Nature of Badlands to Missiles and Planes

Day 36 - June 10th

Dean had no trouble getting up very early (6:00 am) to be at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site by 8:00 am. It was a 1 hour drive to get there from our hotel. He really wanted to go on the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility Tour so he got up and got ready. Since only 6 people can fit in the elevator of the missile silo at a time, tickets are issued on a first come, first served basis. With only 12 time slots available each day, only 72 people can take this tour per day. We decided to try to get tickets on the first full day we were in South Dakota so we could have another day to try if we weren't successful on the first day. 

National Historic Site #29 - Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

We ate breakfast at the hotel and then drove to the Visitor Center. When we turned off of the interstate, we ran into construction on the road. The flag man held us for about 15 minutes while the machinery worked on the road. The Visitor Center was right there, but you couldn't get into the parking lot without going past this part of the road. Finally, we got through and pulled into the parking lot. 





We walked up to the door and found a sign that said no tours for the week. We couldn't believe it! We were so disappointed. There had been nothing on their website to indicate this. 

Inside the Visitor Center, we went to see the movie to learn more about the missiles and the silos. Afterwards, we went to the exhibits. We found most of them were under construction so they had large, wall-sized posters up with tape. Teddy did get to see the models of the different missiles.  Next, we went out to the front desk and spent some time talking with the husband and wife volunteers. The husband had been a high ranking officer in the Strategic Air Command, so he shared many funny stories. They told us we could still go to Launch Facility Delta-09 and look inside from the top. The wife told us a few other places of interest that we should go while we were in the area.

We left and headed to Badlands National Park. On the way, we stopped at the historic site of Prairie Homestead. It is the original pioneer home of Edgar I. Brown and his family, built in 1909. With a side hill, sod walls, and a dirt roof, this intact sod home was an example of how these pioneers used what resources they had to survive and build the West. 

As we continued on, we saw a helicopter getting ready to take a group on a ride over the Badlands.

National Historic Site #30 - Badlands National Park
We finally made it to Badlands National Park. We stopped at Big Badlands Overlook and got out to see. The rock formations were very interesting. We knew we were in for more beautiful sights. 

We continued on to reach the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. However, we were stopped again for road repair. This time, we waited for almost 25 minutes before it was our turn to go around the construction. 

We finally moved on and reached the Visitor Center. This was a very large center with lots of exhibits. We watched the movie and explored the exhibits. Of course, we shopped in the bookstore. Dean took care of stamping our passports under Roosevelt's supervision. We were able to watch 2 little girls take their Junior Ranger oath as they earned their badge for the Badlands. They also had a lab there where many of the bones they have found in their dig area are cleaned and prepared for display. We watched some of the scientists do this job.

When we left the Visitor Center, the weather had gotten worse. The temperature was dropping, the rain was beginning to fall, and the wind was really starting to blow. We drove the 22 mile scenic Badlands Loop Road. The formations we saw were very unique. Many looked like sandcastles at the beach. There were valleys below to the South, and rock formations on both sides. We saw hikers who were climbing up to some of the buttes.

Midway down the loop, the tan and red rocks turned to yellow and purple. These were absolutely beautiful. We took pictures from the car because it was raining a little harder when we got to that area.

The road was really winding in many places. We had been told at the Visitor Center by one of the Park Ranger that many people had seen big horn sheep in some of the winding areas. As we turned some of the final curves, we saw what we were hoping to see. There was a small herd of big horn sheep, all ewes and their lambs. They were out on some rock formations in the middle of surrounding rocks. Richard pulled the van over. Sharon and Robin put on their rain jackets and jumped out to take pictures. As they crossed the road and came to the edge, the wind was really picking up. Since the side next to the road was a deep drop-off, they quickly stepped back. The wind was pushing on them, but they moved back and tried to take pictures. of the sheep on the rock cliffs. Another visitor drove up to us and said to look down in front. There were a lot more and they were closer to us. We got some great pictures of them despite the wind and rain. Richard and Dean came to get a look themselves. Everyone was freezing, wet, and windblown by the time they got back in the car. However, seeing the big horn sheep was well worth it.

After drying off a little, we left Badlands National Park and headed back to the interstate. We had seen many billboards earlier in the day for Walls Drug Store. The road we were on led straight there so we decided to go. Wow! What a place! You could buy just about anything there. There were several places to eat so we started there. Richard and Sharon were very excited about Wall's 5 cent coffee with payment on the honor system. They said it was very good. All of our meals were good.  Robin and Sharon (and Teddy) enjoyed the blueberry and cherry pies a la mode that they split so they didn't have to make a single choice. Yum! After lunch, we browsed through all of the departments and the little shops. It reminded us of the old Webb's City we used to have in St. Pete. 

We left Wall and drove to the Delta-09 site. It was so cold, wet, and windy there because it was out in the middle of nowhere. We obviously weren't dressed for the cold, but we did have our jackets. As we tried to get out of the van, the doors were blowing back shut. We quickly went and took a look, took some pictures, and returned to the van. There wasn't a whole lot to see from the top.

We went back to Wall to go to the National Grasslands Visitor Center. Again, there was a sign on the door that said it was closed for construction. We went next door to the Wall Ranger Station. The passport stamps were available there. We talked with the Park Rangers about the area and Teddy got his picture taken with Smokey Bear. 

Space Centers/Museums #6 - South Dakota Air and Space Museum
Next, we drove back towards Rapid City and stopped at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum on Ellsworth Air Force Base. We signed up for a van tour of the base. While we were waiting, we went through the museum. There were lots of airplanes, many types of which we had seen at the other museums. One of the neat exhibits we saw here was the Berlin Candy Bombers. Another was the Minuteman II Missile Launch Control Center. We were able to view the trainer Launch Control Center so we could see how they looked when controlling the actual missile silos. There were 2 missileers in each center at a time. Their seats were kept a specific distance from each other so that one person could not turn both keys. One Launch Control Center was responsible for launching up to 10 missiles, but they had the capability of launching 10 more, if the order to launch those missiles wasn't executed by the assigned Launch Control Center.

It was finally our time to get on the van for our base tour. We saw a lot of the facilities for the airmen and their families. One we saw was the Chapel Activities Center. We were excited that the tour also included going down into a training missile silo. When we arrived, the filming crew was at this training silo instead of the real one that we weren't allowed to go to because of filming. The driver talked with the officer in charge and made arrangements for us to go down into it. It was very neat. The quarters were very tight, but it gave you a much better idea of what the top section of the missile looked like in position. 

Since Ellsworth Air Force Base is a training base, we were able to watch (and definitely hear) B-1 pilots practicing touch and go landings. The noise level was extremely high, but they were so awesome to watch.

It was dinner time so we drove back to the hotel area. There was a steakhouse across the street that looked very interesting. It was called Dakotas. We decided to go straight there and eat before going to the hotel. Outside was a metal bison made out of various metal pieces. It even had Mount Rushmore designed into it. We went inside and saw beautiful decor, including a stone fireplace which was lit. We enjoyed the atmosphere and our meals were very delicious.

We left Dakotas and headed to the hotel. We all wanted hot baths/showers and warm up in bed. It had been a day of missiles and planes, scattered with nature in between. It is a good day despite the weather!