SirenkiD wrote:I really like that CD sign on the small building by the tower. I don't really know why Stroud thought they were a huge target...but it's awesome none-the-less!
Stroud a target? Only for tornadoes. But 17 miles north and west of Stroud is a pretty big target going back to Cold War days: Cushing.
Why? Pull up Google earth and look at all of the white dots in and around the Cushing area. Those are all oil storage tanks. You know the "Strategic Oil Reserve" that comes up whenever there is a major oil crisis (i.e Middle East flare-ups, post-Katrina gulf oil slowdowns)? That's it... well, at least that's part of it. I read a story on either CNN or the Tulsa World (before they made it a pay site...) that there's something like 10 million + barrels of oil in storage there, with the capacity for more. (And it could grow - especially if the Keystone Pipeline gets the blessing it needs from the government.)
I was doing some Cold War research not too long ago and came across some reports of the "kill zones" for some of the bombs the Soviets had developed were measured in terms of dozens of miles away from the point of impact.

Chew on that for a bit, and you realize the CD signs are probably not too far fetched.
Granted - the practicality of those bombs were limited by the fact they needed a heavy bomber to carry the weapon to the target. Such an attack was impractical, and those weapons were replaced by smaller, more maneuverable - and yes, somewhat less "explosive" weapons that could be delivered by a missile in multiple quantities. But a nuclear attack on Cushing would have been (and still would be) a crippling blow to the nation.
Cool pix though. The only one I had ever seen going through Stroud was the STH-10 that's about 400 yds east of the midway fuel/rest area for the turnpike.
Cheers!
Williesan