Community Forums

GTHill · 10-05-2020, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcdogger

Better check with the state and local authorities as to what is required to open a park. Many states have requirements that go well beyond a place to park. You may be required to provide waste disposal and public bathrooms. If you are on a well, you will likely be required to test the water supply on an ongoing basis. There may be taxation issues. There will likely be zoning or subdivision requirements. And what is the access like? A parade of RVs running down a series of rural gravel roads won't be welcomed by the neighbors. If it is just a turn off a paved, traveled road, that is different.
Then you have to consider if having the park will detract from your primary business. Will having an RV park impact the B&B aesthetics? RVs often come with dogs, children, ATVs, Bicycles, and stuff they put outside. They often crank up the barbeque, the music, the campfire and the television. Will a doomsday attraction like a nuclear missile silo lose a bit of charm if it is in the middle of a party? Will you really gain much revenue from having people stay overnight versus them just coming to visit? If the stay is included in the cost of a tour you aren't gaining much. If they have to pay for the night and then pay for the tour that might be getting a bit pricey for many. Will the RV guests be a pain when they find out they can't visit the silo except during that three hour window? What else can they do in the interim? That's the long answer to your question. The short one is only you know what you are trying to accomplish, what you want the silo experience to be and what the hurdles going to be placed in front of you by neighbors and the various authorities.

Thanks for the reply? I'm not really trying to open an RV park... I just want some spots for RV friends that drive through and want to hang out.

I'd make it very public when tour hours would be so hopefully that would help.

GTHill · 10-05-2020, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_K5LXP

I was in the USAF and worked in the Titan II sites in Kansas. I didn't catch exactly where your site is but wonder how close you are to the Damascus site. When I toured the Tucson Titan museum the first question they ask is if there's any Titan II vets and when I raised my hand I became the tour guide. I thought I did pretty good.

Have you ever been to that museum?

I wouldn't even need hookups, just give me a place to park. Restore the discone antenna it used to have like the museum near Tucson did and you'd have a hard time getting me to leave. I'd hook up my ham radio and have a blast (pun intended). I might entertain an overnight inside but I pretty much already know how that goes.

Wonder too, is there anything over the silo or is it just open? Anything left of the command center and access tunnels? Ventilation intact? I know when they decommissioned a lot of these they were just scavenged then dynamited in but I understand some are somewhat intact.

I suspect it wouldn't be a huge recreational draw to the public at large but I'm always looking for that off the wall side of the road kind of stuff when I'm on a trip (world's largest ball of twine type stuff) and for this I would even make a detour to stop in.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Hey Mark! I'm in Arkansas about 35 min south of the Damascus site.

There are a huge number of myths as to how they decommissioned the Titan II. The top of the silo and the top 15 feet of the access portal were destroyed but the rest of it was basically untouched.

The LCC is now a 4000 sq ft home and event center. It's quite amazing if I say so myself. :-)

If you get bored you can google Death Wear Bunny Slippers and check out our Youtube channel. We've been working on it off and on for 10 years now. So much time... :-)

You should stop by no matter what!

GT

GTHill · 10-05-2020, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcdogger

That might raise an issue with your entire enterprise, is it ADA compliant? If not, what will the government deem as required to be made compliant versus what cannot easily be made compliant? This is an issue that has been discussed in great detail elsewhere and in my opinion a very deep quagmire that can become a bottomless money pit if you end up on the wrong side.

It's Arkansas... not many regulations here. It's not ADA compliant but as a historic site it doesn't need to be. I'd love to accommodate everyone but the required number of elevators would be VERY cost prohibitive.

GTHill · 10-05-2020, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirpurrcival

So why would occupants have to wait for checkouts to have a tour? If you have incoming campers whose spot isn't available right away, just park em. Having a tour while waiting for your spot would seem an ideal way to use your time rather than just sitting around. Most RV's don't take huge amounts of time to set up so what would matter if they are setting up at 1:00 p.m. vs 11:00 a.m.?

I was more thinking for those that got in later the previous day... they'd have to wait until 11:00 a.m. the next day for a tour.

kcdogger · 10-06-2020, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTHill

Thanks for the reply? I'm not really trying to open an RV park... I just want some spots for RV friends that drive through and want to hang out.

I'd make it very public when tour hours would be so hopefully that would help.

Just because you don't call it an RV park doesn't change the fact it would be. You can call a bear a dog but you still wouldn't want to play fetch with it.

carl.swoyer · 10-06-2020, 01:25 PM

May a satilite view of the location. And what exactly is available for entertainment and sight seeing?

GTHill · 10-06-2020, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carl.swoyer

May a satilite view of the location. And what exactly is available for entertainment and sight seeing?

I'm located in Central Arkansas so I suppose it depends on what a person's interests are.

Within my place, tours of the former missile complex. I'm in the middle of 400 acres of a cattle farm so it's really peaceful.

kcdogger · 10-07-2020, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTHill

I'm located in Central Arkansas so I suppose it depends on what a person's interests are.

Within my place, tours of the former missile complex. I'm in the middle of 400 acres of a cattle farm so it's really peaceful.

Is my interpretation correct in that you cannot conduct tours except when the B&B is vacant because any tour would go thru the living and sleeping areas? If that is the case, do you only accept 1 night stays in the B&B, otherwise tours would have to transit spaces where the guests have their personal items? Also, if you take B&B guests for more than one night and have to close the tours those days, how do you handle reservations? If the B&B does not impact the silo tours can people just wander around or do you only do guided tours?
If it is guided tours only and only during a short time window, I just don't see the advantage to having more than a parking area. Most people aren't going to want to just sit in a field overnight and then sit around waiting for the tour window to open. If you advertise the complex, adding a line that says "Bus and RV parking" should suffice. Having people on site for a full day and night when they can only take advantage of the complex for a couple of hours is just inviting problems and ultimately bad reviews.

carl.swoyer · 10-08-2020, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTHill

I'm located in Central Arkansas so I suppose it depends on what a person's interests are.

Within my place, tours of the former missile complex. I'm in the middle of 400 acres of a cattle farm so it's really peaceful.

Sounds really nice. We have been to Eureka Springs a couple times.

GnL T · 10-08-2020, 03:42 PM

Build it and they will come!

ARobitzsch · 10-08-2020, 03:52 PM

Wow, never expected to see Titan II written in any of my RV Blogs. I spent many years working at the Kansas Titan II Sites. I think it would be an excellent RV destination. Probably not a long-term stay, but many would like to add it to a stop over location for a day or two.

Johnynorthla · 10-08-2020, 04:07 PM

You should, I’ve never heard of a nuclear missile complex without one! LOL

zinom · 10-08-2020, 04:13 PM

I'm ready to stop by on my next trip East. Sounds like a great 2 night rest stop. A breakfast with stay would be terrific. As a former Alpiner you can understand that I'm flexible, but AC in the summer beats running the generator. Be sure to let us know what you are doing. Good Luck!

Carolbee · 10-08-2020, 04:13 PM

I like the idea, but not the work involved. Growing up in Lincoln, CA there was a Titan site of 3 Missels built out of town. Beale AFB was near the area. They would send in bombers on an exercise flying barely 50 ft from the terrain. I was able to tour the site as a kid maybe 10 or 11 yrs old. Down inside. Everything was that puke green. Rat maze tunnels. And I got to go out on the gantry and touch the missal. It was very cold and EVIL to the touch. Heck I am over 70 and remember all of this. There was a Titan site at the Buttes which had issues with fires. Would I like to see one again, I think so. Now that I know more about it. Our town would blast a siren when the missles would be raised up. You could go to the parking lot and watch this happen. Almost a regilous experience. Like the Planet of the Apes movie. My dad was a govt employee working at Food Machine Works and then Aero Jet. Yes I would like to see this. Are there campgrounds in the area?