Science Teacher's Dream II

Dust storms in NM

Oh yes.... this is living.  White Sands National Monument is right next to Trinity Site.  Just to be this close to the spot where the good old USA developed the most massive weapon of destruction known to man, was so overwhelming.  To be this close to where my hero, Robert O, actually worked. (Oh...I forgot.  I was also within feet of his house in Los Alamos.)  Now that caused palpitations in the old ticker.  (not as many palpitations as the atomic bomb though)  Now..if we could only get going on the cure for the common cold! or even stop losing the war with bacteria.

Who wears white to a sand dune?

Snow plow needed?

 Hey, is that snow?  Thought we were in New Mexico in summer?  Nope that's sand.  and yes, people were sledding down it.  Attempting to walk to the top of a dune was a lot of exercise for we old folks. 






















But... we were not finished.   The White Sands Missile Range was next.  Had to pass through the official base gate, answer the questions, promise to not photograph the base with my $40 dollar snap and shoot camera (base was about a mile+ from us), and all the other security stuff.  Of course, you could just go up the road with a good lens and photograph the whole thing, but... I am not going to give that nice soldier any lip.

I think I dated this guy in HS.

Oh, to have been there. To have seen the blinding light through government supplied smoked glass.  To have protected myself from radiation by hiding in a ditch.  Those were the good old days.   Those rats that they hung by their tails on clothes lines at various distances from ground zero told us a lot about radiation.  So did the native indians who were still there when the bomb went off.  But..we did learn that to protect school age children from a nuclear holocaust, all you have to do is hide under your school desk.

Men and their desire to go fast.

Well, we had to leave New Mexico.   Trinity Site is open to the public 2 days a year.  One of the days was the same week we were there, but I couldn't hang around for 4 more days.  Places to go, people to see. 

We've been through New Mexico a few times and each time it's:

1.  Very high winds.      2.  Enough dirt in the air to clog your filters in a few hours.   3.  Hot.  The government picked a good place for top secret work.  No terrorist would go there.  LOL