Description: It was hard to strike a balance between putting too much driving into day one and leaving too much for day two. I first made a reservation in Mitchell, about 425 miles from Kansas City, but decided to plan for another 70 miles of forward progress to Chamberlain. That would give us another hour of sightseeing the following day, allowing a visit to the northeastern edge of the Badlands before our scheduled tour at Minuteman Missile NHP.
Chamberlain is the larger town on the east bank of the Missouri, about 10 times larger than Oacoma. In fact, I didn’t even see any evidence of Oacoma, although it appears to be just across I-90 between the freeway and the Missouri. Towns of 300 must be easy to hide. The parking lot was a mix of Harleys and minivans, and the general feeling of the access road was one level above undeveloped.
It seemed to be an older Holiday Inn Express, and looked a little bit tired. I wondered if it was actually constructed by another chain, since the layout didn’t seem to match any of the other common building designs for HIE. The reception area was two stories tall, but without any clear plan, and the rooms extended north of that in one long row.
We’d reserved a non-smoking room with two queen beds and a pullout sofa, which was on the second floor adjacent to the reception area. The room was an unusual shape, and the carpet was still slightly damp from having been recently cleaned. The ceiling was low, and the windows were minimal, and it just didn’t feel very hospitable. The beds were alright, but the chain-wide makeover of rooms and beds hadn’t yet reached this property.
The breakfast room was also quite small and very cramped, but with the usual range of items (including cinnamon rolls). All (or nearly all) of the tables were tiny two-tops, and we ended up eating in shifts. Down the access road were a gas station just a few yards away, and a little bit further east was the Al’s Oasis complex, a Wall-Drug like conglomeration of motel, grocery, and other stores. We shopped for lunch supplies there before heading out, and the store was impressive. Based on that, and our experience at the Holiday Inn Express, I’d be tempted to stay with Al next time around.
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