MAD

Marina and I had discussed mutually assured destruction somewhere along the road last week, I think when we were comparing terrorists vs rogue states, but our visit to the Minuteman Missle NHS site in SD really tied it all together. We were fortunate to meet Steve Willis, USAF (ret) and former Missle Control Commander who spent many hours below ground in a fire control capsule, waiting orders from the President. He was able to give Marina a firsthand account of the Cold War before we went out to see a fire control center and the D-09 missle silo.
Absolutely one of the best and most I interesting sites I've ever seen.

Maybe it's because we were in SD, but this was also the first National Park where a ranger expressed frustration and disappointment with the recent shut down. "We're here to serve the public, but were told if we showed up to do ANYthing on site, or even checked our work emails, we may be terminated. "

Caught the state Capitol in Pierre and scouted some hunting for Luke and Jewel, gave Marina her first of many glimpses of the mighty Missouri, then made for Bismarck ahead of pending snow. Wind chill 11 this morning. Layering!