Current Location: Still in Albuquerque, NM, N 35 05.500', W 106 39.997', elev. 5002 ft.

So what was the big surprise? A few days ago, my friend Constantino sent me a link to the Trinity Site, the site of the very first nuclear bomb detonation, very close to where I was in New Mexico. However, he said "too bad you won't be able to go, it is only open twice a year". It is in fact open the first saturday in April, and the first saturday in October every year. However! Today, July 16th 2005, is the 60th anniversary of the first nuclear weapons test, and so the site was open to tourists. And Constantino is extremely jealous. I happened to be here due to lucky timing on my part. I'm not a proponent of a nuclear arsenal, but am very interested in the atomic age from a historical and scientific standpoint. (The history of science and how certain discoveries were made and the people who made them is a favorite subject of mine, though not necessarily the actual science itself).

I got up really early, because I had heard that the site is open only from about 8 AM to about 1 PM. I left Carrizozo at about 7:30, and made the 60 mile drive to the entrance to the Trinity Site (N 33 40.622', W 106 28.541', elev 4923 ft.) via US 380. The entrance is at the air force base, and from the air force base it is another 17 miles to the site. Security was very high at the air force base, as there many uniformed, armed, military guards. There were several signs and many reminders not to remove artifacts from the site, particularly trinitite, the glass mineral that formed due to the intense heat of the detonation. I was handed a pamphlet detailing the history, and an insert about radiation exposure at the site. I was particularly interested to find that radiation exposure for a one hour site visit is only about one sixth the exposure you would get for a chest X-ray, and one half to one fifth what you'd get on a cross country site. Also of note is that there are many naturally occurring sites on earth that would give you larger radiation exposure.

I have to admit, from a neat place to look at standpoint, I was a little disappointed with what Trinity had to offer, there wasn't even a crater, as the crater was bulldozed in the 1960's. However, from a historical standpoint, the place can't be beat, as well as the fact that so few people have ever seen the site. I would guess the number of tourists on the day reached the thousands, but more than half of those I talked to and overheard lived close by and had been there on more than one occasion. The only remnant of the original detonation is a leg of the tower used to hold the bomb. (It was detonated 100 feet in the air to simulate being dropped from an airplane, and left a crater 8 feet deep).



Leg Remnant



Monument marking the detonation spot



Fat man bomb model, similar to what was detonated at Trinity and over Nagasaki

Here are the rest of the photos of Trinity Site. Interesting note of trivia, the title of the article is a famous quote attributed to J. Robert Oppenheimer (the leader of the Manhattan Project), but is actually from the Bhagavad Gita

After leaving the Trinity Site at about 10:30, I traveled west on US 380 until I reached I-25, which I took north to Socorro, NM. In Socorro, I headed west on US 60 until I reached the Very Large Array at about 1 PM. You may have seen the VLA in the movie Contact, in the big scene where Jodie Foster discovers signals from an alien intelligence. In reality, the VLA is not capable of SETI projects. The Very Large Array is a set of 27 huge radio telescopes, forming a Y that can be set up in four different configurations (the longest of which has an area of over 30 miles and a radius of 13 miles) and are used for deep space exploration, and looking at the components and origination of the universe. I took a fascinating tour of the facility, run by a scientist from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). He discussed a lot of the practical uses of the VLA, and technical specs and current projects. A lot of what he discussed was over my head scientifically, but fascinating, which was great, considering I am more scientifically inclined than most people I know. In my opinion, the VLA is probably the best scientific instrument in the United States, as it is providing the most data in understanding the universe and physics, and is an excellent use of our tax dollars. Plus, as you'd expect, I took some photos. I spent way too much time at the VLA because it was so fascinating. I left at 4 PM, and headed back east on the US 60, and headed north on I-25 until I reached Albuquerque.

In Albuquerque I got a motel and rested for a while. Someone in Roswell had told me I definitely needed to check out the Albuquerque Tramway up to the peak of Sandia Mountain. He said it was the best $15 he had ever spent. So I decided I would make the trip in time to see the sunset. Unfortunately I took a bit of a nap, and by the time I reached the base of the peak, the sun was setting, and there was about a 10 minute wait for the tram car, and another 15 minutes of trip up the mountain, so the good sunset photo was taken at the 6000 foot base elevation, not the 12000 foot peak elevation.



The Sandia Tramway is the longest tram in the world, and very spectacular, and well worth the $15. The top of the mountain is part of the Lincoln National Forest, a huge forest that covers much of northern New Mexico. The ride up was very thrilling, the weather is very different at the top of the peak, much colder, and this creates a lot of weather. I could see a lot intense, spectacular lightning on all of the surrounding peaks. The lightning was beautiful and humongous, and made me feel very small, very tiny, like when you ponder the universe and your insignificant place in it, but unfortunately, I was not able to capture it with my camera. I did get a few interesting shots though. At the top of the peak there is a gourmet restaurant, and the views and the food would make for a very excellent romantic dinner. Romance was definitely in the air as almost all the passengers on the tram "flight" were young couples.

Sandia peak dwarfs and dominates the city of Albuquerque, and makes for a beautiful skyline. Albuquerque to me was an awesome city, perhaps one of my favorites in the US. I would definitely recommend the city for anyone looking for a romantic four day weekend trip. There is enough isolation that you'll feel you've gotten away, and there are so many wonderful things to do in an around the city and as far away as Santa Fe 50 miles distant, but that's tomorrow's adventure. Photos of Albuquerque from the Sandia Peak.

I do want to mention that this trip has made me tremendously reflective, and even more observant than I already was. I haven't really been a reflective person in years, though I feel I've always been pretty observant, getting more out of my senses than most people. I definitely pay more attention to background sounds, sights, smells, and vibrations than I know other people do. I have always considered myself observant. Some people think observation and perception are synonyms, but I wouldn't say that if you are observant you are necessarily perceptive. Traditionally, I'm someone who can see all the clues, all the evidence (the observant), but not necessarily be Sherlock Holmes and put the clues together to find an answer (the perceptive). I feel this trip has helped me take that step to better perception. I almost feel like a real writer, cataloguing the bits I take in with all five senses and trying to portray that to the reader, even if the reader is only me, five years from now when I try to remember just what the heck I did with my life in summer 2005.