| s/y Nine of Cups Minuteman Missile National Historic Site - South Dakota June 2012 |
| Don't forget to check out: National Parks & Monuments? American Odyssey...Part I? (Las Vegas to Denver) American Odyssey...Part II? (Denver to Boston) American Odyssey...Part III? (Boston to Vegas) Birds of North America? Wildflowers of North America? |
| As we traveled across the plains of South Dakota, we would have never noticed the few structures that indicated a nuclear-missile silo site was here unless we had noted its location on the map. During the Cold War, an event lasting almost 50 years, Minuteman missiles held the power to destroy civilization. Yet this same destructive force was a key part of the US military strategy and acted as a nuclear deterrent which our leaders believed kept the peace and prevented war. This was an era of fall-out shelters, fear, terror, and panic as the United States and Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons which could have destroyed the world ... and here was a launch site. |
| Black humor? |
| Under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed in 1991 by the US and USSR, both countries began to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. As Minuteman missiles were de-activated, the military and national park service worked to preserve a representative missile silo and a launch site as part of our history. The building is quite small. In fact, with only 10 visitors, it was overcrowded. We watched a short film, looked at the few exhibits available and were told the tours for the next few days were already booked. |
| Above ground, nothing much to see. At launch control, a young man (age 12 or 14 maybe??), sits in the "hot seat", ready to launch a nuclear missile on command. Yikes! Two photos nicked from the NPS site. |
Sorry, not much else to see. No tour, no
picturesque scenery, no exciting wildlife
or exotic birds to photograph.
picturesque scenery, no exciting wildlife
or exotic birds to photograph.