Tag Archives: New Mexico

September 26, 2016 · 5:35 am

Fall Foliage Tour — Beginning the Enchanted Circle of New Mexico

Early last October Ursula and I took a little road trip. It began with a stop at Trinity Site, location of the first atomic bomb detonation. You can see links to my articles on that adventure below following today’s post. As for the rest of the trip — a fall foliage tour along the famous Enchanted Circle through Taos, Questa, Red River, the Carson National Forest, Eagle’s Nest, and Angel Fire — I saved that for now.

Enchanted Circle Byway

The reason for that delay is simple: I wanted to time my articles on this journey to coincide with this year’s fall foliage season. The Enchanted Circle Byway, also called “the Taos Loop”, is an 83-mile road trip through both nature and time that begins and ends in the art community of Taos, New Mexico. The byway circles Wheeler Peak, which at 13,161 feet/4,011 meters is the tallest point in New Mexico.

Map from The Armchair Explorer

Heading north from Santa Fe and descending into Taos the first “enchanting” view is of the Rio Grande Gorge, a deep scar that runs through the Taos Plateau volcanic field. The gorge and surrounding areas are encompassed by the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, established in 2013.

Below are two views of the Rio Grande Gorge taken from high ground southwest of Taos. The first shot was taken in the late afternoon on October 3, 2015. The second was taken near midday the following day as we concluded our trip and started home.

Late after noon at the Rio Grande Gorge

Midday view of the Rio Grande Gorge in sunlight

Our intended destination this night was the resort town of Red River, where after the long drive from Trinity Site we hoped to find decent lodging at an affordable price. You’ll see how we lucked out on Wednesday. I’ll just say for now that this is a place I can highly recommend on your tour of the Enchanted Circle Byway. Along the way we were treated to some magnificent perfectly lighted views beneath dramatic skies:

Road to Red River

Quarry-Scarred Mountain

A preview of what lies ahead, from Wheeler Peak to our entry into fall foliage country:

Enchanted Circle drive

Taos Loop

Trinity Site series (sample photos below links):

Trinity, Jumbo, and the Gadget
Trinity Ground Zero and Fat Man
Trinity Site Historical Photographs — Part 1
Trinity Site Historical Photographs — Part 2
Trinity Site — the McDonald Ranch
Trinitite from Trinity Site

Sample photos from the Trinity Site series:

“Jumbo”

“Ground Zero”

“The Gadget”

Historical photos of the Trinity blast

McDonald Ranch — Where the first bomb was assembled

Trinitite removal warning

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Filed under Automobiles and Driving, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Tagged as Carson National Forest, Enchanted Circle, fall foliage, New Mexico, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Red River, Taos, Taos Loop, travel, travel photography

March 18, 2016 · 5:35 am

Trinitite from Trinity Site

Don’t steal the trinitite

Trinitite is the glassy substance that resulted from the atomic bomb test at Trinity Site, White Sands Missile Range, on July 16, 1945. It’s somewhat rare, hard to get hold of, and illegal to acquire directly from Trinity Site. If you want a legal piece, you must acquire it from someone who collected a sample before trinitite harvesting from Trinity Site became illegal way back in the 1950s.

Plaque explaining radiation levels at Trinity Site — Yes, it’s L-O-W

Trinitite is composed mostly of the sand and earth that was fused together during the blast, but samples may also contain remnants of The Gadget, the shot tower, and even the instruments used to measure the effects of the explosion.

Shot Tower footings still evident

If you’re determined to own a piece of trinitite be prepared to spend some money on it, and especially watch out for fake pieces floating around the market.

Trinitite Viewing

If you just want to view some trinitite you’re in luck. There is quite a collection on display when Trinity Site is open to the public.

Samples of trinitite on view at Trinity Site

Those wanting to own a piece can acquire one at the Blanchard Rock Shop (website link; Facebook page link) on U.S. Highway 380 some seventeen miles east of the Stallion Gate entrance to White Sands Missile Range, or twenty-nine miles east of the Interstate 10 exit at San Antonio, New Mexico where we began this adventure. It is from Blanchard that I acquired my own piece of trinitite several years ago, before we made this journey to Trinity Site October 3, 2015.

Most genuine trinitite will have a pebbly surface on one side and a smooth, glassy-looking appearance on the opposite side. The smooth surface is the area that directly faced the full wrath of the explosion, whereas the pebbly side faced away from the intense nuclear fireball.

Here is a view of the rough side of my personal example of trinitite:

Trinitite owned by the author

And here is the glassy surface:

Trinitite owned by the author

I hope you enjoyed our visit to Trinity Site, the McDonald Ranch, and a showing of trinitite samples. As I said at the beginning of this two-week series, the reason I interrupted the series on our Chile-to-Los Angeles cruise was because of the upcoming April 2 Trinity Site Open House. Starting next Monday we’ll continue our excursion along the South, Central, and North American coast with a look at our next destination beyond Paracas, Chile and Islas Ballestas — Lima, Peru.

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Tagged as Blanchard Rock Shop, New Mexico, nuclear test, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, trinitite for sale, Trinity Site, White Sands

March 16, 2016 · 5:35 am

Trinity Site — the McDonald Ranch

The Schmidt-McDonald Ranch House

In 1913 German immigrant Franz Schmidt built a piece of military and scientific history, although he didn’t know it at the time. He built a ranch house. That ranch house, and the 640-acre ranch upon which it sat, were acquired in the 1930s by the McDonald family. In 1942 however the McDonalds were ordered out of their house and off their ranch as the land was “leased” from them and “temporarily” incorporated into the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, which would later become the White Sands Missile Range.

Scrubland surrounding the McDonald Ranch House

So much for temporary, because in 1945 the Manhattan Project came to the ranch. The water storage tank became a swimming pool for project personnel, and the house became something else altogether. It became the site of the plutonium assembly room for The Gadget, and it was a mere two miles from Ground Zero.

Schmidt-McDonald Ranch House plaque

This plutonium assembly room was previously the master bedroom of the house. Workbenches were brought in. The former bedroom was meticulously cleaned, and then sealed off with plastic and tape to prevent dust contamination. Signs were posted admonishing all who entered to wipe off their shoes.

The master bedroom and plutonium assembly room

Plutonium Assembly Room

Despite being only two miles from Ground Zero the McDonald Ranch House suffered very little damage, mostly broken windows. The damage came later as the house fell into neglect and disrepair.

Alas, the ranch was never returned to the McDonalds. Even though the force lease ended in 1980, along with the payments being made to the McDonalds, the land was not returned to them. But if the government thought it was going to end there, they were wrong. In 1982 David McDonald and his niece staged an armed takeover of the ranch house.

Adobe and stone construction dating back to 1913

In the end the armed standoff ended after only three days, and the McDonalds were finally compensated for the loss of their ranch, but not by much. The ranch house, land, related structures, and grazing rights were valued at around $1,600,000. The McDonalds walked off with only $60,000 in their pockets.