2024-07-26 – Milan Malpensa – JFK Airport – La Guardia Airport, New York – Chicago 2024-07-27 – Chicago 2024-07-28 – O’Hare Chicago – Seattle 2024-07-29 – Seattle – Vancouver 2024-07-30 – Vancouver 2024-07-31 – Vancouver 2024-08-01 – Vancouver – Victoria BC 2024-08-02 – Victoria – Butchart Gardens 2024-08-03 – Victoria – Craigdarroch Castle – Victoria Harbour cruise 2024-08-04 – Victoria BC – Seattle 2024-08-05 – Seattle – Seattle History of Flight Museum 2024-08-06 – Seattle – MoPOP, Museum of Pop Culture 2024-08-07 – Seattle get car – Olympic Peninsula – Ocean Shores 2024-08-08 – Olympic Peninsula – Hoh Rainforest – Sekiu 2024-08-09 – Olympic Peninsula – Sekiu – Cape Flattery – Port Angeles 2024-08-10 – Olympic Peninsula – Eden Valley Tree Farm – Freshwater Bay – Port Angeles Ediz Hook 2024-08-11 – Port Angeles – Hurricane Ridge – Lake Crescent 2024-08-12 – Port Angeles – Dungeness Spit – Port Townsend 2024-08-13 – Port Townsend – Whidbey Island – Leavenworth WA 2024-08-14 – Leavenworth – Grand Coulee Dam – Coeur d´Alene 2024-08-15 – Coeur d´Alene – Harrison, Lake Coeur d´Alene – Lewiston, WA 2024-08-16 – Clarkston, Washington State – Lolo, Montana 2024-08-17 – Lolo, Montana – Butte, Montana 2024-08-18 – Butte, Montana – Earthquake Lake – West Yellowstone 2024-08-19 – Yellowstone National Park 2024-08-20 – Yellowstone National Park – Mammoth Hot Springs – Grand Canyon, Yellowstone 2024-08-21 – West Yellowstone, Montana 2024-08-22 – West Yellowstone, Idaho – Yellowstone – Grand Teton National Park – Casper, Wyoming Hwy 287 to 26 2024-08-23 – Casper, Wyoming 2024-08-24 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper Mountain 2024-08-25 – Casper, Wyoming 2024-08-26 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper Mountain 2024-08-27 – Casper, Wyoming – Pedros, South of Casper 2024-08-28 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper College Geological Museum 2024-08-29 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper Historical Trails Museum 2024-08-30 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper Fort Museum 2024-08-31 – Casper, Wyoming 2024-09-01 – Casper, Wyoming – North Platte, Nebraska 2024-09-02 – North Platte, Nebraska – North Platte railyard – Fremont, Nebraska 2024-09-03 – Fremont, Nebraska 2024-09-04 – Fremont, Nebraska – Strategic Air Command Museum 2024-09-05 – Fremont, Nebraska 2024-09-06 – Fremont, Nebraska 2024-09-07 – Omaha 2024-09-08 – Heathrow – Linate – Lugano

Fremont, Nebraska – Strategic Air Command Museum

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Halloween has started already, in Walmart, Fremont. Walmart is an enormous store in one hall, and I counted no less than six long shelving aisles just for Halloween merchandise, before I was overwhelmed by festival fatigue.

A pleasant building in the historic centre of Fremont. I could not help thinking of the film Psycho when I see these styles of houses.

An irrigation system in a soy bean field, near Fremont.

ICBMs at the entrance to the SAC, Strategic Air Command, Museum, Ashland. This museum was founded by General Curtis LeMay in 1956, but moved to its current indoor location in 1992. It has an amazing collection of aircraft and space vehicles.
ICBMs have an apogee of 1,200 km, and follow an ellipse in sub-orbital flight, before re-entering. One rocket can hold several nuclear warheads.
Modern ICBMs typically carry multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a separate nuclear warhead, allowing a single missile to hit multiple targets. Most silos were based in Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Montana, Wyoming and other western states.

One of the two hangers where many aircraft from America´s air force and navy are preserved. The SAC museum has a great display of long-range bombers, including the gigantic Convair B-36 Peacemaker and a Superfortress B52.

A curiosity in the display is this aircraft. The Goblin was conceived to be a fighter which would be released from the B52, when other support fighters are out of range. However, it had problems with reattaching itself to the mother aircraft and never entered service.

The giant Convair B-36 Peacemaker is impossible to do justice to with a camera. Walking beneath its wings one feels entirely dwarfed, and that the thing could fly is hard to comprehend. It is also unusual in having its 6 propellers on the rear of the wings. It was used by Strategic Air Command (SAC) from 1948 till 1955 as the primary nuclear weapons delivery vehicle until it was replaced by the jet-powered Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. The two aircraft are in this enormous hanger, and it takes minutes to walk around them.

Lucky Lady. This B29 Superfortress is the same aircraft type as the Enola Gray, which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August, 1945. A later model, the B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II became the first aircraft to fly around the world non-stop, in 1949. It took 94 hours.

An enigma cypher machine. The cracking of the enigma code, using enigma copies built by the Poles, by Alan Turin at Bletchley Park, England during the Second World War, contributed greatly to the allied victory. It also prompted the invention of the first electrical computer.

A new astronaut for NASA?

At the SAC Museum

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Travel Diary

2024-07-26 – Milan Malpensa – JFK Airport – La Guardia Airport, New York – Chicago 2024-07-27 – Chicago 2024-07-28 – O’Hare Chicago – Seattle 2024-07-29 – Seattle – Vancouver 2024-07-30 – Vancouver 2024-07-31 – Vancouver 2024-08-01 – Vancouver – Victoria BC 2024-08-02 – Victoria – Butchart Gardens 2024-08-03 – Victoria – Craigdarroch Castle – Victoria Harbour cruise 2024-08-04 – Victoria BC – Seattle 2024-08-05 – Seattle – Seattle History of Flight Museum 2024-08-06 – Seattle – MoPOP, Museum of Pop Culture 2024-08-07 – Seattle get car – Olympic Peninsula – Ocean Shores 2024-08-08 – Olympic Peninsula – Hoh Rainforest – Sekiu 2024-08-09 – Olympic Peninsula – Sekiu – Cape Flattery – Port Angeles 2024-08-10 – Olympic Peninsula – Eden Valley Tree Farm – Freshwater Bay – Port Angeles Ediz Hook 2024-08-11 – Port Angeles – Hurricane Ridge – Lake Crescent 2024-08-12 – Port Angeles – Dungeness Spit – Port Townsend 2024-08-13 – Port Townsend – Whidbey Island – Leavenworth WA 2024-08-14 – Leavenworth – Grand Coulee Dam – Coeur d´Alene 2024-08-15 – Coeur d´Alene – Harrison, Lake Coeur d´Alene – Lewiston, WA 2024-08-16 – Clarkston, Washington State – Lolo, Montana 2024-08-17 – Lolo, Montana – Butte, Montana 2024-08-18 – Butte, Montana – Earthquake Lake – West Yellowstone 2024-08-19 – Yellowstone National Park 2024-08-20 – Yellowstone National Park – Mammoth Hot Springs – Grand Canyon, Yellowstone 2024-08-21 – West Yellowstone, Montana 2024-08-22 – West Yellowstone, Idaho – Yellowstone – Grand Teton National Park – Casper, Wyoming Hwy 287 to 26 2024-08-23 – Casper, Wyoming 2024-08-24 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper Mountain 2024-08-25 – Casper, Wyoming 2024-08-26 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper Mountain 2024-08-27 – Casper, Wyoming – Pedros, South of Casper 2024-08-28 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper College Geological Museum 2024-08-29 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper Historical Trails Museum 2024-08-30 – Casper, Wyoming – Casper Fort Museum 2024-08-31 – Casper, Wyoming 2024-09-01 – Casper, Wyoming – North Platte, Nebraska 2024-09-02 – North Platte, Nebraska – North Platte railyard – Fremont, Nebraska 2024-09-03 – Fremont, Nebraska 2024-09-04 – Fremont, Nebraska – Strategic Air Command Museum 2024-09-05 – Fremont, Nebraska 2024-09-06 – Fremont, Nebraska 2024-09-07 – Omaha 2024-09-08 – Heathrow – Linate – Lugano