Nearly finished after a half hour of walking the perimeter of the Laramie River Power Plant just outside Wheatland, Wyoming - a County Sheriff drove by and pulled to a stop along side my legally parked car a hundred yards away. I made my last frame, lowered my camera and turned to walk towards him. He met me half way. I waved. He waved. "Am I doing something wrong?" I asked as I drew near enough to be heard above the wind. "Well, you've been called in for suspicious activity," he said. I extended a hand, introducing myself. He said his name was Grady and we shook hands. "It wasn't the power plant that called you in," said Grady. "It was the Air Force."
I paused a moment to be sure I heard him right, then looked up. "Did they see me photographing while flying over head?" I asked, a little confused. Grady looked over his left shoulder and pointed vaguely across the road. "That right there is a missile silo," he said. "And them things in the center are video cameras."
I smiled, fully understanding now the situation.
"You don't have an ID or something do ya?"
We walked to the car and I pulled out my billfold.
"Do what you need to do, sir. I've got nothing to hide."
A few minutes later it was over. Grady is a good man. And now, whether I want to or not, I know where a missile silo in Wyoming is, and I'm sure I'm on some list because of it.
Laramie River Power Plant, Wheatland, Wyoming (2014).
Portra 800 (exposed at ISO400).