20 Aug - Badlands, Minuteman Missile Museum, Wall Drug

20 Aug
Today we headed east to Wall SD and then south to the Badlands National Park.  We entered at the Pinnacles entrance and drove the 27 mile Badlands Loop Road stopping at many of the pull-offs.  The Badlands was established as a national monument in 1939 and later designated as a national park in 1978.  It is 64,250 acres of amazingly beautiful landscape and rock formations.  The Native Americans used to call it the Bad Lands.  It is a place of extremes - the heat of the summer and winter cold winds.  The colors that define the layers of rock are beautiful as the area used to be under water.

The entrance.

Just before and after entering the park we were surrounded by prairie dogs.  They seem to have fun entertaining the tourists.

This one posed for a picture right on the side of the roadway.

 Our first stop was the Pinnacles Overlook.  Breathtaking views here.

Colored layers of rock

Desolate landscape

Might as well be on the moon!

 

 

Doreen reacting to the warning signs!

 

 We left the Pinnacles Overlook and drove next to the Yellow Mounds Overlook.  This area had a different look than the Pinnacles.  There was a yellow tint to the rocks

Red and yellow layers mixed in with the browns and grays

Beautiful scenery

 Our next stop was the Panorama point Overlook. Again, different that either of the two previous stops.

 As we continued down the road we came across four of the locals grazing near the road.

This one is wearing a transmitter around it's neck

 Here are a few more pictures of the Badlands.

Minuteman Missile National Historical Site

As we exited the park we were just a few miles south of the interstate and as we approached the westbound on-ramp we found the Minuteman Missile National Historical Site.  In the early 1960's South Dakota had 15 underground Minuteman missile launch control facilities.    In 1991 the cold war was coming to an end and three Minuteman missile fields were scheduled to be deactivated.  The Air Force and the National Park Service worked together to find an enduring location that would represent the nuclear arms race.  

There are three parts to the Site:

1.  The Minuteman Missile National Historical Site Visitor Center is located at I-90 exit 131, just north of where we exited the Badlands National Park.

The outside of the visitor center

Little did he know....

Interactive displays explain the Minuteman missile system

The capsule used to raise and lower missile maintenance Airmen in the silos

Part of a missile launch control panel

The control panel in the background and the seat used by the missileer.

2.  The Delta-01 Launch Control Facility is located just four miles west of the visitor center at I-90 exit 127.  It did not appear like it was open so we did not stop, but it houses the complete launch facility as it was when it was operational.  

NPS photo.  We did not get to see this area today

3.  The Delta-09 Missile Silo is located just south of I-90 exit 116.  The missile silo has a glass viewing window at the top so you can look down to see the Minuteman II training missile.  

Very plain and barely visible from outside the chain link fence.  These areas were protected by the Delta Flight Peacekeeper security forces and deadly force was authorized to protect the facility from intruders.

A small entrance through the gate

Access hatch to the silo

A picture down through the glass cover allows us to see the training missile in the silo

Here the glass cover is visible

A view from the opposite side where the very heavy concrete silo cover would move before missile is launched

Some auxiliary equipment, fuel supply, etc

We will see more of this when we tour the museum at Ellsworth Air Force base later this week

Wall Drug

Next stop at exit 110 is Wall, South Dakota, home of the infamous Wall Drug.  This was a "have to' as we passed through South Dakota, but much easier to do without our fifth wheel trailer in tow.

It all started back in 1931 where a pharmacist and his wife, Ted and Dorothy Hustead, tried to figure out how to draw customers off the highway into his drug store in the town of Wall.   In a nut shell, a combination of notorious signs along the highway and free ice water did the trick.   Today they still offer the free ice water and also $.05 coffee, plus a free cup of coffee and a donut for Veterans!

The main street with Wall Drug in the background.

Wall Drug Store, plus their cafe and souvenir shops.

Looking down the mall.

From across the street

After walking around Wall Drug, we walked up the street and found a restaurant where we had lunch.  It was nothing spectacular, especially for the price.  Wall Drug and the downtown Wall SD area is a tourist trap extraordinaire!  Although the tourist season is winding down, it was still very busy with people which drives me nuts and stuff is overpriced.  But, now we can say we visited Wall Drug!

We headed back to the Famcamp, took a break for a little while then headed to the commissary to restock the groceries.  That's about it for today.  Tomorrow we will indirectly watch the eclipse as long as the weather/cloud cover permits.  Then we might take in the Air and Space museum here at Ellsworth.