Wall Drug, South Dakota

Returning to Rapid City from the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site on I-90, the big dinosaur on the north side of the Interstate signals that Wall Drug is dangerously close.

Wall Drug is a huge multi-department store advertising itself on billboards for over 500 miles on Interstate 90. This pleasant "tourist trap" has something for everybody.

Besides the vast array of items for sale, Wall Drug features quite a collection of taxidermy animals.

The inside of Wall Drug reminds one of The Old West.

Marlon cozies up to a Wall Drug floozy.

Doug takes a ride on the Wall Drug jackalope.

On this visit to Wall, we strayed across the street to the Wild Life Museum to see some usual AND unusual animals.

The many types of antelopes...

Doug and the wildebeest.

The unusual fur bearing walleye only breeds by the flash of lightning.

The very usual Whitetail Deer Rump.

For more pictures, click here pictures 122-142.

To be continued...

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, South Dakota

Today we visited the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site just north of Badlands National Park.

You have to call ahead to make reservations to visit the Site as only a limited number of visitors can tour each day.

Sometimes you don't realize that with just a few turns of a couple of keys, it could all be over.

These missile sites are located all over sparsely-populated areas. Along I-90 in Western South Dakota alone, travelers pass nearly a dozen missile sites.

This might just look like a farmhouse from the road but actually it is a nuclear launch facility.

The National Park Service took it over after it was decommissioned and the National Historic Site was established in 1999.

Visitors will find the site just as it was when it was left. The tour begins by following a Park Ranger about 15 miles from the Visitor Center to this location.

This ain't your average farmhouse.

Once out of your car you will notice this large antenna used to communicate with the outside world. Cows often grazed right up to the fence.

This is the facility manager's sleeping quarters. He was the only one on site with a private room.

You can't help but notice that government does everything big...notice the 220 volt toaster. And just what do you toast with that?

This is the dining and day room.

Security Control Center is where an eye was kept on the front gate. Staff also entered this room to access the elevator to the launch facilities.

Doug boards the elevator to make his trip into the launch control center.

Once well underground you will notice the blast door to enter the control room. The door says it all.

Looking up the elevator shaft gives you an idea of just how far down we are.

This is what we will be entering into once we go through the blast doors.

Looking down the hallway after entering the blast doors.

Looking into the launch control room.

Notice the seat belts on the chairs to keep you in during a blast.

With the turn of the keys, nuclear war would begin.

Unlike the movie "War Games", if one person would not turn the key the other person would not hold a gun on them and make them turn the key. The launch could still take place with the assistance of planes above.

These are large shock absorbers which keep the capsule stable in the event of a blast.

One missileer at a time could grab some zzz's.

Next time you are driving by a farmhouse it might not be what you think it is.

Our next stop was at the missile silo itself.

Missiles are located several miles away from the launch facilities. This way a direct hit on the launch facility will not take out the missiles, which can still be launched by plane. One launch facility can launch several missiles from several locations.

It just looks like a fenced-in field, but the fenced area is protected by radar from intruders. Intrude and be greeted shortly by a security team.

This antenna sticking up is part of the radar for detecting intruders.

The glass dome has been placed over the missile to allow visitors to peer down into the silo.

This concrete cover is what you would see instead of glass. During a launch, a catapult would pull this cover off.

Looking though the glass, you notice the missile is quite a distance down. Luckily, this missile's warhead is unarmed.

For more pictures, click here pictures 1-121.

To be continued...

Other Landmarks of South Dakota

After leaving Crazy Horse, we took a drive to Deadwood, South Dakota and along the way found a big chair to rest on.

Doug tried out the chair.

The chair provides outdoor patio seating for Kactus Kim's Mexican Restaurant. Just don't fall off!

Deadwood, South Dakota gained notoriety as the location of the murder of Wild Bill Hickok. Hickok and Calamity Jane are both buried in the local cemetery.

That's it for pictures of Deadwood. As Marlon says, "It's got a lot of motels and casinos."

And a motorcycle in a tree.

From Deadwood we headed farther down the road to Lead, South Dakota.

In Lead, you can look down into the huge Open Cut Mine formerly operated by Homestake Mining Company.

You can ride the Homestake railroad.

The gold mine operated for over 125 years before shutting down in 2002.

Across the street from the mine is Gold Run Park, located on the hill where a series of buildings and foundations for the Homestake Mill Site once stood.

Gold Run Park opened in 2005 and has a self-guided tour with information placards and original equipment used in the mining operation.

This sign details the century-long history of gold mining in Lead.

For more pictures, click here pictures 115-161.

To be continued...

Crazy Horse Monument, South Dakota

Today, we headed to Crazy Horse Monument for the 63rd anniversary of sculptor Korezak Ziolkowski moving to the Black Hills in 1947 to accept the invitation from Lakota leaders to carve the monument.

As you enter the gates, the carving can be seen in the distance.

Admission was waived today with a donation of canned goods.
Watch this video to see this year's anniversary blast.

The first blast ever at Crazy Horse occurred on July 3, 1948. That blast removed 10 tons of rock; today's blast removed more than 700 tons of rock.

All four of the 60-foot high heads of Mount Rushmore would fit inside of Crazy Horse's head.

Plus our heads too.

Crazy Horse's eventual dimensions...

The monument hosts over one million visitors each year.

Here is a replica of what it will look like when it is finished.
On October 20, 1982, Korezak died at 74. His wife and ten children carried on his dream. Seven of the children still work on the project.

We took a tour closer to the monument. Here is a picture of the back side.

Outside the visitor center stands The Black Hills Nature Gates featuring hundreds of animals and plants of the Black Hills.

This is the cabin the family lived in as the monument took shape. Mrs. Ziolkowski still lives here today and you can tour it while on your visit.

Mr. Ziolkowski's studio can also been seen while on your visit.

For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...