South Dakota: Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Some of you may already know that both B and I are interested in the history of the Cold War and the Space Race. So we were both excited to discover that South Dakota has opened up some nuclear missile silos for public viewing.

Unfortunately we discovered this too late and were unable to sign up for one of the guided tours down in one of the control centers for these nuclear missiles, but we did get to do our own cell phone tour of the actual missile silo. It's out in the middle of the prairie, just surrounded by a little chain-link fence.

Apparently these sites are all over South Dakota and were a major part of our country's defensive power in the years after World War II. At this particular site, I think it's called D-09, they've removed the nuclear warhead from the missile, but left the actual missile in place in the silo.

I thought that was pretty cool. Of course, I had always pictured these missiles as much larger, but that may be from watching Star Trek: First Contact too many times. I don't think the kids were too interested in this particular stop on our trip, but B and I were sure excited. We're hoping to get reservations for the guided tour next time, because that's how we roll.