My "Silo" North Dakota Birthday 2009

This picture was taken on Highway 10 on the way out of town. The sun is shining and the wind is blowing copious amounts of top soil from the farm fields across the road. I took this right before driving into another cloud that was like a dusty version of a winter white out or pea soup fog. Couldn't even see the hood on the truck at some points the wind was so strong.

I hope you enjoy some of the sights from this trip. Next week I think I am scheduled for Port Edward and Monroe, Wisconsin. Please let me know if there are any sights you would like to see covered in those vicinities.

Oscar Zero - Cooperstown, North Dakota 2009

There's nothing quite like North Dakota for a momentous solo -- or would that be silo -- birthday celebration.

When I lived -- briefly -- in North Dakota, it was a time of uncertainty, upheaval and catastrophic risk. We were, after all, children of the cold war. Although we were college students, all that youthful learning to tuck ourselves into tight little balls under our desks makes you truly appreciate that feeling that there's nothing like a missile silo. One thing that we were certain of was to our west on the vast prairies of North Dakota, buried almost 100 feet beneath the top soil all our worries would either culminate or vaporize.

At the end of July 2009 -- too bad it wasn't May 2009 -- you too will be able to see into what is now called "Oscar Zero" on the vast prairies near Cooperstown, Griggs County, North Dakota. As I understand, you will be able to take a loud, slow elevator cage down into the depths of North Dakota soil and see the launch control center where the Minutemen nuclear missiles were targeted upon the former Soviet Union. You may find yourself having some deja vu with regard to the Cold War. These were bleak and painfully clear times for those of us from the atomic age.

Back in the college days, we knew we were surrounded by 150 Minuteman III silos, with 400-plus warheads, spread out geometrically across eight very large counties from the Canadian border to Interstate 94. This gives you a pretty clear idea of what the end of the world looks like as you are crawling under your desk. Very direct, clear and given our proximity at that time, a pretty quick end was pretty much guaranteed.

Oscar Zero is not yet open to the public, but if you talk to the folks at Oscar Zero, the Griggs County Historical Society or the Cooperstown tourism and economic development folks, you may find someone who will show you around. If you do get an opportunity to go deep into the North Dakota soil, you'll experience a concrete pod about 30 feet high and 50 feet long. You enter it through a tunnel sealed by a three-foot-thick blast door -- this makes bailing out your friends at the local jail seem like they were held in a wet paper bag. The floor is suspended from by giant shock absorbers about 2 feet across and 20 feet long. This really is a place where the earth moves under your feet.

Would you like to contemplate the Cold War? You can visit this summer and see it all for yourself.


World's Tallest Man Made Structure

Roughly three miles west of Blanchard, North Dakota, is the world's tallest man made structure, the KVLY TV mast. This mast is 2,063 feet, and on the day I took these photos, the top of the tower had vanished into the clouds. I have to admit that is pretty cool. The FAA has since imposed a 2,063-foot limit on structures, so no new mast in the United States will ever be higher than this one. To get closer and take a look, you'll travel across on old wooden bridge past a farmhouse to get to the mast. In the distance photo, I was about 18-miles away from the antenna mast.

Carl Ben Eielson - Hatton, North Dakota

A great looking square arch with art deco lettering and decorative iron spans the entrance to St. John's Cemetery. On the arch is the name Carl Ben Eielson, a polar explorer, aortic air pilot and Hatton's most famous resident. I would guess from the names on the various markers that this community is heavily Norwegian. There are bronze plaques on both sides of the arch that describe Eielson's life story. For history and cemetery buffs, this is an interesting stop. The town also has a museum in Carl's childhood home.

Continental Divide Marker - Fergus Falls, Minnesota 2009

This was interesting to see. It is an over sized surveyor's transit-level and tripod, with a plumb bob. Located right by the truck stop at the top of the exit ramp heading toward North Dakota, this is an easy one to see and take pictures at. In the background is the start of a log cabin that I couldn't see any markers on. If you know what that is, please share. Fergus Falls is home to other entertaining sites like the giant otter, giant flying Canada goose, a roving Angus on a flatbed trailer and a bar that looks somewhat like a ship and the giant library books in front of the public library. Lots of kitsch to see here.

World's Largest "Booming" Prairie Chicken - Rothsay, Minnesota

This giant Prairie Chicken is in full "boom" with bright orange air sacs on the neck puffed out to their fullest. If I would have been traveling with someone, there would have been a great opportunity to play Food of the Gods by posing beneath the beak in terror. This bird was built by Art Fosse as Rothsay's contribution to America's 1976 Bicentennial. The tiny park in which the Chicken stands is named for Fosse, and a bronze plaque in front informs admirers that "On June 10, 1975, Rothsay was designated Prairie Chicken Capital of Minnesota." There are also great narrative plaques explaining about the Prairie Chicken and their current status.

FYI:

North Dakota Historical Society Oscar Zero

Friends of Oscar Zero - Information about the Summer 2009 opening.

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