Day 8: Minuteman Missile National Historic Site & Badlands National Park

The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota was an unexpected favorite stop on the road trip. It is located near former Cold War era Minuteman missile silos, which I had not known were placed throughout the US but concentrated in the northern midwest during the arms race. 

There is a Cold War museum on site, modern and well done. For a small national parks museum it was impressive, at least for this history geek. The most impressive was one whole-wall display. First, it gave a clear and succinct Cold War timeline:

The beginning of the timeline.

We actually finished studying WWII this school year, and have been learning about Stalin, the USSR, and the Cold War. This timeline was so helpful in quickly showing key events and helping us make meaningful connections. Because I am that mom, I took photos of the whole thing, knowing there was too much information in the museum for the kids to process in one visit, and now the kids are reading them again and transferring significant dates into their timeline books. 

Also perfect for connecting this past history with current events involving the US and North Korea!

The second aspect of the display that I really enjoyed was their highly visual and easily understandable representation of the arms race--in my first photo of the display you can see the orange and blue elements building above and in conjunction with the timeline, showing the number of missiles built by the US and USSR, well, skyrocketing. This link shows an artist rendering of the overall display.

There were lots of other more kid-friendly and less information-heavy displays and activities. 

Kids could sit in the missile launch "hot seat" and follow the readiness checklist, much like a pilot would do in an airplane. Just part of the daily routine of an Air Force engineer with the power to end the world as we know it. 

A clever display--they had a little room decorated like a 1950's "living room" complete with vintage cabinet TV, which they had modified so it would play on a loop the Cold War classic "Duck and Cover." The room not only represented that time in American history, but effectively brought the conflict home, so to speak--showing the impact this nuclear arms tension had on the average American kid & family.

The definite museum highlight for the kids--getting to touch a piece of the Berlin Wall!

Ok, so maybe it was a highlight for me too:

Literally touching history! Does it get any better that this?! 

Well, ok, maybe MY OWN PIECE OF DINOSAUR BONE. But this is a close second.

Leaving the museum sites when they closed down mid-afternoon, we continued our drive across South Dakota.

Stopping for another iconic American road trip photo op.

And driving through the Badlands for good measure. Hey, if we're already passing by. . . 

After being in so many National Parks where you have to stay on the paths and not touch anything, it was freeing to visit a park with a designated area for letting kids (and adults) run amok.

How much the kids enjoyed the Badlands:

The trailer looking pretty good in that setting.

Until you get close enough to see the carnage we wrought driving at night through Yellowstone, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

We ended the night at another Walmart, I think in Sioux Falls--hey, can't beat free and safe sleeping!  We stayed in quite a few Walmart parking lots during the trip out to AL, and only one was a bad experience (due to some crazy dysfunctional and inappropriately loud people also spending the night). But esp. those northern state Walmarts had clean bathrooms and friendly employees and were a welcome part of our travels. 

Bonus of late-night Walmart stops.

But the best part about 24 hour Walmarts--free Wifi!  Mr. Incredible and I often sat late at night researching and planning the next steps of our route. A blessing for sure.