The Badlands and a Cold War Surprise

Cactus Flats, SD
temps 80 degrees and windy
Circle 10 Campground $30.28 a night

We left the Black Hills of South Dakota early so we could enjoy a nice short drive of 114 miles to our next destination.  For two nights in a row we are below our budget.  WaaHoo!  The drive was very pleasant and we beat most of the heavy traffic leaving Deadwood.  Lots of the classic cars passed us giving us a little car show of our own.  

We arrived early as we wanted to get tickets for the Minuteman Missile Launch Command Center for today as our research showed it is hard to grab the tickets.  I scored the 2pm tour.  We ventured across the street to Circle 10 Campground.  This is an older park so the sites are very small.  Our options were limited to a site under a big tree, a very close site shared with another large coach, or a site that was very short.  We took the short site and barely fit the Beast in.  It took a little jostling, but we made it.  

After a quick lunch we headed west again on I-90 to the Launch Control Center.  The center looks like a 1960's ranch style from the highway.  As you get closer, the barbed wire and the marked doors show its not a house at all.  Also the various antennae give it a less than livable look.  There is a volleyball court, a basketball hoop and a barbecue for destroying confidential documents before paper shredders.  The only personnel that lived there were the security personnel.  They lived in tight conditions and the monotonous hours had to be a boring lonely way of life.  The personnel that could turn the keys worked underground for 24 hours at a time.  These crews could launch a missile that was miles away that would travel over the North Pole and arrive in the USSR 30 minutes later.  I think I would go crazy, the quarters down below were very tight.  

Art work in the shaft

More art on the huge door to the Command Center

Looking up the shaft

Now thats a computer/printer

This is the door.  The walls are about 4 feet thick

The living area

The sites were built in the early 1960's during the cold war and were turned over to the National Park Service in 1999.  Tours are free and run every day.
There are no more intercontinental ballistic missiles in South Dakota, but over 500 nuclear missiles are still deployed in the upper Great Plains.

After the tour we ran over to the Missile Silo Site just down the highway and on a rough dirt road.

This was a very cool stop and well worth the time.  I love the old Cold War stuff and a favorite movie was Fail Safe.  It's available on Netflix disk, so I might have to order it next spring.  

After a quick stop at the Beast we picked up the Pups and headed down the road to the Badlands.  These rock formations remind me of the land around Lake Mead.  We did a little drive around then took the Pups for a short walk.  I was uncomfortable as there were signs everywhere to beware of Rattlesnakes.  I don't like snakes, especially rattlers.  

Good Pups

A Bighorn Sheep

The End to a very windy, busy day!