Can I admit that when we started this trip, New Mexico was hardly on my radar? Fortunately, our nephew moved to Los Alamos a few months ago, so the state begged for attention, and we're so glad it did! We stayed at Santa Fe Skies RV Park, with beautiful views and fun sculptures throughout the campground. Each day was filled with the perfect mix of visiting and sightseeing. Here are a few of the things we did while touring the area. Manhattan Project NHP and Bradbury MuseumBack in August 1939, the most famous physicist in the world, Albert Einstein, wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning him that new discoveries in nuclear fission might lead to the development of weapons of mass destruction and that intelligence suggested that Germany's top scientists were experimenting with this technology. By 1943, the U.S. government had enforced eminent domain over the area of Los Alamos and set up a secret laboratory for the sole purpose of engineering a nuclear bomb. The 75,000+ scientists, family members, and support staff lived in ramshackle houses, which were often built in a single day, while others lived in tents. Many of them were unaware of the top secret, world-changing scientific discovery that was unfolding. This facility was so highly classified that all mail (which was monitored) went in and out of a P.O. Box in Santa Fe and employees were not allowed to divulge their location to anyone. The town of Los Alamos is built on this history, and the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Visitor Center is a great place to start your learning journey. There you can meet with a Ranger or volunteer who explains the beginning of the town and life for its WWII era inhabitants. From there, you can go to the Los Alamos History Museum (which we missed out on), and the Bradbury Science Museum, which is filled with highly interactive exhibits that teach about past, present, and future projects taking place at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. And--wow!--is there some amazing science going on there! Below Right: Playing with the marble run. Middle: Comparing seismograph readings and shakes (in the chair) of natural earthquakes of different magnitudes and quakes caused by explosions. Left: Building blocks with the robotic arm, which scientists use when working with radioactive materials. Santa Fe StoneworksOk, so this isn't a tourist attraction, but was still one of the highlights of our trip, and I would be remiss if I didn't tell everyone to check them out (afterall, Christmas is almost here and there might be some interested people on your list.) About eight years ago, Dusty bought me a beautiful turquoise vein handled chef's knife, which I faithfully use every day. We happened upon an ad for the company who made it, Santa Fe Stoneworks, in a brochure and thought we'd try our luck at getting it sharpened while we were in town. By email, the excited owner told us to come on by and he'd be happy do to it for free--and also mentioned that everyone would be really happy to see him! As it turns out, Dustin Ramsey was his best friend's son who had moved away from the area years ago, Typically they only do sharpenings on Thursdays, but for this long-time friend, he offered to make an exception. Fortunately for us, he stuck to his word, even if it was for the wrong Dustin who showed up in his store on Friday. But he did have a little fun tricking his daughter by telling her that her childhood best friend was in the gallery. I'm not sure she was amused! haha!
Bandelier National MonumentAs you know, we've desperately been trying to enter an old Puebloan cliff dwelling, but our luck has clearly run out with the summer season, as most parks have shut down tours or began construction. Well, we..partially...got our wish at Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos. This time only one dwelling Alcove House) was closed to visitors. (It just happened to be the coolest one.) Nonetheless, Bandelier certainly did not disappoint! Puebloans settled in Bandelier and began planting crops of beans, squash, and maize as early as 600 C.E., but it wasn't until around 1200 that a marked increase in population occurred. Along almost the entire cliffside, you can see remnants of cliff dwellings. These villages, built with masonry bricks made out of volcanic tuff local to the area, were built along the bottom of the cliff and were between two to four stories tall. Each floor (or ceiling) consisted of ponderosa pine beams, which, as you can see in the rows of holes in the photo above, were supported by the cliff wall on one end and masonry bricks on the other. As typical in Pueblo style homes, entry to the dwelling would have been in the roof and accessed by ladder. This was a mechanism of protection from enemies. Santa Fe Historic District
Santa Fe and Los Alamos were neat little towns with lots of history and things to do. We also visited the Taos Pueblo, which was an incredibly special experience (blog post coming soon), and went to the crazy fun Meow Wolf. But, the best part of our visit was getting to spend time with our nephew and learn about his new life here in New Mexico.
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