Gallivanting Geismom: Gallivanting Through North Dakota

The Ellingson festivities have come to a close and so we move onto our next adventure. We bid farewell to the amazing family members we had bonded with, as well as to Michael and Janet who are family members from other Prison Tokyo Fire MIA's.

And we headed southwest on the highway to make our way to Cooperstown. Our destination was the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site.

Just some background info: This was known as the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility. It was manned by the 321st Strategic Missile Wing and was a command center designed to monitor and control Minuteman missiles.

What's a Minuteman Missile? you might ask. The technical term is Minuteman nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It was a solid fuel nuclear missile that could be launched almost instantaneously, thereby given the name "Minuteman". Between 1962 and 1967, the US developed and deployed 1000 operational missiles of this type. Its rapid response and reliability resulted in the nickname "America's Ace in the Hole."

The 60 foot missiles were held in 90 foot silos dug into the ground in various locations in North Dakota as well as a few other states, each location holding a single missile.

The control center was responsible for 10 missiles located within a relatively short distance of the center.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan proposed a treaty that dramatically reduced the number of ICBM's that Russia and the United States could have, and in 1991, President Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the treaty. As a result, this particular facility was selected for deactivation and the missiles associated with it were removed, the silos were detonated and filled with sand in compliance.

It was decided to keep this building in tact and set it up as a historical visitor center so that the general public could have a glimpse into the role of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing command who were responsible for maintaining the safe handling of these nuclear missiles.

Our tour guide, Cat, was quite informative and first took us through the living conditions of the building. the interior had been upgraded in the early 1980's to boost the morale of the men and women on duty. At first, it was manned entirely by men. They missileers worked 12 hours on/12 hours off, three days a week, then went to the air force base for three days. They had the seventh day off. But with so much concentrated time in one place, and with the serious responsibilities that came with manning nuclear missiles, the air force felt a pleasant environment would be better for their psyche. So steel framed beds, wooden floors and green painted walls were segued to carpeted floors, wall papered walls, and more comfortable beds.

Here is the preserved dining area

The kitchen was stocked. The building houses a chef who would primarily cook meals that would be placed in individual metal trays that could be quickly heated up.

Marty wanted a photo of us in the Facility Manager's bedroom that also acted as his office.

Here you can see the upgraded bedrooms.

This was a gun detonator. Anyone who entered with a gun was required to shoot the bullets into this device for safety reasons. There was a lot of high security connected with this site, as you can well imagine.

We took an elevator down to see the interior of the lower capsules.

There was a model when we walked off the elevator so that we could get an idea of how deep we were now below the ground. 60 feet.

In order to enter this capsule, one needed to pump a hydraulic handle 100 times for it to open.

The interior held equipment essential for running the missile controls. The floor was actually suspended with cylinders for safety reasons should there be a nearby explosion. The suspended floor helped to reduce impact.

The door to the control center can only be opened from the inside.

This is where two missileers would be for 12 hour straight.

There was a bed with curtains to help as a sound barrier.

Some amusing artwork was featured

And the decor in the corner gave the appearance of being on a tropical island.

I thought that the tracks on the floor that enabled the chair to slide quickly from side to side were pretty clever.

This was the main control center

In the event of the need to enable a missile, a call was made from the President to a commander who would then call the control center. Two people in the control center each had a key for a red box that contained a second key.

That key had to be placed in a key lock next to the status panel. It was required to turn the key simulateneously with a second key at the second panel. This "second" key acted as a second security measure.

This panel showed the information for the 10 different missiles under its control.

Marty thought it would be cool to get a photo in front of the control desk.

With the tour complete, we made our way a few miles to November 33, the site where one of the nuclear missiles had actually been buried.

The 35 ton lid had a device to help it to fly open quickly should a missile need to be enabled. The local farmers were upset about the force that would result in this large piece of concrete flying out into the field and doing significant damage.

The farmers were informed that there would be far more serious issues of concern than damage to the field should the need arise to enable the missile. But there's no worry now, as this missile has been removed and the grounds stand as part of the historic site.

By now it was 4:00 (It appears one can spend a LOT of time in a nuclear missile facility), and we made our way to Valley City, ND. It is called the city of bridges, but we only had the chance to see two.

The Hi-Bridge on our way into the town

And this cute bridge that crosses the Cheyenne River to the University grounds.

Of course, we needed a selfie.

We were hard pressed for places to eat but settle on The Bridge Bar & Grill.

There was no bridge, so I'm kind of confused on that aspect.

But we had a very entertaining waiter named Joshua who was super friendly, and very excited to hear that it was our 46th wedding anniversary today. (Probably because not too many people would pick a diner in which to celebrate...but pickings were slim.)

He was so excited, that he was telling the other customers that it was our 49th anniversary, and each time I had to correct him. And each time he would apologize and say that he couldn't understand why he kept saying 49.

He was happy to take our photo

and to even get one with us.

How fun is that?

He surprised us with a special gift to go.

And you have to love the sentiment.

For clarification, it is 46!

Honestly, it was great fun, and we left with smiles on our face (and cheesecake to enjoy), to make our way along the scenic byway trail to our destination.

We passed through the town of Kathryn which is named after Kathryn Mellon, daughter of Charles S Mellon, President of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

The town was founded in 1900 by Norwegian immigrants and has a grand total of 66 residents today.

As you might guess, it didn't take long to drive through, but there were some entertaining sites to see.

Moving along, we passed the Wadeson Cabin State Historic Site which is a preserved 1876 log cabin that served as an early pioneer home and country store.

It stands near the shores of the Sheyenne River

About ten miles later, we reached our destination: The Nome Schoolhouse B&B

It was built in the early 1900's and served as a schoolhouse through the 1960's. It has been renovated into a B&B with its own quirky decor. But I'll have to defer to tomorrow for those details.