Doesn't look like much of an opening now does it?

So the Silo Social was awesome!  I got a clean bill of health from the ER last night, no broken bones.  That my friends, could only mean one thing; I was doing the Silo.

Before getting into the story, have a look at the video if you'd like.  It was from our adventure today as well.

The day started off about 5am for me so I could make the meeting spot.  I got down to the area just north of Tucson and met some great guys.  It seemed everybody had their stories to tell about one adventure or another.  I even heard a story or two about Neverland and how some folks managed to explore that area one time before all the rides were removed.  Once we were all pretty sure nobody else was coming, we made our way to the site.  I was still pretty nervous about doing the silo with a sprained foot, but I didn't drive all the way down there just to look at a hole in the ground.

The area was actually pretty clear of debris on the surface, nothing to indicate the treasure that lie below.When we pulled up, there were a few other cars at the site whose owners were just making their way to the surface.  At this point, there were close to 20 dudes all around this little opening in the ground.  Most did not waste anytime getting down the ladder while others waited their turn continuing to share stories of adventure.  Soon it was my turn to make my way down the ladder into the darkness.  As soon as I slipped through the opening and was firm on the ladder, any fears I might have had seem to have gone.  I was ready for this now.

570-3

Construction started on Silo 570-3 on December 22nd, 1960 and was complete October 5th, 1962.  Complex 570-3 went on alert May 22nd, 1963    serving proudly until it went off alert and was deactivated on March 27th 1984.

I won't go reinventing the wheel here about Titan II Missiles, for the real facts however, checkout this site when you have a few moments.

Never go alone and get those fires out!

While this is particularly true in what we were doing today with regards to exploring, I learned a bit today from some of the old pros about this wonderful place.  You never moved around the silo alone, for the launch required two people at the same time.  Another comment heard, your immediate job after launch, was to go topside and put out the fires.  Assuming you lived through the launch.

I really wish I could describe this place to you, I wish the pictures did it justice.  But there's something to be said about being inside a complex that had an ICBM in it one time.  I mean these are the things I think of when I watch War Games.  Sorry, that was on last night.  It's hard to imagine that not long ago, there were live missiles sprinkled around the countryside.   Deadly missiles.  The fact that so much of this complex was still intact brought you back to the era.  It also made me hungry to take the tour.  While that usually isn't my thing, having seen a forgotten one would be neat to compare to the museum.  You can't imagine the pains people took to make sure you and I never see those silos again.  But what really floors me, is the pains people took and are taking to regain access to these time capsules.  I heard some f olks are about 4 feet from getting back into one while another we saw today is padlocked and under the jurisdiction of the forest service.  We were asked to leave by them today actually while at the second silo.  That one is pretty clean I hear, but lacking in the equipment the other one has.

I took some pictures today but they are not all the best.  I was more into the whole thrill I think today then getting pictures.  As I get more media though from the other guys, I'll share it with you.

Here are my pics

Enjoy, and feel free to comment. Thanksbye!

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