South Dakota Air and Space Museum, and Wall Drug

Who would have thought there was so much to see in South Dakota?

Day 10: Give me a day out in the open air, with sunshine, trees and wildlife, and I'm a happy camper. On the other hand, a day dedicated to technology and malls is Greg's kind of day. This turned out to be Greg's day.


Heading east out of Rapid City, near a small town called Box Elder, we spotted a sign for the South Dakota Air and Space Museum located at Ellsworth Air Force Base. We made the detour, even though we had just gotten on the road, and were pleased to find a very nice collection of aircraft as well as historical information about early flight, recent flight and man's exploration of the atmosphere in general. We spent a couple of hours there, and would have stayed for the missile silo tour if it hadn't been for the demands of the road -- we wanted to make it all the way across South Dakota by evening.

Greg in front of a Rockwell B1-B Lancer

Up close, you can see its whiskers...er, I mean antennae.

From the side, very sleek.

I liked this little training plane. It looks speedy! The T-38 Talon was the US Air Force's first supersonic trainer.








If you think this plane couldn't get off the ground with those stubby wings, you're right! The wings stick out sideways for takeoff on this FB 111A "swing wing" Aardvark, then sweep back for speed in the air. They are swept back here. The plane is sleeker than it looks in the picture, which I took from this angle because it looked like a Snoopy-dog plane!

Nike Ajax Missile

This is one of the smaller missiles. You can see the huge Minuteman II behind the B1-B in the side view above.



The ultra high frequency antenna and the cockpit control panel were inside the museum, as was this great photo of Greg studying an early-flight wing frame.

A few more snaps of planes as we walked back to our car.

B-29 Superfortress

This is the kind of plane that was used to deliver the atomic bombs at the end of WWII. A sad time in history.

Greg goes head to head with a B52D Stratofortress. It looks like a big bird of prey. In a way, I guess that's what it is.

Finally, we were ready to hit the road for the long day ahead. We didn't get very far, however, before coming to the tiny town of Wall, and Wall Drug Store, which became famous during the depression for offering travelers free ice water. Again, we spent longer than I had expected, but it was a fun stop.

Cindy with friend

Naturally, the place has been turned into a huge tourist attraction, with lots of boutique shops along the main mall going into Wall Drug, as well as lining the opposite side of the street.

We ate at the restaurant inside and sat next to an old campsite of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--or so the story goes.

Plaque at bottom of pillar

And, of course, we had to try the ice water!

Last week I originally said we would tour the Badlands today, but I later realized that I'd forgotten about these side trips. So, please join us next Saturday, when we really will see the Badlands -- and make it the rest of the way across South Dakota!