The only deep geological repository in the United States, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, is licensed to permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste for 10,000 years from nuclear weapons production facilities and cleanup sites. Stimson experts Cindy Vestergaard and Trinh Le visited the site in October 2018 to learn more about its history, operation and how technical and societal experiences are valuable for a future geological repository of high level waste and spent nuclear fuel. These are their field notes.