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From Monterey, I drove down on Highway 1 to Los Angeles. Highway 1 is probably the most scenic of the US highways, while Route 66, might be the best known one. Route 66 is rather a pilgrimage for nostalgic of the "go west" times. Hwy 1 drives along the Pacific coast, a rather wild landscape with spectacular views. Same as on Rte 66, many bikers drive their Harley own here. In L.A. I changed the tires of my bike, and spent the night in Pasadena with my new friend Brett. The next morning, I went for a short visit of the Crystal cathedral in Orange, and then drove immediately to Tucson, Arizona.

Here I went for a visit of the Titan 2 museum. During the cold war, the US built 54 intercontinental missile launch sites, spread over three US states. Operational in 1963, they were meant to last 10 years, but stayed armed and ready to fire for more than 20 years 24/24 7/7 until the collapse of the former USSR. Later all but one were destroyed.

The access leads through three 3000 kg heavy doors,  and up to 2,5 meter thick walls. I was astonished to hear that the whole computer system (In 1963!) just used 18 kbytes!

The missiles were  31 meters high and weighed 170 tons. They were able to reach a 9000km far target in about half an hour. and were equipped with a 10 megatons hydrogen bomb, able to destroy everything on a 2000 square miles area.

The red safe: It contained the keys and codes to start the end of the world

Yes, I've just turned the key to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile!