Back in 2019, I visited the Minuteman Missile Visitor’s Center, conveniently located where the Badlands Loop puts you back on I-90. I wrote about it for RideApart. What I didn’t do at that time, though, was visit the Delta-09 Missile Silo, back down I-90 near Wall. It’s only about 15 minutes from where I’m camped, so I decided to go take a look.
Between 1963 and 1991, entering this gated area would’ve gotten you shot on sight. It held first the Minuteman IB, then the Minuteman II missile, ready to launch a 1.2-megaton nuclear warhead up to 7,500 miles away, most likely somewhere in the Soviet Union. There were over 1,000 of these missiles ready to launch, with 150 of them spread around South Dakota like this one. Now, anyone is welcome to walk through this gate and see what it would’ve looked like during the Cold War.
Although it’s sealed off, we’re looking straight down the business end of a nuclear missile silo. This is a replica missile, not a real one, as verified by Soviet weapon inspectors at some point. They probably feel even better that the door is locked half-closed, preventing a launch even if this was a real missile. But this is what it looked like.
To lighten the mood a bit, after an 80 mph run (the speed limit) down I-90 back to Wall, I stopped to check out the Wall Drug dinosaur, towering 80 feet in the air next to the interstate. Don’t ask why. It’s just there.
I was keen to try their homemade ice cream after the other night’s buffalo burger filled me up, so I had a scoop of s’mores ice cream and a free cup of water, which is what made Wall Drug famous in the first place.
Then I made my way back to camp. I strapped the bike into the trailer since it was too late to strike out on any more rides, and I’m leaving for Sturgis first thing in the morning, which is when this will get published. I’ll check in again from the Sturgis Buffalo Chip!
Smokey Da Van 