Scott's USAF Installations Page

Trip Report: Wyoming Weekends

First published in 2005. Reformatted 2025.

This report covers weekend visits made in conjunction with business trips to Cheyenne, Wyoming. By arranging my travel to include some personal time, I managed to see some of the tourist attractions in the area. Just a reminder PIN means Permanent Installation Number and ILC means Installation Location Code; I include these for Air Force properties when I know them.

Saturday, 22 January 2005

I flew from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Denver International Airport (DEN). I had flown to and from Stapleton years ago, but this was my first trip through the "new" Denver airport. Our approach was from the south, and I had a nice view of the bermed ground gunnery range on the former Lowry Bombing and Gunnery Range from the left side of the airplane. After renting a car, I drove into Denver.

Lowry AFB CO, PIN 1235, ILC NTMU, 39-43-15, 104-53-20. My first stop was this former base. Some of the former Air Force buildings, including three hangars, have been reused. Lots of new construction was taking place, and lots of new homes stand on the airfield. I spent some time at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. My friend met me at the museum and we piled into his vehicle for some local ops.
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Building

Lowry Bombing and Gunnery Range CO, ILC NTNG. We headed east to this large property that included several gun ranges and bombing targets (including the ground gunnery "Jeep" range I had seen from the air). The ranges ceased operation at the end of WWII, but the property remained under government control for many years. Our quest today was to find three Titan I missile sites, used during the early 1960s, and one 1980s-era communications site. These missile sites did not have separate real property identities, but the GWEN site did. The squadron identifiers in bold are from the map on page 109 of From Snark to Peacekeeper: A Pictorial History of Strategic Air Command Missiles. Missile site guru Fred Epler has pointed out to me that this map is incorrect, and I've added his corrected squadron identifiers in parentheses. Thanks Fred!

724-A CO (724-C per Fred Epler). We found this missile site without any trouble. Although the access gate was open, we respected the no trespassing signs and looked from outside the fence.
Gate
General view
Orientation targets

724-B CO (724-A per Fred Epler). We found this one securely gated. Fred Epler reports that the City of Denver recently bought this one, and it is now part of a landfill.
Gate

724-C CO (724-B per Fred Epler). Not too far away, we encountered a gentleman leaving the property as we arrived, and he politely told us the facility was not open to the public, even though the gate was open at the time. A sign on the gate indicated "MMM SAM 1 Flying Field" and that indicates Magnificent Mountain Men and Society of Antique Modelers, two local groups dedicated to flying model airplanes.
Gate
Gate and sign

Watkins Communications Site GWEN 666 CO, ILC YNMH, 39-39-34, 104-36-51. We next looked for a former Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) relay node site. We got as close as an access gate one-half mile east of the tower location. If the tower was still standing, we would have seen it clearly from that distance.
Gate with sign
Sign
Gate

Lowry Training Annex CO, ILC NTNB, 39-39, 104-37. The GWEN site was on a section of the former bombing range that had yet another Air Force identity. The training annex was transferred to the USAF in 1969 from the Navy, who had called it Navy East Blast Research Range. I don't know when the Navy acquired this property from the Air Force before that. The annex covered 3,833 acres and was inactivated in 1994. Current owner is the Colorado State Land Board, and they still call this property Lowry Range.

Back at the former Lowry AFB, I revved up the rental car for the drive north to Casper, Wyoming. The drive from Denver to Casper took 4.5 hours.

Sunday, 23 January 2005

Casper AFB WY, 42-54, 106-28. I checked out of the motel early enough that I had to wait around for sunrise at the former base. I noticed several hangars that date back to the WWII era. They appeared to be in very good condition. Some other older buildings were standing, and several foundations and chimneys were present. This is now Natrona County International Airport (CPR).
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Building
Building foundation
Building foundations and chimney

Whitney Communications Site GWEN 930 NE, ILC YXBN. From Casper, I drove east into Nebraska to this former communications site near Crawford. I found the tower and equipment shelters extant.
View from gate
General view
General view

Scottsbluff AAFld NE, 41-52, 103-35. Heading south, I visited William B. Heilig Field (BFF). There were no obvious signs of WWII buildings.
General view

I stopped in Cheyenne at 1445, covering 422 miles in 7.75 hours. The next four days were spent working, and I returned home Thursday evening.

Saturday, 12 March 2005

Air Force Finance Center CO, PIN 2095, ILC ACYV, 39-46-13, 104-47-34. The day began early, with another 0745 flight from DFW to DEN. Once in Denver, I obtained a rental Chevy Trailblazer 4x4 and met up with my friend. We headed up York Avenue and found this former storage depot turned records center. The building marked 3840 was the headquarters and administration building. The complex of warehouse-type buildings served as office space for the finance center. The Air Reserve Records Center was also housed at this location.
Building
Building

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #13 (566-9) CO. Near Fort Collins, I found this Atlas E site's access road, complete with No Trespassing signs, but the launch facility was out of visual range. I found lodging in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The drive from Denver to Cheyenne covered 186 miles in 3.5 hours.
Gate

Sunday, 13 March 2005

When I looked outside at 0700 the blowing snow was creating a near-whiteout condition. I finally started down the road at 0900, intending to catch up on the previous day's missed visits.

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #8 (566-4) NE. I pushed east on I-80 to Kimball, Nebraska. My first stop was the gate to an Atlas E site.
Gate

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #7 (566-3) WY. This Atlas E site was secured by gates and wire across the access road. A dirt section line road paralleled the access road a few yards to the south, so I was able to get reasonably close to the site.
General view
General view

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #9 (566-5) WY. This Atlas E site was locked up so I photographed it from outside the gate.
General view
General view

This was a fun but tiring romp, as the temp was in the low 20s with a gusty wind. At this point I was caught up with the sites intended for the previous day. I had enough daylight left to tackle a couple more sites, so I went north on I-25 from Cheyenne.

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #1 (564-A, B) WY. This was the unique double-size Atlas D site with six launchers instead of three. Unfortunately, the access road is private and posted far enough out that the site is not visible. I reapproached the site on 18 March and was able to get some distant shots of the site's launch operations building and launcher buildings from the north, from another road.
Gate and sign
Gate
General view
General view
General view

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #5 WY. This former Atlas E site was gated.
Gate
View from gate

I stopped in Cheyenne at 1600, covering 330 miles in 7 hours.

Wednesday, 16 March 2005

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #12 (566-8) CO. After work, I drove to Greeley, Colorado, to tour an Atlas E site. Weld County owns the property and uses it for archival storage. They also show it off as a museum by appointment. The site caretaker, Pete Ambrose, was my cordial tour guide. Inside the launch and service building, the missile erector arm is still in place, with a painted plywood missile shape mounted on the arm to give the visitor a sense of the missile's size and shape. The gantry clamp is displayed along a nearby wall. This site was spared from being salvaged, so many items seen here are not found in other Atlas E sites. A platform with steps has been added, allowing visitors a view of the flame pit. We walked through the tunnel to the launch operations building. The equipment room now holds shelves and file boxes; this room was modified by filling cable troughs with concrete, and adding a concrete block wall. Topside, most of the original features are intact. The overhead door has a protective cover of rubber sheeting to keep out rain; tires are stacked on the sheeting and this may be to keep the wind from damaging it. The flame pit is covered.
General view
Launch and service building missile entry door
Launch and service building interior showing missile erector arm and plywood missile shape
Launch and service building interior
Launch and service building interior
Launch and service building interior
Launch and service building interior
Launch and service building interior
Launch and service building interior
Launch and service building interior
Launch and service building interior showing flame pit
Tunnel from launch and service building to launch operations building
Launch and service building overhead door
Launch and service building overhead door
Launch and service building flame pit
General view
Spray pond
Ventilation shaft

This side trip took a mere 2.5 hours and 120 miles.

Friday, 18 March 2005

After finishing up the business part of my trip, I had a few hours of daylight left. I wanted to find two Atlas sites in this direction, and I scouted for the farthest one first.

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #6 (566-2) WY. This was an Atlas E site, and the launcher door was visible from the security gate, as was the spray pond and a water system building.
Launch and service building missile entry door
View from gate
General view
Spray pond
Water system building

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #2 (565-A) WY. This Atlas D site was gated, but I could see the launcher buildings, launch operations building, and power plant with fuel tanks in the distance.
Launch and service building
Launch operations building
Power plant and fuel tanks
View from outer gate

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #4 (565-C) WY. Back in Cheyenne, I took I-80 west toward Granite, and looked for another Atlas D site. This time a gate stopped me beyond visual range of the facility. I headed back to Cheyenne for the night.
Gate
Signs

Francis E. Warren AFB WY, PIN 1298, ILC GHLN. Since I was now off-duty from my civilian job and was staying an extra night at my own expense, I put on my Air Force retiree hat and checked in to billeting on F.E. Warren AFB. I stayed in Frontier Manor, a brick visiting officers quarters building constructed in 1900. The desk clerk warned me the room would either be too hot or too cold, and she was right. The F.E. Warren AFB ICBM and Heritage Museum has enhanced its display of Minuteman missile items since I first saw it in 1998.
Frontier Manor and sign
Frontier Manor
View from Frontier Manor

Saturday, 19 March 2005

Francis E. Warren AF Missile Site #11 (566-7) CO. I departed Cheyenne at 0545, driving south on US 85. My first stop, near Nunn, Colorado, was an Atlas E site. This one was locked up tight and appeared heavily modified.
Gate
View from gate
General view

Lowry AF Missile Site #3 (725-A) CO, ILC NTNK. (725-B per Fred Epler). From Fort Morgan I worked my way southwest toward Deer Trail, looking for a former Titan I site, and I found it wide open and unmarked. The silo lids, antenna silos, orientation targets, hardened UHF antenna, and other openings are still visible. Fred Epler tells me this large hole ringed with mounds of dirt shows the former location of underground diesel fuel tanks, between the powerhouse and the exhaust system structure.
Silo doors
Security gate
Silo doors
Orientation targets
Hardened UHF antenna
Entryway
Entryway
Hole from removal of diesel fuel tanks

725-B CO (725-A per Fred Epler). My next visit was another Lowry Titan I site on the Lowry Bombing and Gunnery Range property. I found it was situated behind private roads, but I could see the orientation targets from a public road to the east.
Orientation targets

By this time, I was tired of satisfying the Trailblazer's thirst for gasoline! I headed back to the "new" Denver airport, turned in the rental car, and checked in for the flight home to DFW. Not a bad week!

Updated January 26, 2025

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