Sunset over the Badlands hints at the complex landscape.
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This is the view from the motel window. The motel was pretty nondescript, but the view was great.
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It rained too much to hike around, so we took a trip to Wall Drug. They have billboards for about 500 miles on every highway, in every direction. One of their big claims to fame is the 5 cent coffee. This is Rose, one of our travelling companions, with a very good pecan cinnamon roll and the 5 cent cup of coffee. At 5 cents, it was over priced.
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Rose took a moment to enjoy the kitchy photo opportunities at Wall Drug.
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This multi ton door is the entrance to the missile crew's capsule, where they would sit with their "finger on the button".
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24 hour shifts get pretty dull, so one of the crews installed a nice hi-fi system.
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This is the second launch crew member station. Most of those lights are just status indicators. Their controls were basically limited to put in a code, turn a key, flip a switch to launch.
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This is the crew commander's position. It has lots more indicator lights, but again, very few actual switches. On the right side you can see the slot for the key, just under the number "60". Taped above the panel is a piece of paper where they could write the names of the support crew working on the surface. The cook's name was "Austin".
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Here is the complete crew capsule. 2 crew members would spend 24 hours per shift here. Most of the panels between the two chairs are status indicators, or communication devices.
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This is the last Minuteman Missile in South Dakota. The warhead has been removed. There are still hundreds of active silos in other states.
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When security personnel needed to travel between launch control facilities, the airbase and silos, they rode in this. It is as spartan on the inside as one might imagine. Rose poses for a photo.
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