| Last additions - Corn Palace, Minuteman Missile, Wall Drug, Pioneer Auto |
Fire ChiefTim's family had this EXACT fire truck growing up. This one's in much nicer condition than thiers (still back at Grandma's place...)Sep 18, 2008
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General LeeFast forward to the very end of our trip -- we made one final attraction stop, and boy were we glad we did. the Pioneer Auto Museum in Murdo is really cool, in a "collection-gone-mad" kitchy sort of cool. Here's one of the original General Lee cars from the Dukes of Hazard. They say most of the others were wrecked during production...Sep 18, 2008
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T-RexThe "new" T-Rex. This one's actually pretty cool -- he breaths smoke and 'fire' every 15 minutes or so and roars really loudly, always causing nearby kids to cry (not ours though!) Not sure when they put this in, but it has a very "Jurrasic Park"-like theming to it so it might be mid-90's as well.Sep 18, 2008
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Wall Drug WagonYet another photo spot, in the "New Back Yard". Well, it was, according to the internet, actually 'new' in 1996. And Tim swears he remembers it from when he was a kid, but maybe they just moved stuff from elsewhere out there that he remembers...Sep 18, 2008
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Wall Drug JackalopeAh, how can you drive west on I-90 through South Dakota without stopping at Wall Drug? Call me crazy, I actually kind of LIKE that place. It's free, as long as you don't spend money there (and you will). We actually ate two different meals there, and bought a few cheap trinkets...Sep 18, 2008
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Another viewLet's hope it doesn't go off during this photo...Sep 18, 2008
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View down the siloIt's really interesting to see something like this, especially growing up at the tail-end of the cold war. These missiles were placed in silos all over South Dakota and elsewhere, and were a large part of our "Balance of Terror" defense. This particular silo now has a peculiar "sunroof" over it so you can view it. Thanks to the glare, it's also somewhat of a self-portrait of Tim...Sep 18, 2008
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Minuteman MissileAbout 10 or so miles from the control center in the previous picture was one of the missile silos. The silos themselves weren't manned. The ranger giving the talk was VERY interesting -- he was actually in the air force and for many years could have set these missles off himself.Sep 18, 2008
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Minuteman MissileI didn't take a lot of pictures here, unfortunately. I'm not sure why, it was really interesting. This picture shows grandma walking into the underground control bunker. That huge door with the "domino's" logo on it was the blast door to protect them in case "the button" was pressed from the other side.Sep 18, 2008
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AndrewAndrew seems to be doing much better.Sep 18, 2008
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Long driveWilliam looks like he's sick of the hours spent in the van that day...Sep 18, 2008
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StormMidway between Mitchell and Wall, we ran into a really nasty storm. But this picture makes it look kind of pretty as we were driving into it...Sep 18, 2008
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