Travel – Page 14 – Geeky Girl Engineer

Custer State Park

Posted on August 27, 2017 by geek

I am probably prone to superlatives on my blog, but Custer State Park is, in fact, stunningly gorgeous. It has lovely grasslands where you can find bison, prairie dogs, and donkeys and probably others. Those are the ones I saw. I have to also admit that I am a little sketchy on wild donkeys being in a park, but I digress. The park also has the granite peaks and spires that make the Black Hills so famous. There is a manmade lake called Sylvan Lake that has the granite spires lining it and popping out of it. There is Needles Highway, which is an engineering feat of wonder, where you drive around the granite spires and in two cases drive through them in the most ridiculous small, just cut out the exact space needed for a car, tunnels. There is the Wildlife Loop where you can see the wildlife and just take in the gorgeous grasslands. My photos probably don’t do it justice, but if you are ever in the area, make time and go to this park.

Custer State Park grasslands

Buffalo on the grasslands

Donkeys (or burros) on the grasslands

Buffalo on the grasslands

Custer State Park

Needles Highway tunnel

Needles Highway

Sylvan Lake

Black Hills Train Ride

Posted on August 26, 2017 by geek

I took a ride today on the 1880 Train, whose route goes back and forth between Hill City and Keystone SD. It uses an old mining and mill railroad for its track. The round trip takes two hours, and it is a nice, relaxing ride through some beautiful countryside.

The 1880 Train engine

The 1880 Train on a curve

An old mine entrance

Views of the Black Hills

The 1880 Train having a blowdown

Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore

Posted on August 25, 2017 by geek

This afternoon was spent in the Black Hills. I first visited the Crazy Horse memorial being built. The scale of it is amazing. I spotted it from the road, and I was in awe. They are carving a sculpture out of an entire hill of rock. Only the face is complete thus far, but the work is impressive, and it is interesting to watch it being carved.

Crazy Horse and the model from which the hill is being carved

Crazy Horse

Next I visited Mount Rushmore National Memorial. I have to say, after visiting Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore was slightly underwhelming. The carving is really impressive, especially considering when it was all done without some of our modern day tools. However compared to Crazy Horse, it is kind of small. Calling Mt. Rushmore small is ridiculous, but in comparison, it is.

Mt. Rushmore

Mt. Rushmore and the plaza walk to it

Mt. Rushmore, profile of George Washington can be seen from road

Wind Cave National Park

Posted on August 25, 2017 by geek

This morning I visited Wind Cave National Park. On the surface, the park looks like much of same lovely grassland as the surrounding area. Underground, however, lies a huge cave system filled with gorgeous formations. The cave is famous for its boxwork formations and has most of the known boxwork in the world. You can take tours of a small portion of the cave, enough to get a glimpse of the gorgeous boxwork.

Wind Cave National Park, grasslands above ground

Boxwork in Wind Cave

Crystals in Wind Cave

Wind Cave

Boxwork in Wind Cave

Deadwood

Posted on August 24, 2017 by geek

After visiting Devil’s Tower, I decided to visit Deadwood just because. I took the scenic route through Spearfish Canyon. If you ever in the area, I highly recommend this scenic drive. It is lovely. I then arrived in Deadwood and had only been there for a short time before a gun fight broke out. No worries, it was on schedule. They have a gun fight several times a day, every day, although this may only be in the summer. There is a fight over a card game, and then a dual on the street. Of course all I was thinking was wondering if these actors wore ear protection because that’s the type of person I am. In any event, many of buildings in Deadwood have been restored to their original design. The buildings are kind of neat. The old train station is now the visitor’s center. Much of downtown though is casinos and tourist shops, so if you are not into those activities, and I am not, Deadwood only needs to be a short visit. Unless you just like watching fake gun fights.

Deadwood train station that is now the visitor’s center

Franklin Hotel in Deadwood where a gun fight constantly breaks out

downtown Deadwood

Spearfish Canyon scenic drive, worth the drive

Devil’s Tower

Posted on August 24, 2017 by geek

For my trip out west, I wanted to visit many sites that were kind of in the middle of nowhere. Devil’s Tower fits in that category. I don’t think photos can do it justice. As I was driving to it, the road I was on curved, and then Devil’s Tower just appeared. That is what is so amazing about it. The area around it is pretty rolling countryside with some of the black hills, but then this columnar rock tower just appears. The trail to walk around it is a little over a mile, and even while walking that trail, I still was amazed by its size and how much it stuck out of the surrounding countryside. There are exhibits on the trail that give good visuals to describe how it formed. Still I find it awesome.

Devil’s Tower

Devil’s Tower, close up of columns

Wall Drug

Posted on August 24, 2017 by geek

If you are ever in South Dakota on I-90, probably for the entire distance of I-90, you will see signs for Wall Drug. Many of the advertisements were for coffee for five cents or free ice water. While driving from Rapid City to Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (about 70 miles), I saw a sign for Wall Drug at least every mile, probably more often than that. I went to Devil’s Tower today, and I saw a sign for Wall Drug while leaving Devil’s Tower before even getting on the interstate, a good 150 miles away from Wall. Clearly Wall Drug is a tourist trap, but if you try that hard to trap the tourists, I will give it to you. After visiting Badlands, I went to Wall Drug just to see what was so special that they would advertise that far away.

Wall Drug

Wall Drug is note really describable. There are several different stores within its complex, and the complex is so complex, they actually have maps of the store. There is the classic drug store, and many different stores to sell stuff to tourists. There is a cafe and a soda shop. Then there is all the other stuff. If you enter from one of the doors that doesn’t lead directly to a store, you enter a hallway of sorts that somewhat resembles a mall.

Wall Drug entrance hallway

The hallway is full of stuff I would expect an old amusement park. As well as other stuff that I don’t really know where I would expect to find such stuff.

Entrance hallway has all the classic amusement park stuff

It also has a chapel.

A somewhat out of place chapel

Then you can go out to the new back courtyard, where you are promised among other things, deluxe bathrooms. [The bathrooms were not especially deluxe, but they were big.] The courtyard has a jumping water fountain that children can play in and a tiny replica of Mt. Rushmore. Then, past the courtyard is another building with more stores and another soda shop. There is also a dinosaur for unknown reasons. In this building though, they do have an amazing collection of old photographs and historical information on the area.

Backyard building with more stores

Wall Drug is a tourist trap. However, it is a magnificent, somewhat confusing, overwhelming, trap that would surely win an award for tacky and kitchy if such as award existed. Also, they do believe in truth an advertising. You can buy a cup of coffee for five cents, and there is evidently free ice water.

Badlands National Park

Posted on August 23, 2017 by geek

After visiting Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, I then drove on to Badlands National Park, which is right across the freeway. Badlands is just gorgeous. The formations are dramatic. In many places you can clearly see the different sedimentation layers, including different coloring of the layers. The different coloring layers adds to the drama and beauty of the landscape. When I was there, it was a clear blue sky, which contrasted with the landscape coloring. It was fun to photograph. There were no bad angles, only trying to figure out the best way to capture the beauty, even though no photograph can.

Badlands National Park

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Posted on August 23, 2017 by geek

Today started with a trip to a bit of a hidden site, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. National Park Service offers tours of one of the launch control facilities that could launch the missiles sitting in underground silos. Above ground are the support facilities, which on the outside look a bit like a pre-fabricated house or some small commercial building. The underground launch control center was connected by cable to ten missile in underground silos that it could launch. The control center was also connected to other launch control centers that could launch its own missiles. I found the tour rather interesting, but I also found it somewhat unnerving. The visitor’s center has a nice exhibit about not only the site but also the arms race and the members of the military who worked at these sites. The visitor’s center also has information about close calls during the Cold War. I found it all scary. I also consider current events, and it still scares me.

Layout of facility

Inside, the above ground facilities pretty much resemble a dormitory. About the only way it differs from a dormitory is the security room, which is far more equipped than any college campus.

Above ground dormitory like rooms

Through the security room is an elevator and ladder to the underground portion.

Stairwell down to control bunker

The underground portion consists of a small locker area that then leads to a giant steel door to the launch control center.

Giant door to launch control center

The launch control center is enclosed in a giant steel cylindrical container.

Photograph of steel-covered control center being installed underground

There are numerous support utilities connected to the launch control center. The center was made to withstand a nuclear blast, although not a direct hit. Numerous cables connects the center to the missiles it could launch as well as the command centers. It has support utilities like electricity and air.

Support utilities connecting to control center

Inside is rather antiquated looking equipment that could have been used to start World War III.

Launch control desk

Launch control facilities

Toadstool Geological Park

Posted on August 23, 2017 by geek

After the amazing event that was the total solar eclipse, I headed north to continue my trip. I stopped at Toadstool Geological Park along the way. The area is small badlands landscape with several formations said to resemble toadstools. It is a nice area to go do a little hiking, but it should be noted that to get there requires a long drive down a dirt road, which is not so nice.

Toadstool Geologic Park