Friday, January 05, 2007

Who turned off the heat?

This first picture is Texas Canyon. We came through there yesterday and I am always fascinated by the rock formations.







Today started out as a beautiful day, but the clouds were a little ominous to the north. We grabbed a light jacket and took off for the Titan Missile Museum. During the Cold War in the 60's, 54 Titan II missiles stood in silos across the country. In 1987, the last of the Titan II sites were deactivated. Most of the silos were imploded and filled in and little trace of them remains today. There is one site which was excavated by its present owner and is used as a residence. Another is currently for sale on E-Bay according to our guide. The one we visited, however, was preserved as a museum. The "lid" is fixed half-way across the opening so that Russian satellites could determine that it was and remains unable to launch. It is quite a story, told by guides who actually worked there during the Cold War era. Everything at the site is real and not mock-ups of the equipment, etc., that stood ever ready for "the word" that never (thankfully) came. It was truly amazing to learn about how much money and time it took to build the system which protected our country from attack. Only four people manned the structure at any time, taking 24 hour shifts. If you are in the area, I highly recommend you take time to view this unusual and one-of-a-kind museum. It costs $8.50 and is well worth it. The tour lasts one hour, but you can browse the grounds as long as you like.
Once we left the site, the weather turned much colder, it was misting, an there was snow on mountains surrounding the area. We stopped at the Double Diamond Casino where I managed to win back everything Terry lost. Don't ask me how. We were a couple dollars ahead when we left. On the way up I-19, we saw this rainbow. Came back home and fired up the heater and stayed in with the boyz!


Till next time. . .
Dale

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