Oct 15, 2012 - Town That Never Was

The Town That Never Was Monday we said farewell to Santa Fe and headed for Los Alamos, a place that will be remembered in history for as long as history is recorded. This is where the atomic bomb was designed and developed, and this is where the first three devices were built. No other single event has so changed the course of history. Our generation grew up with the story, and the mystique of Los Alamos is forever embedded in our minds and our memories. The first chain reaction may have occurred in Chicago, but the Nuclear Age began at Los...

May 23, 2012 - Drive to Bandelier National Monument

From Tucumcari, we drove to Villanueva State Park. It was as pretty as ever but has only volunteers to operate it now. We didn't see the bear who was supposed to be wandering around on the other side of the river. Then we drove north to the Pecos National Monument. Lucy and Eric had not seen the monument before, but we were just as amazed to see it again. As we walked around the pueblo ruins, we could see many pottery cherds, some multi-colored, one with a glossy glaze. From there we drove to Bandelier National Monument campground. Again,...

Apr 22, 2012 - A really nice morning

April 22, 2012 We went to worship at Harry’s church, White Rock Presbyterian. Nice music, mostly due to a very gifted choir mistress, only 6 in the choir but they sang beautifully. Piano player left a bit to be desired. There were around 35 people at worship, no communion (oh, we picky Episcopalians!), and Harry preached a great sermon about the road to Emmaus and Howard Garder’s theory of multiple intelligences. Lots of gospel good news there, something I have a hard time finding in worship when I manage to attend. Gaia waited in the car...

Apr 21, 2012 - still pilgrims, but also tourists

April 21, 2012 I am O-D-ing on New Mexico cuisine -- green chile cheeseburger and “sallys’ fries” (green chiles and cheese) for lunch, out to dinner at another great restaurant with Harry and Ron tonight. Bring on the blue corn tortillas and Christmas chile sauce! We spent the morning at the Bradbury Museum, learning about the history of Los Alamos, the Manhattan Project, and how the LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory) is working today. It is a pretty amazing place, doing all sorts of research in the areas of nuclear energy, medicine, and...

Apr 20, 2012 - a really wonderful day

April 20, 2012 I have some great photos from yesterday, but can't seem to get them uploaded, so I'll just post this and try to do the photos later today or tomorrow! A couple of notes to myself, things I want to remember: The Centennial New Mexico license plates are the most beautiful turquoise color, if I lived here I would definitely want one. Now I remember the one thing about New Mexico that I am not in love with -- burr hitch hikers! When we were here in fall of 2010, they would grab onto Gaia’s legs when we walked around the...

Oct 5, 2010 - going to Los Alamos the unconventional way

I started out thinking I would drive the Jemez (pronounced Hemess) Scenic Byway up to Los Alamos and White Rock and back again. But I took a side road to see the Gilman Tunnels, which were made to help loggers bring down Ponderosa pines, and decided to keep going on that road, since it comes out up on the mountain just a little East of where the scenic byway takes a right turn. The views and smells up in the mountain were marvelous. I didn't see any wildlife, but I enjoyed the ride. There are many places to park and walk through the woods...

Jul 5, 2010 - End of Trip Report

Final entry, stardate....., oops, it is the final entry. I have to do this to get the map updated so I can order a book of our trip the map prints our entire route. I had a great time, with the exception of a shredded tire outside of Tonopah, NV and being routed through San Francisco. These were offset by having our Granddaughter with us and even being with her on her birthday, the many sites and memories created, spending time with the Kramers and the many great memories we gathered along the way. Thanks for coming along. We are already...

Jun 4, 2010 - California or Bust

We are on the move again. After six months of doctors appointments we decided to "clear out of Dodge" and take a trip. I have tickets for the US Golf Open at Pebble Beach and decided to make a journey out of the whole affair. We will be stopping at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. No I will NOT be paying to do the sky walk out over the glass observation platform, I do not like heights or the cost! We will then travel to Phoenix to check out a couple of RV parks where I hope to spend the winter this coming year and then on to Los Angeles...

Mar 18, 2009 - Back at the house

Well, here we are back in Los Alamos and this is the last post for this trip. Susan is glad to be home and I am sure out of this small camper, although, I really like it for its ease of driving on highways and parking in areas. The total length of the unit is 23 feet from bumper to bumper and with the travel trailer I am pushing 45 feet. The next time I go to South Padre, and I am definitely going, I will haul the travel trailer down and stay longer to make up for the gas I used. Although this trip we averaged 13.5 miles per gallon which...

Feb 23, 2009 - Time for a vacation

Man, retirement is a hard business, so we have decided to head south for some warm weather, visit with the grandkids and some sight seeing. We are going to try and fit in a visit to the coast before spring break, since I can no longer fit in with the college crowd or want to for that matter ;-) I have loaded up the kayak and we hope to do some paddeling while we are on this trip, will send pictures of that adventure when it happens.

Oct 17, 2008 - Los Alamos & Jemez Mountain Scenic Byway

We have so many destinations available to us within a day's drive from our Cochiti Lake home base. Today we set off with Rodger and Sharon at the helm for a visit to Los Alamos, an hour and a half's drive and northwest of Santa Fe. There is a short-cut that we will attempt at a later date though not right after a recent rainfall! You can probably guess there are a lot of “Jeep” roads in the area! Los Alamos is known for its National Laboratory, one of the premier scientific institutions in the history of the world. However, this modern day...

Oct 1, 2007 - Day 6, Los Alamos, Bandelier National Monument

Neither of us slept well and we woke up quite late. I had planned to go to Albuquerque this day, but as late as we started we decided to go on a short driving/sightseeing loop. We headed back north out of Santa Fe and then headed west to Los Alamos. We ended up spending quite a bit of time in Los Alamos, home of the atomic bomb. We started with a visit to a historical museum that used to be part of a boys ranch before a secluded area for the atomic research was needed. The ranch was incorporated into the new research facility. We walked...