Great Loop: A Visit to Los Alamos

We couldn't cross New Mexico without visiting Beth's sister, and her family, in Los Alamos New Mexico.  Our visit began with a 20 minute walk to the local light rail station nearest our RV campground.  We caught the "Rail Runner" train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.  Our 1 hour trip took us past many Indian Pueblos (villages) as we climbed into the mountains.  It was clear that flash floods were taken seriously as we saw many features cut into the landscape to direct water away from people, houses, roads and other at risk features.  Clear pools of water in washes and gullies were evidence of recent downpours.  So the preparations were appropriate.

Laura met us at the Depot in Santa Fe and, as we had an early start, a snack was the next order of business.  We visited the nearby Sage Bakery and came away with some delicious pastries and two kinds of bread.  Bakeries always smell so tantalizing that I'm sure they pump the smells outside to entice you inside.  Years of evolution have made this an involuntary reaction.  You find yourself in line and ordering before have time to choose otherwise.  Yes, I love bakeries!

It was an hour ride up the hill to Los Alamos.  Laura was a great tour guide and narrated as we approached town.  For those that don't know, Los Alamos was created as part of the WW2 Manhattan Project. The output of which were the two atomic bombs, dropped on Japan, which ended the war.  

To insure an appetite for lunch, we visited Laura and Andy's new home and took a hike along the edge of the mesa that begins right at their house!  They have a spectacular view of the surrounding canyons and mountains.  With their close proximity comes the bonus of visits by the local wildlife.  This includes deer, foxes, mountain lions and bears!  

As volcanic activity occurred in this area, compacted ash created the landscape across which we hiked.  Weather easily carved it into intriguing shapes as it was fairly soft.

The only critters we saw, while hiking were a herd of very tame deer and these two seasoned mountain men.

After our hike we adjourned for lunch at the Blue Window restaurant.  Following lunch we visited several local points of interest.

You can't drive into town and avoid seeing the statues of Dr. Oppenheimer and General Groves, conveniently located on the main square. These two men organized and successfully executed the Manhattan Project.  Dr. Oppenheimer as familiar with the mesa, on which Los Alamos is located, and suggested it be used as the location for the scientists to meet and complete their work.  It was remote, easy to secure, with few distractions.

We also visited the local science museum.  Here I found an artifact from one of the first projects on which I worked during my first year at Hewlett Packard.  It was the HP35.  The first handheld scientific calculator.

There was also a replica of FAT MAN, which was dropped on Nagasaki.

Our visit was much too short.  We returned to Albuquerque and met Andy's mom for a delicious Mexican dinner.  Thanks Laura and Andy for a perfect end to a fun day.

 

As Andy and Laura had an long drive back home, the evening ended early.  This was probably for the best as we had to hit the road early the next morning.  It was time to continue our road trip east.  We were both anxious to start our boat trip!