Road Trip Through America (Part 2)

After completing the Johanna Meier Opera Program, I was off to Rapid City, South Dakota, to spend some quality time with my good friends, Matt and Alex.  They live an adorable little studio, affectionately called "the pumpkin" because of its orange-colored walls.  Because of the tight quarters, Matt's hospitable parents allowed me to stay with them.

As this was my second visit to Rapid City, I was quite relieved to arrive at a familiar place with welcoming friends.  Alex and I were roommates our senior year of college and for the summer after we graduated.  Since 2009, we've maintained a long-distance friendship that has seen lots of ups and downs in both our lives, and I am so blessed to have her as one of my best friends.  In 2010, Alex married Matt, and he too has become one of my best friends.  I was so excited to spend a whole week together with them!

Because Matt had to work most days, Alex and I had the opportunity to catch up on all the details of each other's lives...and go see the new Disney movie, "Brave."  We went for a couple hikes together, had picnic lunches, and reminisced about college days.  It seemed like a week was not enough time to talk about everything!

Badlands National Park

The best day of that week was when Alex, Matt, and I visited 3 national parks in one day!  Our first stop was Badlands National Park.  Before I left on my trip and people found out I was going to South Dakota, they would always say something along the lines of: "You don't want to go to the Badlands..."  After visiting the Park for myself, I wonder if these people have ever actually been there.  The formations out of the rocks and earth were absolutely breathtaking!  It was almost like driving through a miniature ancient civilization.  The weather was warm and slightly overcast, a perfect day for a picnic lunch in the Badlands!

Next we headed to Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, the only National Park dedicated to the Cold War.  Before we reached the launch facility, we stopped at a silo to view the actual launchpad.  Not many people stop there, I guess, since we were the only ones around.  We took the short drive to the launch facility where one of the actual pods is available to view.  Only 6 people are allowed down to the pod at a time.  It was incredible to learn about the hundreds of Minuteman missiles all over the Dakota region of the country.  The missiles were pointed at the Soviet Union and could reach their target within 30 minutes!  The slogan was: "World-wide delivery in 30 minutes or less, or your next one is free!"

I was most impressed with all the precautions taken to ensure something did not go awry.  Each pod had 2 men in it, and they were on-duty for 24 hours at a time.  In order to reach the pod in the first place, you had to go through 3 security doors, take a 30ft. elevator underground, and move a massive door (don't ask me how many tons it weighs).  The two men were then locked in there for 24 hours, and had a bed, toilet, etc.  If they received an encrypted message and were able to decode it to verify that they need to actually need to launch a missile, they would have to go through a series of steps.  1) Each person had his own combination number that he would use to open a locked box.  2) Each person would pull out a key from that box.  3) Each person would insert their key into a keyhole 12-feet apart from each other.  These precautions ensured that no one person would be able to launch a missile and start an unnecessary war.  If you are ever in South Dakota, I highly recommend visiting this unique historical site.  Because only 6 people are allowed down at a time, you have to arrive early to obtain a ticket for the tour.  The park entrance and tour are both free of charge.

Lastly, we went to the infamous Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.  I had already visited Mt. Rushmore in 2010, but I wanted to go back and see it again.  This time, we went at sundown for the "lighting ceremony."  After walking around the park, eating ice cream, and then watching the beginning of the ceremony, we determined there were too many people around.  So, we walked out to the parking lot, found a concrete fence to perch on, and watched the mountain slowly light up in peace and quiet.  It was more magical than the Disney fireworks show.

Overall, my time with Alex, Matt, and their family was better than I could have hoped for, and I can't wait to visit South Dakota again someday!