For anyone who grew up during the Cold War, this place is a must see. It's the real thing, a place where a nuclear missile would have been launched against the USSR. Tours begin around 9:00am, and for $9.50, one gets a one hour tour of this relic of the Cold War. It's interesting seeing the conditions under which the missile crew lived and worked during their shift in manning this Titan Missile site. The tour guides are very knowledgable and are full of information about the place. As you descend into the control room of this site, you can't help but wonder what would have raced through the crew's minds if the order to launch had been given. It's an interesting piece of history that shouldn't be passed up if one is ever in the Tuscon, Arizona area.

As a person who loves American history and grew up watching the Cold War movies of the 80's, the Titan silo was a site I had been waiting to have a chance to see.

The site in Tucson is the only surviving Titan II missile of the 54 that used to be located in Arizona, Kansas and Arkansas. All the rest have been destroyed as part of treaties with Russia. That made the trip even more rewarding knowing that this is the only place you can see a very important part of American history.

There is a small museum as you enter the visitor's center. The tour starts with a "debriefing" video where the history of the site and its state-of-the-art security measures are explained.

The tour starts with a walk around the grounds where the fueling tanks, booster engines and security systems protecting the site can be seen. There is a window covering the opening of the silo and you can get an idea of how massive these missiles were. That view was the highlight of the trip for me.

You then take a walk inside and get an idea of the saftey measures that had to be in place for this site to survive a nuclear attack. There is even a mock launch senario that is acted out by the guide and a volunteer from the group.

During the tour, I could not help but think that 25-30 years ago, there is no way we would have even known the site existed let alone walk through it. It was almost surreal since the closest I have ever gotten to such a scene was only in the movies.

I highly recommend visiting this site if in the Tucson area or in Phoenix (only about a 2 hour drive)!!

Combined with a visit to the Pima Air and Space Museum, this tour of a old titan missile complex offers a unique perspective into our military capabilites. Who knew we had nuclear missiles in Arizona?

A brief intro, a walk around the top where you can see various support equipment and look through glass at the titan in its silo, and then it's down several flights of stairs to the operations center, where you learn about the business of keeping a missile ready for use. And finally an up-close view of the missile itself.

What was so striking to me is that this was all done without the use of computers that we take for granted today, and that it was done so matter-of-factly close to Tucson.

Don't miss this one.

The hour-long tour of this facility covers topics that aren't addressed in many other venues in the country, and this facility is certainly a one-of-a-kind. The highlight for me was getting to stand in the actual launch-control room dating back multiple decades and watching the docent actually similate a launch of the missile, with a simultaneous turn of two separate keys triggering lights on a panel to turn on, etc. The equipment here is all the real deal, and presented by docents who either worked here and/or really know their material. Seeing the museum-grade missile in its silo, of course, is also a thrill for those interested in such technology. And the explanations of the spring-supported, blast-and-shock-resistant silo quarters encased in thick concrete and steel were fascinating. The 5- to 10-minute intro to the tour with a docent and a brief movie could be improved, but did a fair job of setting the context for what was to follow.

If you're in the Tuscon area, it would be a shame to miss this site.