Originally commissioned in October of 1959, the Nike missile program stood as the United States' last line of defense of American cities in the event that Soviet nuclear weapons had their crosshairs on our homes.
Minnesota's defense had four sites, arranged radially in each cardinal direction 30 miles away from the twin cities. All four sites were decommissioned in June of 1971.
This was my chance to explore the western site, MS-70.
Once inside the now cleared missile launch site, I made my way to where the massive elevators were, where they carried missiles up to the surface to be launched. I descended into the storage facilities below, and sadly there were no more missiles
Although the above-ground section of the base lay completely leveled, the underground facilities still were a beautiful space of their own.
Overall, a very nice trip -- except for the massive wasp that chased me down a ladder.