The title of this post is a little misleading...it should say Los Alamos - Day 1. I've always heard of Los Alamos in regards to the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb and I wondered if there was more to the town. So I drove the 45 minutes up there and WOW what a drive...such pretty scenery.
My first stop was the Los Alamos history museum (link) where I lucked out. There was a 1 1/2 hour walking tour starting 10 minutes after I arrived! Yes! The history of the area dates back to natives then settlers and then a prep school called the Los Alamos Ranch School (link) and finally "The Lab". The tour guide was a local who worked 27 years at the Los Alamos National Lab (link) and she was a very good guide.
At the time the government took over the Ranch School for the war effort there was only the school and about 32 families of settlers in the area. Apparently the government was looking for a desolate area that had some resources already established. The Ranch School campus meet that need.
The most shocking thing about the tour is when she said that the bomb that dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were very inefficient. One was only 1 - 2% of capacity and the other 20%. How horrifying if they had met (or exceeded) expectations.
After the tour I went to a local restaurant, El Parasol (link), for lunch and then headed out to the Bandelier National Monument (link). It was a bit challenging as I had no cell signal in Los Alamos, so I had to actually navigate the old fashioned way (the horror!). But I succeeded in finding where to get on the shuttle and made it to the park. This was my first Pueblo....I know they are probably all the same, but I thought it was pretty interesting. There is a 2 mile loop trail that takes you along the old Pueblo in the valley as well as some of the rock cliff homes.
After that I realized that the altitude was getting to me again, so I headed back to Santa Fe. By the time I made it back it was after 6 so I grabbed some dinner at the Tumbleroot again and then crashed! I didn't wake up until 10AM this morning so I think I'm finally getting caught up on my sleep...maybe I'm finally adjusting to the altitude.
Right now I'm sitting at the Iconik coffee Roasters coffee shop and they have a band playing. Cool vibe.
Graduation picture from the Ranch School. The school was based on the boy scouts and the boys wore shorts year round. They also slept on unheated screen porches year round. Trying to toughen them up.
My first stop was the Los Alamos history museum (link) where I lucked out. There was a 1 1/2 hour walking tour starting 10 minutes after I arrived! Yes! The history of the area dates back to natives then settlers and then a prep school called the Los Alamos Ranch School (link) and finally "The Lab". The tour guide was a local who worked 27 years at the Los Alamos National Lab (link) and she was a very good guide.
At the time the government took over the Ranch School for the war effort there was only the school and about 32 families of settlers in the area. Apparently the government was looking for a desolate area that had some resources already established. The Ranch School campus meet that need.
The most shocking thing about the tour is when she said that the bomb that dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were very inefficient. One was only 1 - 2% of capacity and the other 20%. How horrifying if they had met (or exceeded) expectations.
After the tour I went to a local restaurant, El Parasol (link), for lunch and then headed out to the Bandelier National Monument (link). It was a bit challenging as I had no cell signal in Los Alamos, so I had to actually navigate the old fashioned way (the horror!). But I succeeded in finding where to get on the shuttle and made it to the park. This was my first Pueblo....I know they are probably all the same, but I thought it was pretty interesting. There is a 2 mile loop trail that takes you along the old Pueblo in the valley as well as some of the rock cliff homes.
After that I realized that the altitude was getting to me again, so I headed back to Santa Fe. By the time I made it back it was after 6 so I grabbed some dinner at the Tumbleroot again and then crashed! I didn't wake up until 10AM this morning so I think I'm finally getting caught up on my sleep...maybe I'm finally adjusting to the altitude.
Right now I'm sitting at the Iconik coffee Roasters coffee shop and they have a band playing. Cool vibe.
The view on the way to Los Alamos
Pueblo ruins at the History Museum
The Ranch School building
A settlers cottage moved to the museum
Stone work of a Pueblo building
Eviction Letter
The Ranch School building interior. Ponderosa Pines and Aspens
Bandelier National Monument
View of the Pueblo from above
One of the Ponderosa Pines that had fallen and been cut off the trail. These things are huge!!
Santa Fe to Los Alamos
Bandalier
The coffee shop band
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