The next morning I woke a little before sunrise. I looked around for Pamela but didn’t see her, though I was certain she was out there somewhere. I wondered how she was surviving. She had no provisions, no sleeping bag, no air mattress, just a simple ladies’ handbag and bad shoes. Had she really slept on the road?

I ate two Pop-Tarts, a Clif Bar, and an apple, then set off for a new day of Wall Drug signs.

Wall Drug. Historical Photos

Wall Drug. 33 Miles to Go

All Roads Lead to Wall Drug

Western Wear. Wall Drug

Road Trip. Wall Drug

Sheriff on Duty. Wall Drug

Western Home Décor. Wall Drug

Wall Drug or Bust

6 foot Rabbit. Wall Drug

Buffalo Burgers. Wall Drug

Free Ice Water. Wall Drug

Be Yourself. Wall Drug

Badlands Maps. Wall Drug

Frosted Mug Beer. Wall Drug

Dig it. Wall Drug

After an hour of walking, I made out the figure of someone walking ahead of me in the distance. Couldn’t be, I thought. Couldn’t be her.

It was. Pamela was walking in front of me. Even from a distance I could see that her limping had increased.

I crossed to the opposite side of the road. When I was adjacent to her I could see how bad she looked. Her hair was matted and she looked pale.

“Please talk to me,” she said. “I’m begging.”

“Go home, Pamela.”

“I’m not quitting,” she said. “I don’t care if it kills me.”

“It might,” I said.

“Please.”

I kept on walking.

Wall Drug USA exit 110

Wall Drug Since 1931

Coffee 5 cents. Wall Drug

A Dakota Must See. Wall Drug

Refreshing Free Ice Water. Wall Drug

Around noon I stopped along the side of the road to eat a can of fruit cocktail, another Clif Bar, and my own invention, a beef jerky sandwich. The land was flat but with the exception of the signs, there was nothing as far as the eye could see, including Pamela.

Tourist Info. Wall Drug

Skinny Saloon. Wall Drug

It’s cool. Wall Drug

Experience Wall Drug Mining Co.

American Icon. Wall Drug

Kids Love Wall Drug

As I walked through the unvarying scenery my mind wandered. I wondered how Kailamai and Nicole were doing. Nicole was the woman who had taken me in after I was attacked near Spokane. Kailamai was a young runaway I had met shortly after near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I had introduced them to each other, and Kailamai was now Nicole’s roommate. It felt like months since I’d seen them. I counted back the days. Thirty-six days. Just thirty-six days. It felt like six months. At least.