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July 19th - Route 4

Hotel in Rapid City Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Badlands National Monument, Town of Wall and return (120 miles, 2 hours give or take)

Significance of the place

 a) Minuteman Missile National Historic Site was established in 1999 to illustrate the history and significance of the Cold War, the arms race, and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development. This National Historic Site preserves the last remaining Minuteman II ICBM system in the United States.

b) Badlands National Monument: Range of hills and sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The National Park Service manages the park, with the South Unit being co-managed with the Oglala Lakota tribe.

c) Town of Wall often called simply Wall Drug: It is a shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and various other stores

Brief History:

a) The sprawling missile complex, one of six located in the central United States, was built as a deterrent to a nuclear first strike by the Soviet Union. By placing missiles underground in widely separated locations, it was hoped that regardless of the size of a Soviet missile attack, enough US missiles would survive to ensure devastation on the aggressor nation. The Minutemen in this complex remained on alert for nearly 30 years, until the wing was deactivated following the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) by President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. Guided tours are conducted underground here, but are limited to six people at a time due to the very small underground launch control center ("capsule") and are a half-hour long. Self-guided tours are not possible here; the gate for the fence around D-01 is always locked, just like it was when it was an active launch control facility.

b) Badlands National Monument: (Lakota: Makȟóšiča) is an American national park located in southwestern South Dakota. The park protects 242,756 acres of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The National Park Service manages the park, with the South Unit being co-managed with the Oglala Lakota tribe. The Badlands Wilderness protects 64,144 acres (100.225 sq mi;) of the park as a designated wilderness area, and is one site where the black-footed ferret, one of the most endangered mammals in the world, was reintroduced to the wild. Authorized as Badlands National Monument on March 4, 1929, it was not established until January 25, 1939. Movies such as Dances with Wolves were partially filmed in Badlands National Park.

c) Wall Drug: It is a shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and various other stores. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity instead of being individually run stores

Drive there: 

Uninteresting until the exit off I90.  Then the landscape changes to hilly country.

What we did:

a) As we did not arrange a tour in advance just visited the Visitor Center.

b) Drove for an hour through the Badlands.

c) Town of Wall called Dined at the hotel (Hilton Garden Inn). Good food.

Impressions: 

a) A Lot of information at the Visitor Center – reminded of the Cold War and the thought that hundreds of silos dotted the Plains.

b) Badlands are stark and beautiful. The colors of the buttes - similar to the ones in Death Valley, CA.  

c) Wandered round Wall Drug – bought Tchotchkes and took pictures of the branch of First Interstate Bank – our old employer.

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