We opted for the guided tour that took us around the base and included a visit to a Minuteman II missile silo. The missile silo was used for training until 1994 and had been fully operational, other than the missile contained no fuel or warhead. Prior to 1994, there had been 150 Minuteman II silos within a 100 mile radius of Ellsworth AFB. By 1994, all the silos had been decommissioned and destroyed. Today, the United States uses the Minuteman III missiles and most of the silos are located in North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana.
Minuteman II Training Missile Silo
The nosecone of the missile that would have contained the warhead.
Looking down into the silo.
Minuteman II Missile Control Center (used for training)
We stopped for lunch in Rapid City and on the way home we spotted these bighorn sheep alongside the road.
