predators lingering in the tall grass waiting to strike at me. And lucky for the both of us we did not encounter the feared rattlesnake, nor any other creature wanting to do us any harm. We spent hours exploring the overgrown airstrip with some decrepit hangars near some factory-looking buildings and a sprawling complex of ammunition’s depots, army barracks, hospital remnants, amongst many other buildings that lie abandoned. The ghost town of Fort Igloo is so close, yet so far away. You feel you’re on the edge of civilization (you kind of are), as you enter a land of many buildings, but few people. The roads leading around the base can be a bit confusing as some roads are so overgrown you can hardly tell they are there. And others are completely closed off with padlocked gates and barb wire fencing as we found out while trying to get a closeup picture of the ammunition bunkers. Across the rugged prairie more than 800-bunkers once used to store weapons and ammunition for the military still dot the landscape, other structures have been reduced to ruins by the passage of five decades, but the ammunition bunkers remain as sturdy as ever. These cement and earthen covered mounds resemble igloos, hence the name Fort Igloo that the residents of Black Hills Ordinance Depot lovingly nicknamed their base and the name has held over time. We still have not entered the front of the base and with the dark clouds rolling in with a possible storm approaching we make our way to the first paved road we find with a street sign reading Igloo. We see a beat up old pick up truck drive through what was the front gates at one time, but well-placed tractor tires leaning against the cement wall are spray painted with the omen “NO TRESPASSING”. Even the brick guards building that is still standing is shouting at us with the same message painted on it’s front. I look over at Ryan and ask, “well what are you waiting for?” He says, “this is a bad idea.” Yes, it does say, NO TRESPASSING, but I don’t listen and decide I am going to stop and ask at the residence vLENS continued on page 22 HISVOICEvMAY/JUNE 2018v21