Varied Skies

We left Des Moines on June 20 bound for the Dakota territory.  Sunny skies accompanied us across the back roads of Iowa.  We took a short detour to Sac City, Iowa.  Nestled along the North Raccoon River, Sac City proudly displays the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball in a shed off Main Street.

But it “wasn’t a ball at all.”  It was a chunky oval…covered in flies.  OK, time to move on.

Yankton, SD, the original capital of the Dakota territories, provided a safe haven for a couple of days.  We enjoyed a bike ride across the Meridian Bridge over the Missouri River and into Nebraska.

We toured the Corps of Discovery Center in Crofton, NE.  Ostensibly dedicated to local history, especially the local activities of Lewis and Clark, the center felt more like a gift shop.  We appreciated the views across the Missouri River Valley from the bluffs and the few historical signs along the bluff path.

We departed Yankton on June 22 bound for the Badlands.  The going was tough.  A front had moved through during the night (causing us to retract our slide outs and wait out a thunderstorm) and 20-25 mph winds swept in behind it.  We did not face a direct headwind, but the crosswind was decidedly unfavorable.   The motorhome labored to maintain 60 mph (in an 80 mph zone) and the movement of the fuel gauge toward the Big E was as visible as a second hand counting down the minutes.  But it was worth it once we exited I-90 and traveled through Badlands National Park on our way to our campsite on the south side of the park.

After setting up camp along the White River, we drove to the small town of Interior, S.D. (population 94), and ate at the “family friendly” local bar.  
As we would come to find out, most S.D. small towns seem to have a “family friendly” bar and they all seem to serve hamburger, pizza, and fried popcorn shrimp of unvarying poor quality.  It is all part of the experience.

We awoke the next morning and set out for Badlands National Park.  Back in the day, the Badlands earned its name because the land was hard to navigate and harsh on your health.  Today, the Badlands impart a different sense of dread–no cell service or wifi.

South Dakota describes the Badlands as a “striking landscape” that “boasts a maze of buttes, canyons, pinnacles, and spires.”  True.  But it is so much more.  The Badlands intermingle with miles upon miles of mixed-grass prairie.  The contrast is startling and awe-inspiring.  Plus, the Park Service allows you to hike just about anywhere and that means you can climb the pinnacles and spires!

After touring the Visitor Center, we tackled the Saddle Pass trail, a short but strenuous ascent up through rock spires to an elevated grassland.  M3 insisted on continuing up the tallest spire around as M and L watched from below.

We returned to the car and completed the loop road through the park.  Along the way, we stopped and had a grand time observing a prairie dog town.

The loop road terminates outside the park in Wall, SD.  We had lunch at a “family friendly” bar before checking out the world-famous Wall Drugstore.  Why it is famous I do not know.  It is large and has lots of stuff.  I guess that is impressive when you are in the middle of nowhere.

The next day, we returned to the Visitor Center so the kids could receive their Junior Ranger badges before striking out on the Notch Trail.  The Notch Trail concluded with a beautiful view, but not before a ladder ascent that proved more difficult on the return trip.

Feeling good about our hike, we left the park and toured the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.

Established in 1999, the Site includes a museum detailing the development of nuclear weapons and their role in the Cold War.  It also preserves the last remaining Minuteman II missile and launch facility.  At one time, over a thousand Minuteman II missiles with 1.2 megaton warheads dotted the Great Plains.  After the signing of the START Treaty with Russia, the U.S. dismantled and imploded the Minuteman II sites in the 1990’s.  Currently the U.S. arsenal includes 450 Minuteman III missiles.

After touring the museum, the kids received their Junior Ranger badges and we left to checkout the preserved missile silo about 15 miles away.  The silo, known as Delta Nine (D-09), sits on a nondescript plot in the middle of a field not far from I-90 Exit 116.  With its warhead removed, the missile sits in its silo just as it did for its 30-year tour of duty.  The only difference is that the 90 ton cover sits partway open, allowing visitors to see the missile through a newly constructed glass roof and the Russians to verify via satellite that the site remains nonoperational in accordance with the START treaty.  All very sobering.