June 30
I arrived at the Minuteman Missile NHS VC at 8:15 AM. The park’s website says to be 15 minutes early for all guided tours. The first tour is at 9 AM. Only six people per tour, and you need a reservation (which I had). That extra 30 minutes turned out to be educational. For those of you who have toured this park’s Launch Control Facility (LCF) and Center, you know of the famous 4-foot thick steel/concrete door. It has the Domino’s Pizza logo, with a twist to the words, saying “World-wide Delivery in 30 Minutes or Less”, instead of the pizza chain’s 1979 slogan of “30 minutes or free”. Well, the man who painted the door back when he worked shifts in the LCF is now a park ranger, and he was in the VC this morning. Ranger Tony let me take his photo standing next to a life-size replica of the door (see Daily Trip Report). This is history not found in schoolbooks. The only problem was that I now had to take the drive over to Delta 1, the LCF, so we had to shelve our ongoing discussion for another day.
Mosquitos were out in force at the LCF. I wound up with five blood spots on my legs… those are five mosquitos that will not bother anyone again. Ranger Paul met me at the chain fence, stating he was expecting five more folks. We swatted left and right. When two people showed up, Paul let us into the front corridor of the above-ground facility to wait for the other three. By 9 AM they had not shown, so the tour began. The rest of the building is not open for touring because the NPS is rennovating the interior. The room in which we were standing was the control center for the LCF, until the place was decommissioned in 1993. Security would keep an eye on things, 365/24/7, from this room. Time for the 3-story elevator ride down to the command center. The elevator had only two buttons: U and D, a perfect example of the KISS principle. When we walked out of the elevator, there it was, the iconic door. All those Hollywood movies showing people trying to get inside the White House underground bunker, they never had to go through something as formidable as this. A short walk across a steel plate “bridge” and we were in the center. This “capsule” had four large shock-absorbers attached to a concrete ceiling, allowing the enclosed center to move separately from the ground. If a nuclear bomb was to go off above ground, the capsule would not feel anything. With all the delicate electronics in the capsule, a good idea not to have a lot of shaking. There is one bed in the capsule. Of the two-man crew, one would sleep while the other kept busy. They were locked in the capsule for 24 hours, until relieved by the next crew. Paul explained some of the activities the men would do to help make the 24 hours go by more quickly, such as listen to radio and tapes, or watch a small tv, or read from the supply of books. He also explained some of the mechanical and electrical systems the two men had to handle, such as the famous key locks used for launch. He knows much of this by heart since he worked as a maintenance tech for a number of years in the three Missile Squadrons which were based around the Ellsworth AFB area (aka Rapid City). I could keep writing about what he talked about. But, a better idea is for everyone to make a trip to the park and take the tour. Besides, the Rapid City area has six National Parks in easy driving distance, including Mt. Rushmore. So, take a vacation in Rapid City at some point.
Just a few miles south of the Minuteman Missile VC is the eastern entrance to Badlands National Park. A couple more miles past the entrance kiosk ($30 for one vehicle entry) starts the fun. The Door, Window, and Notch hiking trails all begin at the same parking lot. Thankfully the lot can hold about 200 cars, because almost all the spots were taken. Tennis shoes are acceptable, but in a section of the Windows Trail I was wishing I had my hiking boots on… could have used a bit more traction. Since all of “rocks” one sees in the park are basically just mud, no real restrictions on where one goes, unlike many parks which have signs telling you to stay on trails. The next rain is going to wash away more of the land anyway. The park does talk about how the land is eroding away in quick order. But that is also how more fossils are found. A ranger told me the best time to find new fossils is right after a rainstorm. What seemed to be the biggest concern was that of warning visitors about rattlesnakes. I lost count of the number of signs with this reminder. The Notch Trail has a special treat, a 100-foot tall ladder made from thick tree branches/trunks. Steel cable connected the logs to the top of the ridge. Anybody younger than 20 was having a blast climbing up and down. Those over 60, not so much.
The Ben Reifel VC has a Fossil Lab where visitors can watch experts clean and prepare fossils. One portion of a wall was dedicated to the park’s honor roll of visitors who have discovered fossils while enjoying the park. Each person/family gets their photo taken, then placed on the wall. Some of the larger finds have their stories shown on other walls and displays. How neat would it be to help the NPS uncover new fossils? One find by a 10-year-old girl a decade ago was of a new species. The initial survey team thought it would take four days to close out this find, but it turned into a decade-long effort. Now that is something she will never forget.
There are a couple more trails along the Park Loop Road, but most of the drive is for going from one viewpoint to the next. The road eventually turns north to head out of the park and onto the city of Wall. Right at the entrance/exit kiosk is a Prairie Dog town. The critters were out and about, paying no attention to the cars and people with cameras. Pretty easy to conclude they have figured we are no threat to them. Whether you take the Park Loop Road from west to east, or east to west, you have to go through Wall. And you should. Or is that must? Maybe the most iconic tourist trap in the country calls Wall its home; Wall Drug. Most people will tell you they try to stay away from tourist traps. But do not take that action with Wall Drug. You must stop and walk through its maze of hallways, stores, cafes, etc. Ice water is still free. That is what started the craze, back in 1931. If you have never heard of Wall Drug, now you have. It is another reason to make the Rapid City area one of your summer vacation destinations.
Lastly, exit 116 on I-90 gives access to Delta 9. This is the missile silo for one of the rockets which Delta 1 controlled. The concrete cover has been partially opened to allow one to see the missile. It is a great compliment to the Delta 1 tour.
Please note I did not mention anything about other portions of Badlands NP, such as the Stronghold unit and the Palmer Creek unit, or the Badlands Wilderness unit. The vast majority of visitors stay on the Park Loop Road which is in the Northern unit