KOA Badlands, near Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Tachometer – 3880 miles
Click here for Pictures
It was a cold and rainy day, harshly punctuated by a relentless wind that had me bending the steering wheel of the RV almost a quarter of a turn just to keep driving straight. We took I-90 east for about 90 miles to get to Badlands. On the way we had a very interesting stop at what was once a launch site of US Minuteman nuclear warheads.
The entire plains region, including South Dakota, was filled with about 1000 missile silos during the cold war. Most were dismantled in a 1991 disarmament agreement between Bush sr. and Gorbachev. Us lucky tourists got to see a real missile silo as well as a command and control center. I can only wish that one day we’ll be able to visit Israeli bases that have turned into museums…
At the control center , a ranger took us down 50 feet (15 meter) underground into a control unit (designed by Boeing) for 2 air force officers known as missile-ers. Each had a key and some codes. Only when both used the keys and codes could the missiles, which were several miles away be deployed. There was a retired officer down there who actually served in this facility 40 years ago that provided interesting insights for us. Many officers volunteered for the job because it was a great opportunity to get a masters degree. While sitting underground and waiting for the ruskies to attack, these young men had lots of time to study.
Outside the weather was still miserable when we continued into Badlands. We stopped at a viewpoint but only I got out to take some pictures. We had lunch in the RV and by the end of the meal we couldn’t even enjoy the view outside because visibility got so bad. Reluctantly we drove a few more miles and checked into this campground. We prepared for an afternoon of indoor activity in the RV, and spent several hours, in turns making sure the kids were happy.
Luckily, around 6pm the sky cleared up and the wind took a break. We packed up and headed back into the park. There is a beautiful scenic drive through the park that took us several hours back and forth with many photo stops on the way. We also had supper at one of the points and got the kids in jammies. When we got back to the campground at 9:30pm 2 thirds were sleeping. Ron took another hour.
Tomorrow weather should be better. Good Night.
Hemi
This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2007 at 6:46 am and is filed under Big Trip, North America RV 2007, South Dakota. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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