There are two roads into Los Alamos when entering from the west - apparently I picked the more complicated of the two.
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| View of Los Alamos from Anderson Overlook area on NM Route 4 |
I drove along NM Route 4 from the west into Los Alamos. Following a GPS will take you onto NM Route 501. I followed the road but at some point noticed the cars in front of and behind me turned off on a side road while I kept going straight, following my GPS to town. The next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a US Department of Energy security checkpoint. I panicked. The guard asked for my ID. I told the guy I was just following my GPS to Los Alamos. He told me I was going the right way but that I wasn't allowed to make any right turns for one mile. Apparently the main road into town is also the main road into the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which allows citizens to drive through but not enter any facilities. The cars ahead of and behind me turned down the back road that goes around everything. The next day when I came back through, I made sure to take the back road to save myself some anxiety.
There is a wealth of information about the town, the Manhattan Project, and the atomic bomb. I have found myself going down many rabbit holes of information. I think it is all extremely interesting and would encourage you to read more about everything as well. I'm only going to give a brief overview.
History
Ancient Pueblo people inhabited the area around the same time as the nearby villages in Bandelier National Monument (read my post about Bandelier here). Homesteaders moved into the region later in the 1800's. The Los Alamos Ranch School was built in the early 1900's. The US bought the school, and in 1943 they turned it into one of the Manhattan Project's top secret laboratories, known as Project Y. The site was picked because it was remote and on a mesa between deep canyons, so it only had one entry point to secure.
This is where they researched, developed, and built the first atomic bomb. This plutonium bomb, known as "the gadget" was shipped south to the Trinity Site in south-central New Mexico, where it was fully assembled and tested. The Trinity Site is only open two days a year, and I was lucky enough to have randomly scheduled my trip during one of these days. (See pictures and read about my visit there in a later blog post).
They also designed the Little Boy, the type of uranium bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. It was the second atomic bomb ever detonated, and it was the first time one was used in war. Fat Man, the same plutonium bomb design as the gadget, was built in Los Alamos and dropped on Nagasaki, the second and last time (for now...) an atomic bomb was used in war.
The town of Los Alamos was built and owned by the government. Only the employees lived there, and it remained a secret until after the bombings of Japan. In the 50's the town became open to the public. The lab continues research, focused on nuclear safety along with pretty much anything and everything science related (and yes, weapons development).
My Visit
I walked around the town along the Los Alamos Downtown Historic Sites Walking Tour, looking at some of the old buildings that were part of the school and later, the lab. The Manhattan Project National Historic Park in Los Alamos is a collaborative partnership between various private landowners, the US DOE, National Park Service, and the county. The walking tour takes you to the sites that encompass the park. The Los Alamos History Museum is located in one of these old buildings. I enjoyed their displays on the Ancient Pueblo people, the school, and the Manhattan Project. The Bradbury Science Museum is operated by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and provides interactive exhibits and artifacts on the Manhattan project along with information about current research. It is essentially a giant PR stunt but a very interesting and educational one that is worth the visit (this is my opinion, but I think it is a common one).
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| A banner in town for the National Historical Park |
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| Sculptures of Dr. Oppenheimer and General Groves, the scientific and military heads of the project |
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| Ashley Pond - this was part of the laboratory complex and is now a park. |
I spent an evening in town and the following afternoon there after visiting nearby Bandelier. Anderson Overlook on NM Route 4 and the mesa above the overlook gives good views of the town and surrounding area. When at the overlook parking area, cross the road (carefully) and follow the trail up to the top of the mesa to inspiration point (this is technically along the Anniversary Trail and not the overlook, but it is easily accessed from the overlook parking area and has better views).
The town is super cute. I loved being there! Everyone was on a bicycle or taking a stroll through downtown. Kids were skateboarding and studying in the park. It was a perfect little town, and I had to fight a strong urge to quit everything, get a job at the National Laboratory (thank you Biology degree), and move there. The town is spread out across a few different mesas with canyons dropping off on all ends. It is gorgeous with trails down into the canyons leading from the different neighborhoods. I stayed in an Airbnb in a suite attached to a family's home in the cutest neighborhood.
The irony that such a lovely, cute, safe town was the epicenter of the beginning of the nuclear age does not escape me. While I understand the importance of this development to the world - especially as someone well versed in science, history, and politics - I can't help but wonder what this world would look like if this technology had never been developed. It would impact medical technology and other scientific advancements, but would that be worth it?
Oh and there are a lot of contaminated areas around the city and its surrounding area from nuclear waste from the lab - it sort of makes the whole area a bit less cute.
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| The view from Anderson Overlook, looking west at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains |
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