We left Aztec in some brisk winds but nice and sunny. Hwy 550 is nearly a direct route to Albuquerque. We turned onto I 25 then East on I 40 toward the small community of Tijeras were our RV park is located.
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| Hwy 550 south from Aztec, NM |
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| Interesting colors. |
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| Rio Grande is not that grand here. |
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| Busy I 40 on a Sunday afternoon. |
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| Our home for a week. |
Monday I wanted to go to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. When I looked outside this morning we had a nice dusting of snow. Thankfully that was all we got so mid-morning I headed into the city to the Museum.
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| This is a very interesting museum. It covers atomic bombs of course and how they shaped history but also how nuclear medicine, power generation and future uses help mankind. |
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| It turns out that Germany and Japan were both working toward a nuclear weapon at the same time as the US. |
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| Scientists from many countries worked on the Manhattan Project which is the development of the first atomic bomb. |
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| They covered the development of the B-52 and it's role in carrying atomic bombs. It was first used in the late 1950's and they expect to use it until 2040 or beyond. |
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| The refueling plane the KC-135 extends the range of the B-52 to round the world capability. |
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| The B-52 has had a few accidents while loaded with nuclear weapons. These two fell from the sky over Spain when a B-52 and KC-135 collided mid-air. The bombs didn't explode and no radiation leaked. |
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| Back to WW II, the B-29 Superfortress was the plane of choice (the only one capable) to deliver the first two atomic bombs to target. |
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| Model of the B-29 |
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| The Trinity site in New Mexico was the location of the first test of a nuclear weapon. |
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| Life size mockup of Little Boy |
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| Life size mockup of Fat Man |
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| Mockup of Gadget. Tested at the Trinity Site. |
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| Mockup of a Trident inter-continental nuclear missile that would launch from a submarine. |
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| Multi-stages of the Trident. |
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| The payload (bomb) would be in the nose cone. |
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| Interesting array of safety and control boxes. Proper codes would need to be entered to make the bomb 'hot'. |
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| Outside they had a variety of planes and missiles and guns that would have been used to deliver a nuclear payload. |
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| Titan ICBM missile |
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| Undercarriage of the B-52 |
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| Tail of the B-52 |
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| B-29 |
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| Fatman beside the B-29. |
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| The Trinity Site tower with Gadget suspended. |
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| Many household products are mildly radioactive by the nature of the components in them. |
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| Advanced medical testing equipment use radioactive elements. |
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| Waste placed in barrels |
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| Waste safely stashed in storage containers. |
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| All that nuclear waste has to go somewhere. There is a test site in the far southeast of New Mexico in an ancient salt band 2500 feet underground. |
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| Accidents do happen. |
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| Next generation power plants are on the drawing board. More efficient and safer than current plants. |
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| Even ships were nuclear powered, and not just Navy ships. |
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| A bit of atomic humor! |
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| They had the periodic table of elements in the tile floor. Very cool. |
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| The clouds still hanging over the Sandia Peak. Blue sky everywhere else. |
A quick stop for a few groceries and fuel and then home.
....and that was Our View From Here!
