texas. In just a couple weeks, that video got over a million views and people seemed to really enjoy it. So we decided why not try the same thing here at Waldra. They're both iconic roadside attractions, so I'm kind of interested to see how they stack up against each other. But before we go inside, let me give you a little history on this place so you can better appreciate it.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. We haven't showered in five days. Until today, it's pretty much been below freezing. And we were scared if we turn on the water, we would bust another pipe. So if we look a little bit rougher than usual, that's why I think that's as good as it's going to get.

So the story goes that Ted Housad bought the original drugstore in 1931 in the small town of Wall. At the time, the town had less than 400 residents. And although the drugstore sit next to a busy highway, they struggled to attract customers. So Ted and his family ended up just barely scraping by for the first five years of owning the place.

That was until Ted's wife came up with a brilliant marketing idea on One scorching hot day, she proposed that they put signs along the highway offering travelers passing by free ice water. That doesn't sound like a big deal today, but back in the 1930s, they were driving cars like this, which most definitely did not have air conditioning. Plus, ice wasn't as readily available as it is today. So free ice water was a bit of a novelty. Leave it to the women.

So, having nothing else to lose, Ted put some signs up beside the highway offering free ice water. And it said that ever since that day, the business has never been lonely for customers. So it started as a humble drugstore, has now grown into a 50,000 square foot.

I still don't know what to call it. But to put that in perspective, Buc EE's, which is the world's largest gas station convenience store, is 67,000 square feet. So this place is almost just as big. Let's head inside and see what this place is all about.

Look how gross this is. Melted ice cream, trash things we do.

I thought this was a person.

I like this one. Oh, yeah, this is Ted. Teddy boy, let me crush a custom penny for you. Don't hang about. Go ahead and drop a little money in the slot below you. This is so not what I was picturing. I think this is like a pharmacy museum with like old medicine bottles. What in the world? This has to be the world's only drugstore that has a chapel inside.

I actually read online that they still have service in here every single Sunday. Get some Easter eggs, an apron, get.

A wall jug, belt buckle, cowboy hat, cowboy boots, jammies. Can you get one of these for the van?

Yeah.

It'S like a western Disneyland without rides.

Exactly.

Look at the prairie dog.

So it turns out Waldrug is more of a western mall. I was picturing one giant 50,000ft store, but it's more like a big building with a bunch of individual shops inside.

One of the biggest differences between this place and Buc EE's is that Buc EE's was really all about their own branding. Almost everything in there has a beaver on it. Here it's a lot more just about the western theme. They do have plenty of Wall Drug T shirts. Oh, they also have coffee mug.

Starting to smell good.

Thank you.

So Buc EE's had really, really good fresh food, but you could only get it for takeaway. Wall Drug, on the other hand, has a full sit down restaurant that seats 530 people. The waitress recommended their buffalo burger. We also got the special of the day, which is chicken fried chicken. I Wasn't really sure what that meant. So. So what is the special? The chicken fried chicken. It's like you've had a chicken fried steak. It's just chicken and it's breaded and fried. Okay, so it's just fried chicken. Chicken fried chicken.

Well, it's flat.

It doesn't have bone in it looks like they've smothered the chicken. Fried chicken in white gravy. And it looks so good.

Like if this is Bucky's chopped brisket sandwich.

You gotta try it.

Wow, it's so good. As you're driving down the highway reading all of the Wall Drug signs, they make a big deal about a few things. The first one is their free ice water, which they are still serving 90 years later, along with almost every other business in America. Cheers to Waldrug for starting that trend.

I think they're out of their free ice water.

The other thing that they make a big deal about is their homemade pie. Fresh homemade apple pie.

Not impressed.

It's good, but it's cold.

Normally. This is the off season. They've been, like, unusually busy the last few weeks because of the movie Nomadland. Apparently it was filmed here.

You are one of those lucky people.

That can travel anywhere. So free ice water isn't that big of a deal in 2021, but.

Five cent coffee.

Get what you pay for.

What did you just ask me?

Are bunnies with antlers real?

You've never heard of a jackalope?

I've heard of one, but I don't think I could have told you. What? I saw, like the stuffed ones in the store and I thought they just took antlers instead of them.

They did. Bunnies with antlers do not exist. I wish you were telling me she's 30 years old.

I thought she said that they were. That's why I was so confused. So did they get this pig in real life? I know these guys are real.

Look like the guys on Yellowstone.

We never set this table up anymore unless we're filming.

All right, well, that wasn't so bad. So since Sean Evans has never invited us on Hot Ones before and Wal Drug sold a large selection of hot sauce, we've decided to do our own segment of Hot Ones.

If you've never seen the show before, he interviews celebrities and they eat really spicy hot wings in the process, going from the most mild to the spiciest.

I'm sweating just thinking about it. We ask Instagram, what questions would they ask if we were on Hot Ones? Kara has given us a very generous dab of hot sauce. And we're gonna ask each other some questions while we eat some wings, some cut up chicken tenders from Waldrug. This isn't like trying to knock off hot ones. We genuinely enjoy the show and we just thought this would be kind of funny.

Cheers. Oh, you ate it all in one bite. Have either of you ever forgot a birthday or anniversary?

I. I did forget Kara's birthday in college. We were separated for the weekend. I knew it was coming. I just.

I knew he forgot when he texted me good morning and didn't say happy birthday. And I just didn't say anything.

That was very mean of you. Day.

And at like midnight, I got a text that was like a sad emoji and it just said I'm sorry.

That's how I knew we were gonna work out long term. Was she stayed with me after I forgot her birthday. I haven't forgotten one since.

What's your laundry situation in the van?

Non existent. I have a teeny tiny dirty clothes bag. If I wear something, I put it inside out and that's how I know it's dirty. And then we book an Airbnb with a washer.

Whole thing. No.

No. Yes. Oh, my gosh, Nate, you can't do that. The roof of my mouth is burning.

That's because you ate it the wrong way. My nose is already sweating.

It's not bad. Is Nate less frugal now? Yes, it's pretty great.

When we started traveling, our goal was $75 a day. And we had a limited amount of money that we had saved up for our first year of travel. And once that ran out, we couldn't travel anymore. So I was extremely frugal the first year. And then it carried over and it took a while to break the routine. I'm still cheap.

A lot of our arguments in year one were over money and things that I wanted to buy that Nate didn't and what was worthy of being in our $75 a day budget. But we got through it and here we are. Ha.

Would you rather fight one horse sized duck or a hundred duck sized horses?

What in the world? I guess one horse sized duck.

Can you imagine how big that thing's beak would be?

Multiple would stress me out and I would feel like they were all gonna attack me once. At least I could, like, get it over with.

What are duck sized horses gonna do to you? Me?

I don't know.

My nose is already dripping.

I cannot leave it in the omelet.

Oh.

Ha.

Cara, that's so hot.

I'm scared. What's one thing you dislike about each other? I hope this doesn't turn out bad. Lol. I know this is hard.

I don't like how long it takes you to get ready.

Hmm. I don't like it when he leaves his crap everywhere.

That's what you get. Who is your favorite YouTuber to watch right now?

Oh, that's so hard. Well, Casey's always my number one. Am I in your video right now? Is Casey the vlog?

Don't forget to like and subscribe. He doesn't post anymore.

He's still my number one. Oh. So his brother Van is probably my new favorite. Like, as of recently. Love having it back.

It's perfect for two.

Love king in. So what is the plan now?

You ask?

Oh, my gosh. Best ever food review show.

We've been watching a lot of food.

We're on a huge kick with Sunny right now. He's so funny.

And the most difficult part, Waiting. If you don't wait, you don't eat. And if you do wait, maybe you still don't eat.

You can literally close your eyes and click on any of his videos. And it's a good one.

It makes me laugh.

Okay. I once does a segment called Explain that Gram. Nate and I have our Karen Nate Instagram that we're very active on daily for the the last five years. But we both have personal Instagrams and they go way back. So we've each picked out a picture from each other's old Instagram account to explain.

Okay, that one touched my lips, and now my lips are hot. I'm gonna get some more. I need you to name that Gram.

Are we gonna put that on the Internet?

Who are these people?

All of my best friends at the time. We were all obviously very comfortable with who we were.

Your hair was so thick.

That's what you're trying to say.

Okay.

Oh, here's a good one.

Aw, that's so fun. Okay, so this was in Zimbabwe, and we were staying at this really fun hotel with this restaurant called Boma. And all these people come out and dance.

And they gave a few people drums to play whenever they came out and danced. Rock it out, Nate. As I was playing the drum, and I was like, nate, take my picture. And he was like, like, fine. Took my picture. They now use this photo on, like, their advertising for the restaurant. Like, one day we just saw it on the Internet and it was me.

They didn't ask us if they could use the photo. It's in the airport. Like, if you fly into the Victoria Falls airport. A picture of car playing the bongo is in the airport. Advertising for this restaurant.

Makes me happy.

Spontaneous combustion. What?

Is there any left for me?

Are you doing the whole thing? Yeah, we're going for it. Yeah, we're actually doing it. All right, here we go.

That one's hot.

It's getting worse.

Nate, what is the hardest part of your job?

That's a hard question.

While you're thinking, what's your favorite road trip album?

I've really been enjoying the new Chris Stapleton album.

That's what I was gonna say.

I think the hardest part, there's the two of us coming to a creative agreement. Yep. While we're filming. It could be challenging.

It's really hitting me.

Yeah, I'm faces.

Yeah, you're really sweating.

Can you see how much sweat is on my forehead right now? Have you had to create VAM rules to address living in such a small space?

Rules?

Sorry. Yeah.

Yeah. I'm trying to think. I feel like I come up with little things. It's mostly to keep Nate organized. Like when you take your shoes off, they have to go in this basket. You've done a great job. Look at this.

I'm just salivating.

This is a new one, Shawn. Never seen onion rings on hot ones.

Hot o's. No.

No.

Oh, they're not very good anymore.

Not crunchy anymore at all.

Ooh, that got me.

Van life or plane life. Ah.

100% airplanes. Grateful for the opportunity to be able to travel around the US With a van, but very much looking forward to getting back on an airplane. Wow.

I feel like I have to sneeze.

Should we open the milk?

Yeah.

Milk is so bad.

Who's your celebrity crush?

I don't think I have one.

What? Well, my celebrity crush is a rip from you.

I could have guessed that.

No, we're just eating on your rings.

Okay, Garrett, thank you for coming on the show. Now's your chance. Turn to the camera. Tell people where they can find you, what you're working on.

You can find us arunday on every social media platform. And we're working on going to all 50 states. Atlas co. We have a couple businesses. Atlas Co. Create your own custom travel map.

Okay.

Fair drop. Get cheap flights around the world.

My face kinda hurts.

They need a date. Kylie. Kreighwa.

You laugh, but I think that actually worked. That's pretty much like ice cream.

All right, the mouth is finally cooled off. And one major benefit to wall drug over buc EE's is they do allow overnight parking so this is our home for the night.

All right, now that I can use my taste buds again, I'm going to try our last snack that we got from Wall Drug. Just like buggies, they make their very own homemade fudge. Thank you so much. Have a good night. Fudge that I got@buc EE's was one of the best I've ever had. And Wall Drug had the exact same flavor, so I got it so we could compare the two. It's like two giant chunks of fudge with caramel in between and sea salt on top.

Yes. Once again, if this is Bucky's dark chocolate fudge, I think Wall Jog might take the cake on the fudge. Might take the fudge, not the cake.

Better.

Alright, before leaving Waldrug, there is one more thing I have to try.

Been looking forward to this moment since last night.

I'm going to give Waldrug's famous donuts a try. I have a feeling this is how it's going to win its way to my heart. They smell beautiful. It's a maple glaze.

By far the best thing I've put in my mouth in the last 24 hours. I'm so glad I got two of these.

It turns out takeaway coffee isn't as good of a bargain. This cost a whopping 99 cents.

Like drone footage.

It is 77 degrees and there's not a cloud in the sky. It is very windy, but I could not be happier because three days ago we woke up, it was 14 degrees outside. We went on a very short hike around Devil's Tower and I thought I was gonna get frostbite.

My face is so cold.

Badlands national park is just right down the road from Wall Jug. So we just got to our campsite. For the next two nights inside the park. We have about five hours of sunlight left and we're gonna take advantage of this beautiful day and go on a 10 mile.

I chose sandals. I did not know they were going to be rattlesnakes. Feels good just to move when it's cold. We just end up sitting in the van.

It's a little bit harder of a hike than I thought it was going to be.

Quite the start.

So we learned that the Badlands gets its name because it's cold and windy in the winter and it's hot and dry in the summer. We're here in the spring and we're getting a little bit of both. Little windy.

Do rattlesnakes like the winter or the summer?

Definitely the summer.

What a day. And What a view. It feels like you can see forever out here. And at times it's felt like we were hiking on the moon.

We're about 7 1/2 miles into our hike. Didn't quite make the 10 mile loop. My feet are on fire. But we have found the perfect sunset spot up on this rock.

We still got a lot of good exercise, had a lot of good conversation. That's one of the best parts about hiking.

We have our most like, dreamy conversations on hikes.

We're currently buying a boat.

Yeah, today was about living on a boat.

Every once in a while, these crazy ideas materialize. But for every idea that materializes, we probably have a hundred of these crazy conversations. Also, look where he came from. Right there is our van.

I'm so mad. Well, there goes my resistance band workout I was about to do. I just got this thing.

Lindsay said I could also try a sports bra. So if you don't have a band, you could always try rolling up a sports bra. We'll see how this goes.

Seven days.

We haven't had a single power shoe in the van since we left Nashville in January. Which means we've pretty much been camping off the grid since we left home. And it has been awesome. But the good thing about camping in an actual campground.

Oh, gosh. Oh, it's freezing. Oh, it's getting warmer.

Okay, let's do this.

So we planned to end this video with a visit to Mount Rushmore.

However, wildfires are burning across South Dakota, closing Mount Rushmore, forcing the evacuation of more than 400 homes.

So instead, we plan to spend the next couple days enjoying Badlands national park, probably going on some hikes and coming up with more crazy ideas. We'll see you in the next one. Everyone.

Go.

Message Sean Evans.

We are not near famous enough to be on Hot Wheels.

Still try. You might be desperate if social media is your job. It's funny how much you don't know how to do anything on your phone.

Thankfully, they have a miniature sized version of Mount Rushmore here, so this may be as close as we get. Wow.

Like a billion little rocks.

It's very slick.

How did you do it?

Very carefully.

I hate that feeling. Hold on. What is a jackalope?

A bunny with antlers.

But it's fake, correct? Is it a South Dakota thing, Karen?

It says made in South Dakota.

I thought it was like stuffed and mounted in South Dakota. Doesn't mean they made the animal up.

They did a good job making it look like these rabbits actually have animals.

No, no, I didn't think they were real when I saw them in here the first time. You called it a jack.