During my time in North Dakota at the beginning of my road trip, I was presented, along with my siblings and some other family members, with an offer to get a private tour of a bizarre and monstrous cold-war relic.

Before continuing, I suggest getting background info as to why I was in North Dakota from my previous post:

https://steemit.com/life/@steeminganarchy/epic-road-trip-2017-days-1-to-6

In the small town of Nekoma, North Dakota (population about 50), where my father grew up, stands a huge pyramid (complete with all-seeing eye on all four sides). Due to the flat landscape that defines eastern ND, you can see this curiosity coming from miles away as you approach.

The pyramid was the heart of a 1970s cold war missile facility known as The Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_R._Mickelsen_Safeguard_Complex

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2603989/Americas-pyramid-Photos-reveal-Egyptian-esque-missile-facility-used-U-S-military-detect-launch-ICBMs.html

The statist monstrosity was built in the early 1970s and became operational in 1975. Due to the implementation of an Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union, it was shut down in 1976.

So why did I take interest in this? A couple of reasons. I always wondered why my father had chosen to open a bar in such a small town in the middle of nowhere. Well, it turns out, business was booming back in the late 60s and early 70s because of the construction of the facility. From what I was told, the population went up to around 500 at that time. That’s a big jump from 50!

Another reason was that, since I am an anarchist who understands the principles of Natural Law (the law of freedom), it was a first hand look at just how wasteful and destructive the belief in authority is. The budget to build the complex was 6 billion dollars.

That’s 1970s dollars!

So now it would be many multiples of that. And now it sits empty, rusting and rotting away.

During the one hour plus tour, I kept thinking how sad it is that so much human energy and so many natural resources are used to such destructive ends.

The pyramid now sits in private hands. Our gracious old tour guide told us that it might be turned into a data storage facility in the future. Wouldn’t that be fitting? Now an all-seeing-eye pyramid can house personal data stolen from the internet!

Overall, it was an emotional personal and philosophical experience.

Important note: This was a private tour offered to my family by a man who knew my father. The pyramid is fenced off and is not open to the public (just in case you thought about just waltzing in and taking some photos)

Stay tuned for more as the road trip heads west and picks up steam (pun not intended).

Thanks to @papa-pepper for the stunning logo

Epic Road Trip 2017: Historical Interlude from Day 5

Stay tuned for more as the road trip heads west and picks up steam (pun not intended).

Thanks to @papa-pepper for the stunning logo