New Mexico!

I took a weekend road trip to New Mexico on October 2-4, 1998. The inspiration was that the Trinity Site, the site where the world's first atomic device was exploded, was going to be open to the public on October 3. White Sands Missle Range opens up the Trinity Site twice a year.

I also visited Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Los Alamos. On my return to Denver, I drove through the high country on and near US285, and visited lots of small mountain towns; the Royal Gorge Bridge, "the world's highest suspension bridge" near Canon City, CO; and the town of Fairplay, CO, which the popular television show South Park is based on. Unfortuantely, my very limited digital camera ran out of space for more pictures after Santa Fe.

As usual -- click on the small image to get a bigger and better image.

Arrival at the Trinity Site -- WSMR staff were on hand to direct visitors to the parking spaces.

"Jumbo" -- a huge steel container that survived the blast. Jumbo was originally constructed at great effort and expense to possibly house the bomb and contain any plutonium fragments in case fission did not occur. They changed their minds later and just threw Jumbo 800 feet away from ground zero to see what would happen to it.

The monument which stands at Ground Zero. It reads "Trinity Site: Where the world's first nuclear device was exploded on July 16, 1945."

The Fat Man bomb.

Lots of tourists standing in line to read the posters about the Trinity Project which were hung up on the perimeter fence of the Ground Zero area. Not needing to stand two inches from something to read it, I just kind of walked behind the mass of people to look at and read all the posters.

A shelter is used to protect some of the Trinitite that was generated by the explosion.

The line of people you see are walking from the parking area to the circular Ground Zero area.

A small portion of the leg of the tower which held the bomb. The rest of the tower immediately evaporated when the bomb exploded.

Buses ran between the parking area and the McDonald ranch house a few miles away, where scientists assembled the bomb.

A typical street in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They all look about like this, and all the buildings in town are the same color.

The oldest church in the USA stands in Downtown Santa Fe.

The oldest house in the USA is just across the street from the oldest church.

A big, funky looking expensive hotel in Santa Fe.