Danita in Minuteman

We started out visiting the local air and space museum. We took the bus tour so we could see the Nike missile training simulator. We also went the inside of the missile silo trainer. The missiles originally had mirrors on them. They used a system of mirrors to align the missiles with the North Star. The guides learned they could use that mirror to make it look like a visitor was inside the missile. The museum had several aircraft outside. There was no signage or explanation. The only thing they had was a paper map that one could use to figure out which plane we were seeing. I can’t blame them too much. We were visiting a strategic bomber air base with working B1B bombers. Still, a little signage would go a long way.

Beechcraft Twin

My favorite aircraft was the C45 Expeditor, AKA Beechcraft 1800, AKA Beechcraft “Twin”. I thought this was the aircraft in Casa Blanca. Then I learned it was actually the very similar looking Lockheed Electra. Then I learned it was really a scaled down model of the Electra. All that aside, this was a true classic. In it’s day, it held the record for the longest production run.

Big Horn Sheep at Bear World

We spent Monday afternoon at Bear World. This is a drive-through zoo. It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of animals. One of the things we do at Jewel Cave is give patio talks. These are aimed at children visiting the site, waiting for their cave tours. Danita does an “Animal Furs” talk. It’s surprising how many children insist that bears live in this part of South Dakota. After all, they saw them at Bear World.

Boxwork

Sunday we drove in a different direction and visited our sister cave, Wind Cave. This was the first time I tried to take pictures inside a cave. Not surprisingly, even good cameras have a problem getting good pictures while walking around a cave. This came out as well as any. It’s a picture of Boxwork. It was fun seeing how different two caves with the same geological history can be. The ranger did a wonderful job leading the tour.

Mammoth Site

Monday afternoon we visited the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. This was a cave that collapsed, making an attractive-looking sink hole. Unfortunately for the mammoths, the soil lining the sinkhole was very slippery clay. Many mammoths entered,  none escaped. As expected, there were lots of bones from animals of the day. We were surprised to learn that what we saw represented less than 1/3 of the dig.

B52 Stratofortress

The weather here is rather freaky. We’ve been experiencing mostly cool days (highs in between 60 and 70 / lows in the high 30s). We definitely didn’t bring enough warm clothes. We’re getting by, but we really thought it would be warmer in the summer. At 85 degrees, yesterday afternoon was our first warm day. We were planning to eat dinner at a burger joint. While looking for a parking space, we saw the entire block was filled with people waiting to get inside. We were trying to decide what to do when the wind suddenly kicked up. We decided to drive home (about 12 miles). Dirt started blowing across the road, making it hard to see. Then the rain started. Without warning, the rain got so heavy that I couldn’t see the road. There was a wide shoulder, but I didn’t dare pull over because I literally couldn’t see where the pavement ended. I stopped the car and turned on the flashers. That was fine, nobody else could see either. After a few minutes, there was a lull and a string of us pulled over. The temperature dropped to 55 degrees. After about 10 minutes, the rain tapered off enough that I could drive. I didn’t go over 45 on this 65 MPH road. Neither did anybody else. It was quite an experience.

B29 Superfortress