Fort Knox’s Real Treasure- Friends!

At the conclusion of the CVMA National meeting, I found myself with two weeks of unplanned travel.  I had intended to go back to NC to host my annual 4th of July bash, but for a variety of reasons, I decided to cancel for this year.  So, where to go and what to do with this unexpected 14 days of flexibility?! 

San Antonio continued to be the theme!  I had just spent several days sightseeing and hanging out with some of my San Antonio CVMA family, and before that, had visited Lori up in OH, who I had met and worked with while stationed at Fort Sam Houston.  Renee, also a friend and colleague from my time at Fort Sam Houston, now down at Fort Knox, KY, graciously offered to host me for a couple days when she heard I’d be in the area.  The military peep tree is amazing!

I continue to be humbled by the way people carve out time in their busy lives to accommodate my random visits.  Even though she still had to work while I was there, Renee and her husband Bob made me feel right at home, especially with Bob’s cooking!!  His grilled pork and okra (yep, he grilled okra!) were off the charts 🙂 

Renee likes to be in motion while visiting, so she showed me her quiet little neck of the woods through a couple of much appreciated walks.  While she was working, I visited the General George Patton Museum, which included the history of Fort Knox.  For 80 years, Fort Knox was the “Home of Cavalry and Armor,” trains approximately 10,000 cadets each summer, was the filming location of the hit military comedy movie “Stripes,” and retired the last original M1 Abrams tank from the active Army in 1996.  Very interesting!

So, at this point, you’re probably asking “What about the gold?!”

With the U.S. Bullion Depository located adjacent to the military base, I was hoping to score a tour and to get to see some actual gold bars!  But nope.  There are no tours and visitors are not permitted to the facility.  In fact, only two times in the facility’s history, 1974 and 2017, have the vaults been opened to non-authorized personnel.  And both times were really just to prove that the 147.3 million ounces of gold, about half of the Treasury’s stored gold, is actually kept at Fort Knox, and is still there.

I may not have left Fort Knox wealthier with gold, but I certainly left feeling richer by reconnecting with Renee and creating new memories. Not all of life’s riches are measured by the ounce 🙂