I'm not sure why this site has a yelp review but hey here goes. This place is a reminder of when America used to do great things. This was the stationary test platforms for all of our rockets from Atlas, through Apollo, to the Space Shuttle... you know when our nation pioneered our way into space and wasn't reduced to asking the Russians for a ride to the International Space Station and zero g swinging sex parties.
Much like running out of space viagra, there is a down side. This is also the site of the Santa Susana field laboratory and sodium reactor expairment. The site hosts the record for the most amount of nuclear reactor meltdowns you have never heard of including multiple open burn pits where any range of chemical waste used to be incinerated as the primary method of desposal.
Some of my favorite chemicals still present range from Mercury to over 500,000 gallons of Trichloroethylene. Much of the TCE has leached into the underground sandstone like a spounge, making clean up very impossible. But THEY say it's contained... so long as water doesn't fall from the sky and run down hill.
For you geocaching or rock hound types may I suggest collecting some of the plethora of radionuclides that have been quietly tucked away. It's an Ayatollah's shopping bonanza! Just on the other side of that rusty fence you can find: Tritium, Plutonium-238, Plutonium-239, Iodine-131, Strontium-90, Cesium-137, Cobalt-60, Thorium-228, and Uranium-235... ingest and enjoy!
If you hike through Sage Ranch Park, decon your boots afterwards, you can see what's left of the shuttle test platform and ETEC buildings. To be fair Boeing has inherited this ugly red headed step child of the mid 20th century military industrial complex and has done a lot of work to remediate the site. There is a vast water treatment to collect and treat rain water before it goes into the aquifers and tractor trailers of contaminated soil regularly roll down Woolsey Canyon Rd on its way to a haznat dump in Utah. But it must be safe because our government or a company would never tell us a lie.
Also, stick around to watch the regular occurrence of valley dwellers get cuffed and stuffed into the back of a sheriff's vehicle. It's not uncommon to see a dope in the back seat of a squad while LA County Deputies search for their stash.
Now get out and enjoy! read more