04/04/2008 to 04/06/2008
Yes, another New Mexico Trip. I swear I do not work for their tourist bureau, but it is a great place to go.
The main purpose of this trip was to see The Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was tested.
Naturally there were other things in the area which attracted us including The Very Large Array Telescope which gives guided tours on the days Trinity is open, and the Salinas Mission National Park.
Salinas has 3 separate mission sites and each is unique and more like something you find in the Northeast or Europe rather than the Southwest desert.
- Abo Mission
- Quarai Ruins
- Gran Quivira
- The Trinity Site
- The Very Large Array Telescope - VLA
- Bosque del Apache Wildlife Center
This was the first of the 3 missions in the Salinas group.
As you can see the ruins of the main church are huge. The Franciscan priests obviously believed in going large.
The priests arrived in the Abo community around 1622 and this church complete with buttressing was completed sometime later.
The communities were all abandoned by 1678 due to drought and tribal conflicts
The approach to Abo Mission site
The ruins are quite extensive as you can see
Reminds you of something from a Conan movie
These lower ruins were priests cells, animal shelters and food storage areas
I thought this was cute
The wood lintels below the second story and bell tower are massive in size
The local Salinas kept many of their traditions including the kiva
The Quarai Mission was our second stop.
Like Abo it is constructed of red adobe bricks and if anything it's church was grander than Abo.
Three of Quarai's priests were heads of the New Mexico Inquisition during the 1600s.
Unlike the horror stories from Europe it seems these priests were pretty tolerant of the local populations transgressions and separated truth from gossip.
However local Spanish residents who encouraged the continuation of Kiva dances and taboo activities were not so easily overlooked.
As you can see it has large walls and towers and looks like a castle
The front of the church
These remains are what is left of the out buildings for priests rooms, stables and storage
I am in the entry to the church
This is the approach to the alter area
See that little dark speck at the base of the alter? That's me. Kind of give you an idea
The window above the entry gives you some idea of the width of these walls
One of the walkways between the church and what is left of some of the complex buildings
This is a square kiva. We've seen tons of round ones but never square.
More ruins of out buildings
Several things are different about Gran Quivira than Quarai or Abo.
First it sits on a hill.
Second it is built of stone rather than brick.
The surrounding ruins suggest a larger complex however the remains of the first church do not have the same feeling of grandeur as Quarai.
There are also numerous kivas in the area surrounding the church.
Like the other two missions this one was abandoned in the late 1600s due to Apache raids and drought.
The Salinas people migrated to El Paso area and were absorbed in those pueblo cultures.
That's Gran Quivira looking more like a fortress than a church
The front of the church
The entry
One of the alleys between the church and other buildings
They liked their walls really, really thick
The remains of the other church
A kiva constructed right next to the church
One of the large kivas
Some of the ruins of the outer buildings
The Trinity Site is only open the first Saturday of April and again on the first Saturday of October.
Why go there? That's a really good question.
It is not scenic or pretty but it is a big part of our history and anyone who knows us understands we love historical stuff. So we made the trip to see the area where the first A-Bomb was tested.
The line to get in starts forming early. We were there by 7:30AM so we were the 5th car in line. In 15 minutes there were dozens behind us.
The tour also includes a bus ride to the Schmidt/McDonald ranch where the bomb was assembled.
And no, we don't glow in the dark now or set off Geiger counters. It's perfectly safe.
Yup, it's 7:30 AM and we're about 5th in line
Looking back toward the road
After a 20 minute drive you get to the parking lot and walk the half mile into the site
We love warning signs
The Trinity Site. Ya, it's a big open lot surrounded by a fence
A display of the fat man casing
Fat Man
The remains of the tower the bomb was dropped from
The oblisk commemorating the drop. Sorry, no apes with clubs here
The plaque on the oblisk - Site of the first atomic explosion July 16, 1945
The Schmidt/McDonald ranch house
The plaque explains a bit about the ranch and it's role
The front room was where the plutonium was assembled
Some of the remaining buildings on the ranch
More buildings
The Very Large Array Telescope holds guided tours on the afternoons the Trinity Site is open.
This was a great tour and our guide was very humorous.
She told us "It's called the Very Large Array because it's a large arrayed telescope and astronomers don't have much of an imagination."
If it looks familiar it should be. Remember the movie Contact with Jodie Foster? Yup, those shots were taken here.
A nice classy sign
The antenna array out on the windy plains of San Agustin
ET phone company
The little ant like creatures are people so you have an idea of the size of this equipment
The antenna mover. It literally lifts up the antenna and moves it along the tracks
Looking down the tracks
These things are really huge up close
Artsy antenna shot
The control room has equipment I haven't seen for 20 years but they make it work
The more modern side of the room
Another great place around the Socorro, New Mexico area is the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge.
It's a major stop over for migrating birds and a nice counterpoint to the destructive Trinity Site and the technical VLA.
You can drive the entire refuge or just pick out one or two areas to sit and watch the wildife.
It was a nice way to end our trip before heading home.
Nice area for deer
Lots of ducks
These rather large hungry looking fish were quite numerous
Red-winged black bird
A roadrunner
Lots of turtles