Manhattan Project National Historic Site at Los Alamos, NM

So....this is a strange one to take a five-year to, and it is an emotionally heavy one for a nine-year old.   As you probably know this is the birthplace of the atomic bomb and is where the Fatman and Little Boy bombs (that were later dropped during WWII on Nagasaki and Hiroshima respectively) were constructed.

So the Manhattan Project National Historic Site at Los Alamos was established in November of 2015 and was a partnership between a number of agencies that were trying to preserve this history.  When you visit there is a walking tour through the town that takes you to a number of sites ran by a different entities (NPS, historical society, the city, and the Los Alamos laboratories).  Through the various sites there are a number of movies and exhibits that tell the story of the area.  Of course the story is one of people being displaced so that the town could be set up as a secret base.  The main set of buildings that were taken by the government were those belonging to the Los Alamos Ranch School - a lot of history there.

Of course the whole point of converting this area into a secret base was so that the nuclear bomb could be developed.  I am quite a pacifist and my view on the dropping of these bombs is not positive - of course the way history is told is that the dropping of these bombs ended the war - which is a debatable point of view as there were other factors that contributed to the end of the conflict.  Anyhow, this visit took a great deal of contextualization, explanation, and emotional conversation.  Additionally there is the legacy of nuclear weapons on the planet and the nuclear weapons in the U.S.  ...conversations that needed to be had.

Here are some pictures of the Ranch School:

So....quick story, on the way home I asked Sister, "what did you learn?"  She said, "I think there was a war?"  She wasn't quite sure after talking about the war all day....So, yes, she was exposed to some information, but it wasn't exactly a five-year-old friendly day.  Also, as Husband has a better memory for history, I really missed his contribution to the conversations Brother and I had.   So, the take-away is that this is a very important part of U.S. history and it was very educational for Brother and I, but it was also a troubling and difficult visit due to the mass murder perpetrated by BOTH the allies and the axis powers.

Bandalier National Monument, Los Alamos, NM

Hello dear readers - My free time is so limited these days between teaching at the University, homeschooling, and our other projects!  I will be talking more about those soon, but the immediate reason I haven't written is because I spent my free time putting together a memory book with our pictures from the summer.  I made one last year and love it.  I used Shutterfly this time, but I have also used Mixbook and don't really notice a difference between the two.  Going through all of the pictures and trying to narrow them down took some time!  Anyhow, back to documenting our summer travels!

Bandalier National Monument was a trip I made with the kids while husband was working.  This is another park that has limited parking and requires the use of a shuttle.  When you get there the rangers provide an orientation and you can check out the guided tour book and then you can go hiking to see the amazing ruins.  In this park you can climb up into caves which were once used as part of the pueblo and look down over the rest of the compound.

What is amazing here is that the pueblo once was built to include these naturally occurring caves and they served as additional rooms...in this picture you can see the holes that once held the floor beams for the upper stories.

One of my favorite things to see at ruins is the pottery and other artwork that was produced by the ancestral people.  At this site there was a small section of plaster with art that has been protected with a clear cover.  I just imagine how cool this would have looked when the plaster was all intact.  

This was a beautiful place with a really great hike and things to see all along the walk.

Just to recap, we saw Bandalier while were were staying in Santa Fe, NM.  There are a number of wonderful sites within an hour drive - actually too many to see in a week - but we really enjoyed this one!

Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM

In a drastic departure from our "National Parking" we visited a very unique artistic space.  There really are not words to describe this experience as I am sure some of my pictures will highlight - but it was a worthwhile and unique experience.  We were directed to this place by the manager of Pinon RV Park.  I had asked about local places to take the kids - I was actually thinking about a community pool or water park...but when she asked me if I had visited Meow Wolf I had a vague memory of reading about it when I researched area attractions in Santa Fe....later she brought over a brochure and I was sold on a visit!  Funded by George R. R. Martin (author of the Game of Thrones series) and created by an artist cooperative it is an immersive, colorful, trippy alternative reality where you explore space, get lost, find things and lose them again.  There are multiple levels of understanding the "exhibit" and though I spent a great deal of time there I did not try to follow the actual story but rather I got lost in the whimsical and metaphysical.

What are you looking at?  That is totally the question.  It's an alternative dimension full of amazing places, odd characters, unique sounds and sights.

When you first enter you start in a two-story house, but you quickly find that the house is a portal to the hidden realms.  Some of the kids' favorite ways to enter the alternative realm(s) were through the fridge and the dryer.  Here is Sister going down the rabbit hole and a shot from inside the fridge.

This is a place to be experienced, not talk about.  I love sharing my pictures, but really they don't do it justice at all.  I took the kids to Meow Wolf on a day Husband was working, but it was so amazing we went back home, waited for him to get done with work and then the four of us went back so that he could experience it too.  I couldn't imagine trying to tell him about it and it really felt wrong for us to experience it without him!  He was just as blown away as we were - it is a total trip.  In short, if you are in the area - you should totally go.

Pinon RV Park, Santa Fe, NM

I can't believe that I didn't take one picture of Pinon RV Park!  This park met all of our needs and at a good weekly price of $200.  It is located approximately 20 minutes southeast from the center of Santa Fe, so shopping and restaurants are all nearby.  We had full hookups and a spacious site with a nice shade tree.  It appeared that most of the sites were occupied by long-term residents.  There was very little (if any) movement of RVs in and out while we were there.  I'm not sure why I didn't take pictures, except that it felt more like our site in Mesa / a home, not a campground!  At this point in the travels I was also thinking about returning to AZ and might have been getting out of tourist mode!

Verizon service was strong and they offered WiFi, but we didn't need it.  They have community restrooms and showers.  I only entered the restroom once when were were leaving and it was not very clean, but I am not sure if that was the norm since we generally only use our own facilities.

There was a covered community picnic area with a grill and tables and that seemed to be the only other amenity.  This is a straightforward full-hookup place near Sante Fe.  I would certainly stay there again.  The only other thing worth mentioning was that they only take cash or checks!  I forgot about this when we checked in but the manager was very nice and allowed me to pay the next day after I ran to get cash (as I don't even have checks)!  The manager was also very helpful in directing me to attractions in Santa Fe...more on this in the next post!

Pros:

• price
• proximity to Sante Fe
• Full-hooks ups
• WiFi and excellent Verizon service
• no traffic (settled RVs)
• kind & helpful park manager

Con:

• the one time I used the bathroom it was not very clean