TRINITY SITE in NEW MEXICO

April 5th, Thursday We went over to visit with cousin Mildred and Pete here in Las Cruces.

Mildred

Gary and Pete

It's always wonderful to visit with them as so many family memories are shared. We will see her daughter Barbara this Thursday after she gets off work. She has a very busy schedule teaching Special Ed students. So we are looking forward to listening to her experiences.

Our tour group of about 200 vehicles, waiting to begin.

We had reservations to join a tour group going from Alamogordo to Trinity Site National Historic Landmark.

On the tour there was not much to see except one of the old instrumentation bunkers visible beside the road just west of ground zero. We were not permitted to take pictures on the grounds except at the tour site itself. The cameras were to stay away until we arrived at ground zero.

It was quite a trip and slow. Many more people than we expected to see!!
This was where the first atomic bomb was tested July 16, 1945.

This was an item that we got to see on site.
It is thick walled,
but not as thick as our picture makes it look.

The 19-kiloton explosion led to a quick end to the war in the Pacific. This ushered in the atomic age. We are not the bad guys, just the first to make it public. At the time it was a race to beat the Germans who, according to intelligence reports, were building their own atomic bomb.

This 51,500 acre area was declared a national historic landmark in 1975 where the scientists and support group lived; ground zero,and the Schmidt/McDonald ranch house where the plutonium core to the bomb was assembled.

While there we were to look for Mildred's grand-daughter from northern New Mexico. We did not see anyone who matched the description until we were about to leave. We spotted these two getting ready to get on the tour bus for the McDonald Ranch. So I used my zoom lens as we knew that we could not reach them before they left.

While wandering around we got to talk with a few Boy Scouts. That is always a treat for us.

We did leave thru the north entrance and returned via I-25 on our own.
Back in Las Cruses I had to take this picture of retaining wall under a freeway.  I always love these decorated walls!

At our RV site I was enjoying our flowering vines, but then Gary brought home a pictures of another site.  Awesome!!

April 8th, Sunday, we met with a couple who are going to begin traveling again. This is not new to them, but they have been residents here in Las Cruces for a few years.  Gary made contact with Jim through in Internet site, RVillage. This is a way to meet people in your temporary home area. So we had lunch at Applebee's and then invited them back to the motorhome where we shared information and ideas. 

Elaine and Jim, new friends.
Wish you great fun and safe travels!

We got a kick out of our name comparisons. Elaine is my middle name and Gary is Jim's middle name. So we are hoping to keep in touch with them as they hit the road again.