Minuteman Historic Site, more Badlands and a Sunset

After work today, we rode over to exit 131 that takes one to Cottonwood, SD.  Just after exiting the I-90 highway, one is at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. 

Here there's a visitor center with a small but well put together museum dedicated to the memory of the Minutemen squadrons once fielded by the US Air Force as part of America's Nuclear Triad.  A sobering subject to be sure, but they documented it pretty well.

 I found this map showing the missile silo locations quite 

interesting, I imagine the Russians during the Cold

War would have liked to have their hands on it, eh?

 Morbid Humor, not surprising, given the times

After the visitor center we went to the D-09 Minuteman Missile Launch site by way of the Badlands Scenic Byway, allowing us to see the whole scenic loop of which we saw but a part last evening.

Back to I-90 and exit 116: The D-09 Minuteman Missile Site was a bit of a letdown as it was the site where you can't go down and access the control center.  All you can do is walk about on top, and gaze down at a replica missile through a glass observation platform.

Martha and I then headed on back to Uma to relax for a bit until it was time for me to wander out for the sunset at the Pinnacles View Point within the Badlands National Park.  Martha stayed with Uma to relax some more and cook dinner.

 Scarlett on the cliff edge, that little white box

in the background is Umarang at our glamp site

 The pinnacles at Pinnacles View Point

about an hour before Sunset

 The Golden Hour is in play....

After the sun set, most everyone left.  There was this couple parked next to me who waited for the real colors to come out.

 At first, it was just a mild rosy glow in the skies

 Pretty suddenly, the skies basically turned to

the colors of fire with yellows turning to reds

in quick succession.

Last shot, my camera lenses just couldn't taken in

enough light to prevent a high ISO so I stopped here.

There were some deep red afterglows in the clouds above the distant horizon that my camera just couldn't capture I'm sad to report.

Still, a few pics for you to mull over, I hope you like them.

I rode home in the darkness, only seeing some deer alongside the road just before turning onto the dirt road which led to my glamping site.  I'd seen two large Bison on the way into the park, glad they'd moved elsewhere while I took pictures.