Tucson, AZ: Titan Missile Museum

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

There's an allure to visiting Really Big Shit.

Also: Nerdy Stuff.

And: Scary, Apocryphal Places that I only really want to be real in science fiction, and not in real life.

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

The Titan Missile Museum meets all of the above criteria. Fortunately, there is also levity to be had. For example, I almost bought this kids' lunch sack. I craved it. Nostalgic thoughts of the Jetsons and Robert Heinlein.

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

And this piece of equipment thrilled me. I have no idea what it is. For some reason it reminds me of Marvin the Martian from the Looney Tunes cartoon.

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

Which, when I sought the Martian, made me wonder what is the similarity? Dunno. The mind is sometimes inscrutable. But some blasts from that past:

It wasn't too long in the Titan Missile tour when I realized that mostly I just wanted to see:

1. A Really Big Missile, and maybe touch it
2. Flashing buttons, spinning dials, and words like "Top Secret" and "Do Not Touch!" 

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

The two docents were obviously knowledgeable about the Titan Missile program, but they threw too much content at us at too high a speed. It was like hearing fast-talking news commentators on the broadcast channels, which I find irritating. I began to tune out the docents' spiels pretty quickly, finding looped cables and wheels and other distractions more appealing.

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

And listen, the Titan Missile Museum is not my first rodeo for this genre of tourist attraction; most times my attention stays focused on what the docent is saying.


You can see an interactive map of the tour here. Below is a copy of the map, but you'll need to go the link in the previous sentence to avail yourself of the interactivity. Source: Titan Missile Museum.

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

Monsoon clouds convened over the mountains as we emerged from down below.

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

As always, it unsettles my spirit when there is beauty and serenity in a place of death. Yes, yes, I know, I know: The goal of the Titan Missile program was to prevent mass destruction instead of wreak it. Still, the missile is an agent of destruction. .... And yes, it is immaturity on my part to resist this truth: There is a dark side that exists - always - in nature, in societies, in families, in each of us.

Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona. July 2019.

A slide show below of my visit to the Titan Missile Museum: