Badlands,Grasslands, Missiles, and Wall Drug

August 26

Busy Day!  

We only traveled about 110 miles to our new campsite in Wall, SD, but the rest of the day was chock full of sightseeing.

We started by driving the loop road through Badlands National Park, which had some of the most geologically inspiring scenery of this whole trip!  The landscapes were awesome!  The Buffalo Gap National Grassland meets the multicolored peaks and valleys of the Badlands here, and the combination is breathtaking.  We were greeted by big horn sheep, prairie dogs, prong horns, and bison at various points in the park.

Prong Horn on the Grassland

Big Horn Sheep

Crossing in front of the Jeep

Sun bathing

 Each overlook presented a view more spectacular than the last.  This park is the largest expanse of protected prairie ecosystem in the National Park System and is one of the world's richest  mammal fossil beds.

The Visitor's Center for Badlands NP was very interesting and informative and had a great movie.

Next we stopped at the Minuteman Missile National Monument to learn about America's ICBM capabilities during the cold war and our capacity for defense today.  We got to see one of the 150 missiles that were distributed throughout SD, each one capable of destroying a Russian location with an H-Bomb in less than 30 minutes from launch.  It was a fascinating tour.

Chair that the guy who pushed the button sat in....

Launch Facility Delta-09

Minuteman Missile

Site Delta-09

Having seen these sights, I had several thoughts to consider.  One is that I don't understand why they call this the Badlands when it is so beautiful.  Two, perhaps if I had been traveling here in a covered wagon, I may not have found the area so attractive.  Three, the white men of the 19th century really should have been ashamed of how they treated the Native Americans.  Just saying.

We stopped by the Grasslands Visitor Center too, and found out that those adorable little prairie dogs can carry PLAGUE!  Yikes!   They are still cute.

Finally, we visited the famous tourist trap, Wall Drug Store which is 2 blocks from our campground.  WOW.  If there is any souvenir junk that you can't find there, then you don't need it.

Steve having a great time...(not)

Riding a Jackalope.