Loring WSA - Part 3 of 3: A Return to Nature

If you're here to read, there's stuff below. If you're here for pictures, there is an album here. 

While I wrote about the origins of "Site Easy" , plugged John Garbinski's North River Depot novel and explored some of the lore surrounding a UFO incident, I had yet to visit the actual site of Loring's Weapons Storage Area/Site Easy/North River Depot. Thanks to the Dept of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife as well as the dedicated veterans and other individuals involved with the Loring Open House, I was able to see the site for myself as it is now: a part of the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge.

Mind you that this is a wildlife refuge primarily and that even though the DIF&W has trails in the area, that the weapons storage area is not a normal attraction -- I have the folks behind Loring's Open House to thank for acquiring access and getting everything sorted with the Dept of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. If not for the folks behind the open house, my choices would have been "hike on designated trails" (not exactly my idea of 'fun') or "trespass on federal property." (even less fun.) Seriously, we're lucky that these structures are still standing and that the federal government occasionally allows access --

Places that are not marked trails are labeled as federal property and are no trespassing. There are potentially some serious hazards here and even though the DIF&W won't shoot you on sight like the Air Force would have back then, I can't imagine going there without permission and being caught would be a lot of fun.

Now that that's out of the way...let's have a look at what a once top secret nuclear research facility looks like after it's been reclaimed by nature:

What's striking about what's left of Site Easy is how little is actually left despite the number of remaining structures.

Traveling into the site you'd have no idea that the large pond you pass by on your way in was once just woods, or that the colorful and buzzing marsh you also pass used to be one of the bases most secured areas.

Earthen coverings of concrete bunkers that once held enough firepower within them (collectively) to annihilate a substantial part of this continent have been turned into an untamed carpet of various grasses and wildflowers. You don't get a whole lot of wide open spaces like this in Maine (potato fields don't count) and this is one of the more pleasing that I've seen.

The access road to the site.

One of the pillboxes in front of the vamp house. The structure to the right was where nuclear materials were inserted into containment devices and stored until ready to be united with their delivery vehicle. There is no second story, it's 17' of solid concrete.

Toward the rear of the runway, and part of the wildlife preserve. To the left you can see the doors to the subterranean "mole hole" where alert bomber pilots would stay.

Our tour guide said that these pipes were for an old nuclear dump, apparently a vessel carrying nuclear armaments was damaged at sea - exposing their warheads to corrosive salt water. The material may be buried here.

Here's Loring's massive hangar. To the left may be the terminus of the Searsport-Limestone pipeline.

Another of the research buildings.

The "mine shop." An assembly area of some kind.

I've taken several other photos of the base in general and shall post them here soon in an imgur album.

If you want to find out more, here are some great resources:

• LoringAirForceBase.com 
• NortheastRuins.com
• ColdWarRelics.com