The following pictures were taken during the trip to Vandenberg to recharge Opal batteries. Opal batteries had not been charged for six months and it was decided to top them off. These are from a visit to the launch pad.
 
 

Professor Twiggs ponders the future at the pad.

The sun sets at VAFB near the pad.

Almost gone...

Gone for another day.

The Minotaur pad is off in the distance. A protective scaffolding supports it on the sides. The dark shadow that stop halfway up the tower is the bottom half of the rocket.

A closer view of the launch tower. The rocket is the shadow in the middle (the bottom half).

Another view of the supportive tower for the rocket.

The scaffolding again. Jamie Cutler and John Ellis are off on the right.

John and Jamie prepare their cameras.

A good picture of the exhaust deflection pit. The ocean is off in the background.

Another look at the scaffolding. The red rails on the right are the tracks that the support structure moves along. They use a good ole Catepillar tractor to move it all.

A close up of the transportation rails.

Right near our pad is Slick 6. It's a NASA pad for launching the shuttle. It's never been used and was decommissioned after the Challenger accident.

A close up of the vehicle assembly building. It's huge!