Badlands and Caves

During our last visit in 2017 I had added the badlands at the last second.  I was not expecting much but had really enjoyed the visit.   I was a bit nervous about returning, often the second time is not as good. Regardless, I took the risk and Thursday morning we headed East to the Badlands.  It is a quick trip, less than an hour and we used the West entrance.

We actually had to wait a minute at the gate as there were a few cars ahead of us.  The entrance also had a prairie dog town which was quite active but I think we had seen enough dogs yesterday.  Overall the park was not very busy.  We had no issue finding parking and in some cases we had the less popular views to ourselves.

The park is all about rocks, rocks and colored rocks.  Mostly you are seeing layers of different minerals including iron, coal, goethite, volcanic ash and manganese.  We did more stops than usual at both turnouts and overlooks to see the various formations.  We also took some short hikes.  Some tourists seemed to be wandering off trail but we avoided that.  There was one area where you could wander out over the rocky plain but it was clearly blazed with numbered trail markers.

We did not see a lot of critters but there were several bison scattered  across the range.  There was also one across from one of the parking lots.  I was concerned with the close distance so we gave the bison a wide berth until we drove by and got a nice close view, I wsa less concerned for the car.  The bison was more interested in the grass than us.  He seemed mighty skinny considering winter was approaching but I believe he will be corralled and fed during the winter so hopefully he will be safe.

We completed the park in about three hours.  There is much more to see and do but I did not want to repeat our dirt road adventure from 2017.  That year we took one of the unpaved roads and saw some great wildlife but the rental car got so dirty I actually ran it through a gas station wash.  Also, the temperatures were rising and the hikes were getting hot and less fun.  

We decided to head on to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.  It is small and the reviews stress the clean bathrooms which gives you an idea what people think after visiting.  It does a nice job telling the history of the Cold War and the Missile Officers.

Last trip we took a command center tour that was excellent.  You got to go down into a decommisioned launch control site, just like in War Games.  The blast door painting was quite memorable.  The Historic Site also has a replica of the blast door.  For those that remember when Dominos would deliver a pizza in 30 minutes or less or it was free will understand the dark humor.

Our next stop was the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.  It is a small but nice Air Force museum and it is free.  Well not really, we all pay for it with our tax dollars.  It has about 40 outdoor aircraft and I knew most of them, it was a nice walk.  The indoor portion is small but has some nice artifacts and information.  They also have an F16 flight Simulator. 

They have repurposed an old F16 front that had previously been a procedures trainer into a fun sim.  It is non motion and runs X-plane so it’s not super accurate.  CC went first, they have a volunteer, who is a civilian pilot teach you and he talked her through departure, maneuvers, rolls and nap of the earth flight.  She did a good job, he said her pilot skills showed.

I then took a quick turn.  For me he did not instruct and just let me have some fun.  I departed the Airforce base and buzzed KRAP which is just 4 miles away.  It comes quickly at 450 knots.  My low pass would have been right over the Baron if the sim knew where I parked.  After my low pass, I pitched up, completed a triple victory roll and pulled hard to turn around.

I told the instructor I would return to land. They don’t normally do landings as the experience is that it ends in a crash. He gave me a VREF of 180 and it took a bit to get slowed down.  Ellsworth AFB has 13,497’ of runway so I had plenty of room to stabilize and make a smooth touchdown.  Score one for the Baron pilots.

On our last day in South Dakota we took it easy.  I had planned both Jewel and Wind Caves which would have required leaving at 07:15.  We slept in instead and canceled our Jewel cave tickets.  I was also concerned that we would be caught in the Bison round up traffic.  Today was the day when they round up the Bison in Custer State Park and about 20,000 people drive out to see it.

I was also watching the weather again.  A few days ago our flight home was supposed to be all good weather.  That had been changing and now Nebraska was potentially wet and cloudy on Saturday.  I replanned to go a bit farther down to Missouri for our first gas stop.  The problem was that now my reserves would be lower than I like.  They would well exceed the FAA’s but I don’t believe FAA's are anywhere near enough.

Our first stop was back at the airplane.  I wanted to check everything and get the extra gas.  The oil was a bit lower than I expected but the plane was parked on a downhill so that may have been the difference.  Not wanting to take any chances, I put a half quart in both sides so I knew I would have plenty for our return.

I also watched them add the extra gas.  While we were checking everything we saw the fire engine driving around.  Then the engine drove over some cones.  One of the firemen was walking by so I asked if that was on purpose.  He said no, that they were training a new guy how to drive by IR camera only and the cones represent people.  Oops!!!  You can see they had blocked out the windows in the picture.  We learned he needed more practice and that we should avoid getting in front of the engine.

After the plane we headed down to Wind Cave Natural Park.  Wind Cave is so named because the caves natural entrance keeps the cave's pressure in equilibrium with the surface.  This entrance is a small hole about 12  inches across.   This means that as the pressure swings the cave can breathe in or out up to 55 mph.  This cave is the third longest in the USA and 6th in the world with 170.1 miles mapped at present.  They are still exploring though. 

The cave sits in about one square mile horizontally but so has been mapped to about 690 feet deep vertically.  The tour only takes you down about 200 feet.  The cave is like no other.  It is a dry cave, no stalagmites or stalactites but it does have a unique box structure that looks like this wafers on the walls and roof.

The tour starts on the surface and is ranger lead.  You walk down and down and down.  The cave has an almost too perfect look.  The rocks look fake in places, it was almost as if Disney made a National Park.  The Ranger’s program could have been written by Disney including the G rated jokes which sometimes hit rock bottom.  Like the other cave the CCC had made improvements in the 1930s so by the time we arrived we had stairs, handrails, lighting and nice floors.

This cave was much easier than Lewis and Clark.  First the walk to the cave is flat and only about 200 feet.  It is almost all down and the passages are much wider with the low spots not requiring ducking unless you are closer to 6 feet.  The best part was after travelling down 200’, there was an elevator to take us to the surface.  It actually dropped us right by our car.

I got ahead of myself though, on the drive out to the cave we saw another family of Pronghorns.  We of course saw a ton of prairie dogs, not much of a surprise.  We also saw several Bison with two being right up on the road.  We also did two hikes.

The first was a prairie loop.  It had way too much vertical for walking in a field.  The park is on the line between the rolling grasslands typical of Nebraska and the limestone Black Hills of South Dakota.  We were in South Dakota but Wind Cave is closer to Nebraska than Rapid City.

The prairie is deceptively serene.  It looks like gentle rolling hills but the reality is the slopes are steep and hiking is much more work than it appears.  I cannot imagine living out there and walking to visit my neighbors only three miles away.  We tried a second hike around the Elk Mountain Campground.  It reinforced that prairie hikes are sorta hard and boring and that no way will I ever camp.

The best part of the hike was the Bison we saw at the campground entrance.  We watched him a bit from the car and after eating a bit he decided to sit.  On the way back from the hike he had not moved and looked like he was fast asleep.  Asleep or not, we stayed in the car on the road and enjoyed the view from a distance.  After the hikes and caves we headed back to town to top off the car and have early dinner.  

I had some more planning and decisions.  My plan was to get going early though I was night current if we needed to delay or take our time.  The sun and timezones would not be in our favor.  I wanted to depart on our last leg during daytime but that still gave us plenty of time.

A Close Encounter

We had returned to Rapid city to see more of South Dakota.  Long time readers will know that we had stopped through in June of 2017 which seems like ages ago.  On that visit we saw the Badlands, took a missile launch facility tour, saw Rushmore and visited Custer State park.  It was a whirlwind and I had thought it would be nice to see some more and revisit the Badlands.

So of course, our first stop this morning was in Wyoming.  Yes we went to Montana and ended up visiting Wyoming several times and now we were in South Dakota repeating our pattern.  Readers of a certain age will remember Close Encounters of The Third Kind. Younger readers can Google it now.  The climax of the movie is at Devils Tower.

After all those years of playing with my mashed potatoes, I was finally going.  Some logistics notes here.  It is always good to google the crowds at the parks.  First, I learned that September was still pretty busy but that there would be minimal issues before 10 AM.  The second is that Google offline Maps are a must out West and especially in the parks.  You can download wide areas to your phone and still be able to get directions and navigate even though you have no signal.

I hate early mornings but I hate waiting more so we got going and were on the road by 7:45 which got us to the Tower by 9:40.  As promised we drove right in.  They have an odd system where you pay or show your pass on the way out.  This appears to be a busy season thing. The entrance is right next to the park boundary and an intersection.  This keeps the traffic from backing up outside the park.

Once inside the gate we did not get distracted with overlooks or the prairie dog town.  We went directly for the summit.  It is a short drive up to the parking lot but there is a sign about half way up that says “About a 75 minute wait from here”.  They have other signs counting down and it ends at a light which meters traffic into the lots above.

As we cruised up the light was not yet in use.  At the top there are two lots, a nice paved one and the overflow which is dusty and further away.  The cars ahead went to the overflow, we took a chance and went for the primo parking.  CC is on a streak and scored the perfect space right at the trailhead.

We did the loop trail, about 1.5 miles where you walk around the tower.  On the way up we met a ranger about to give an educational talk but we decided that learning too much might remove the magic.  The trail around the tower has great views of both the tower and the surrounding terrain.   While it is a stunning natural formation.  It also holds significant religious significance to Native Americans and you can see many prayer clothes around the monument.

The first thing I noticed was that some people were climbing to the top.  CC was going to give it a go but the 11 AM permits were all allocated and you know I wasn't gonna wait an hour so she could climb at 12:00.  A sign said children as young as 6 and. 7 had made the climb.  Since I am not close to that young I had the perfect excuse to skip the climb too.

As we continued around the Tower and they had many informational signs. One pointed out a ladder that had been installed in 1893.  The remnants are still there but in the 1920s they took out the bottom 100 feet to discourage use and people falling to their death.

My favorite Tower story was the daredevil that parachuted unannounced to the top in 1941.  His plans went sideways when he lost his equipment for climbing down during the landing.  To make matters worse, there was an ice storm that trapped him for six days.  Luckily pilots flew by and dropped food, including a steak and warm clothes.  He was eventually rescued by a pair of climbers.  I would not recommend repeating the stunt these days. 

On the way down the mountain we passed the traffic light and it was in use with a line of cars waiting for their turn to park.  We scooted on down and made a quick stop to admire the prairie dogs.  We have now seen several dog towns and this was a good one with the dogs right up to the road on both sides.  We got a last few pictures of the Tower and then headed back to South Dakota.

On the way out I had seen an odd sight, a Twin Bonanza on a stick.  More accurately, a 70 foot pole.  In 2014 a local had taken a Twin Bonanza, or more affectionately called a T-Bone, and mounted it on a 70 foot pole with a crane to make a giant working windsock.  The T-Bone is an ancestor of the Baron so we have family connections.  You would think there is more to the story but that’s it.

We returned to South Dakota and stopped at Bridal Veil falls.  It is a roadside pull out and requires no effort but not much of a fall.  The highway is a scenic byway and was a great drive.  A bit further down we pulled off to see some big white fluffy mountain goats.  They were at a distance and seemed very intent on sitting or grazing.

The byway took us to Roughlock falls.  These were a bit of a pain to get to as the last bit was unpaved but after working our way there and parking we found a nice clear burbling stream, it even had some small trout.  There was a paved path that took you down to the falls.  The falls are tiny and the view is poor.  You then need to walk up the hill to get back to your car.  It scored low, maybe a 3 and the only redeeming features were the clear water and surrounding canyon which was quite scenic.

We continued down the Byway to Deadwood.  I had read it was a historic town and worth a visit, saying it is historic is like saying Cinderella's castle at Disney represents European history.  The place was mobbed with tourists and the main street was like a cheesy remake of Frontierland.  We decided to keep going after a quick drive through.

Our next stop was Sturgis.  Sturgis is known for the annual motorcycle rally which takes place for nine days in early August.  The town's population increases from 7,000 to over 500,000. I was curious about the town but had no desire to show up during the Rally.  

We stopped by and strolled the main drag.  They have a rally picture with entire steet full of people.  Today it was empty.  Many businesses were closed.  One had a sign saying they would reopen next June in 2027.  That’s a really short season.  The place has lots of bars, t-shirt shops and tattoo parlors, not much else though.

It was a nice stroll and after driving by the Harley Dealer which was much smaller than I envisioned, we headed off to get some BBQ.  I had read about JRs BBQ and we stopped in to give it a try.  CC and I split the 3 meat platter.

It came with ½ pound each of turkey, pulled pork and brisket, plus Jalapeno Mac and Cheese, Bacon Potato salad and a piece of white bread.  The brisket and pork were exceptional.  The sides were excellent.  The turkey was good but nothing special.  It was slightly dry and not that smokey.  The bread was white bread which seemed to be a let down.  Overall it was delicious and a good value.

A KRAP Plan

Right after I wrote that our other stops typically did not have prolonged low weather, I looked at the Rapid City (KRAP) Forecast.  It was calling for several days of really low weather.  I started watching and sure enough Rapid City was bouncing between IFR and really low IFR.   The automated MOS forecast was looking pretty bleak for a while calling for ceilings of 200-400 all Tuesday.  The other forecasts looked better but barely.

The winds would be out of the Southwest which meant the GPS 14 which had minimums of 250 feet.  Frankly, while we train to minimums and on occasion I have had to go there, it is not what I prefer.  It was time to start formulating some plans and wait and see what weather we got.

Bozeman weather was going to be glorious so our departure would be easy.  Taking all the forecasts and together, on arrival I was expecting 600-1,500.  Our original schedule was to leave at 8:30, we pushed that to 9:30 as the weather would be better after 11:00.  We would leave VFR and head through the Bozeman pass and then direct HITOS intersection.  This was 40 minutes out from KRAP and would be our transition to IFR if needed.  Just kidding, it would be needed. 

Gas was a concern.  I had planned 116 gallons on departure that let us keep our weight 10% below gross and gave us a better single engine climb rate in an emergency.  We planned to land with 60 gallons which is 2:24 reserve.  If we went missed, our planned alternate, which should be VFR, was 39 miles and 8 gallons away.  This would put us on the ground with 2:12 of gas.  Less if we had to use a back up alternate but worst case we would land with 1:30 or better.

I had some variations of this plan. If the weather was less than 600 an hour out of KRAP, we would stop and add more gas.  My thought was that this would open our options and the delay might provide improved weather.  So after lots of planning, deciding on my go/no go points, we were ready.

The friendly folks at Signature Bozeman had parked the plane on a slight downhill slope so once the oil temps were in the green we started rolling and headed for the runup area.  I asked for flight following to Rapid City and got my squawk.  At the end of the runway, the engines were warm, the runup went as expected and we were number one.   Cleared for takeoff runway 12 straight out, mixtures leaned, acceleration a lot less than normal but with 8,994’ of pavement we were soon airborne, clean and climbing.

The pass is 5,718’ and we easily cleared the rising terrain.  Leveling at 9,500' we took a shortcut along the ridgeline.  The forecast was for a small tailwind and it appeared as promised.   When we departed, KRAP had been 1,200’ but the next update was 600’ broken.  This was acceptable but I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to go lower.  Twenty minutes later the update was 1,200’ and I was much happier.   

We cruised along and watched our alternate’s weather which continued to report clear so we continued.  It was hard to believe we would soon be IFR. We had clear skies and 60+ mile visibility.  I had filed IFR from the HITOS intersection to KRAP.  Salt Lake City had been following us but Denver would have our clearance as they controlled the HITOS airspace.

As we progressed we got some views of the places we had visited as we passed Billings.  One cool sight was the Bighorn Recreation Area where we overflew the lake.  The canyon views were equally stunning from above.

Our handoff to Denver came as expected and Denver had our clearance waiting.  We became IFR and were assigned 9,000’.  This would be temporary as the MEAs would require us to climb to 10,000 to cross the Black Hills Forest.  The weather at KRAP was holding and the ATIS was calling 1,200’ and we were soon handed off to approach.  We got some vectors to space us behind an airliner and after flying us through final, we were turned back and cleared GPS 14.

We had been descending and were under the glidescope as we tracked inbound.  I slowed to 135 knots and at glide slope intercept dropped the gear.  We checked in with tower and were told to report the FAF inbound.  By now we were solid, the needles were centered and landing checks were complete.  At ZUDIM, the FAF we called in and were cleared to lane.  The winds were 15-20 knots and it was not a smooth ride but at 1,000’ above the runway we broke out to good visibility below.

The landing was good and we were soon on the Westjet ramp.  Our car was there and again it was a bit awkward unloading with the gusty conditions.  Westjet is nice but overpriced.  I did buy a cool t-shirt though.  It says, “I flew through KRAP to get here”.  I though that was appropriate based on today’s weather.

We spent the afternoon visiting town.  They have a section of the Berlin wall which was cool.  They also have a Dino park.  The Dinosaurs were built with WPA money during the depression as an attraction.  It is sort of silly but fun.  The park is on a hill overlooking town and the views are great.

We took the skyline drive down the hill to town.  On the way we saw some wild turkeys which tearing up some elses lawn for a change.  We have a Turkey at home that keeps making amess in our lawn.  Downtown is small but interesting.  They have statues of most of the presidents on the street corners.   I'm sure why, but they do.  

We parked and took a walk.  Our first stop was art alley which is an alley that has been painted and painted and painted.  Anyone can participate, it just requires a free permit.  

We enjoyed the art and met a young man priming a section for his next work.  He had been commissioned to complete 3 projects but we would be gone before he was done.  As we left the alley, 3 men asked us to take their picture.  They said they were some of the artists.  I think they were; though our conversation was less coherent because they appeared to be quite drunk.

Downtown was interesting, not only did we have the friendly artists, we saw a street preacher reading the bible to the street.  The street did not seem impressed.   I was also stopped by a young man that wanted to talk cameras and lenses.  We chatted a bit and then stopped into a bakery but they had sold out of bread so no snack for us.  

After more wandering, we called it an afternoon and headed back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.  We had a big day Wednesday and since this is vacation, we decided we could take it easy for a bit.