Two Big Feet

Our first activity today was to go back out to the Minuteman Missile headquarters and get signed up for a tour. We had just about an hour wait, but Athos found a smashed penny machine and he and Fred had some fun with that.

The tour we took is in the not-to-be-missed category. It was absolutely great! We went out to Delta 01 that was a control center for 10 Minuteman Missile silos.  Our guide was a retired man who had served at one of the control centers when he was in the Air Force many years ago, so he was well acquainted with what went on there, and he was quite friendly and funny.   The equipment in the control capsule was state of the art when it was installed in the early 1960s but is indeed ancient looking by today’s standards.

We are all ears

Our tour guide in the "capsule"

The gazillion ton door

Enjoying the presentation

We then re-entered the Badlands NP and completed the drive through the park. Athos did some climbing around on the various hills, and we stopped at a lot of the view points.  We saw a few deer and in one area we got to see a number of Bighorn sheep.

Just a few miles from the park entrance/exit is the town of Wall, famous for Wall Drug. We did the obligatory tourist trap stop, but first stopped at the National Grasslands VC and got a stamp there.  Athos located another penny smasher in the store and we all got a Wall Drug penny.   We didn’t stay long at Wall Drug, and then headed down I90 to a rest area for lunch.  It was raining off and on by then, but the picnic tables are in covered shelters, so we ate outside. We really have a tough life!

Another 60 to 70 miles of roadmobiling took us through a fuel stop in Rapid City and down through the Black Hills to Custer, where we are holed up in our rolling cave houses listening to the rain on the roof. Before the rain started Athos had time to show off his skills at bouncing on a giant pillow.  The pillow is a contraption somewhat like a trampoline.  After the athletic show the rain started.  It will be a quiet night.