Los Alamos, New Mexico

[bwray]

The Red and Blue Dot Trail threads I generated previously seem to kinda hang there without some information about the region in general. I put out one aerial photo of the area, Los Alamos, NM and decided to look for more and better photos. Turns out there's quite a bit available. Here's a small sampling.

First, the original westward looking shot of the canyons, mesas and mountains was spoiled a bit by the huge "Hollywood"-like signs that were scattered around. Here's a larger version without the signs. This shot is looking West and slightly South.

Here's another shot of the same area in winter but looking West and slightly North.

This is the main Tech Area at the Laboratory. The rest of the Laboratory is spread over 26 square miles of mostly forested land to the South of the townsite.

Here's the 30 mile wide Valle Grande, the volcanic caldera responsible for the distinctive geology of the region.

The Rio Grande Gorge is located North of Los Alamos and just South of Taos.

Here's another shot of the Rio Grande Gorge.

It's a real painters paradise out here. My wife never runs out of subjects.

Cheers,

 

[munk]

I love the desert, Bwray.






munk

 

[Yvsa]

Never mind.

 

[Ad Astra]

Don't hike anywhere radioactive... Is it true The Duke got exposed to radiation while filming some western movie in the deserts out there?

Of course a piece of that Alamagordo fused glass silicate would be a neat keepsake, if it was "cool".



Mike

 

[bwray]

I love the desert, Bwray.

munk

"The wind will not stop. Gusts of sand swirl before me, stinging my face. But there is still too much to see and mavel at, the world very much alive in the bright light and wind, exultant with the fever of spring, the delight of morning. Strolling on, it seems to me that the strangeness and wonder of existence are emphasized here, in the desert, by the comparative sparsity of the flora and fauna: life not crowded upon life as in other places but scattered abroad in spareness and simplicity, with a generous gift of space for each herb and bush and tree, each stem of grass, so that the living organism stands out bold and brave and vivid against the lifeless sand and barren rock. The extreme clarity of the desert light is equaled by the extreme individuation of desert life forms. Love flowers best in openness and freedom."

From Desert Solitaire. Edward Abbey understood.

 

[bwray]

Don't hike anywhere radioactive... Is it true The Duke got exposed to radiation while filming some western movie in the deserts out there?

Of course a piece of that Alamagordo fused glass silicate would be a neat keepsake, if it was "cool".

Mike

Not that I'm aware of on the Duke. There are areas of Lab property that you have to stay out of, but more because of undetonated high explosives than radioactivity. I think Alamagordo is cool now. Howard Wallace would know. I recall a photo of him standing at ground zero and he seems okay so far.

 

[bwray]

Beautiful country and the ndns never need run out of Sweat Rocks out there. We used to drive near Raton to pick up lava rocks for our Lodge but discovered that our Okie sand rocks work just as good if chosen properly although they don't last as long.
But like NM there isn't any shortage of rocks here.

Hey Yvsa. Is a sweat lodge similar in effect to a wet sauna?

 

[Yvsa]

Never mind.

 

[Howard Wallace]

Of course a piece of that Alamagordo fused glass silicate would be a neat keepsake, if it was "cool".

I have a piece of green fused sand from the Trinity site. It's called Trinitite. I counted it in the lab a number of years ago and it was nothing to worry about then. It only gets safer with time. It's around the house here somewhere, but I'm not sure just where. Here's a little blurb from the Oak Ridge Museum. Most of the Trinitite has been removed from the site itself, but a considerable amount got into the hands of rock collectors prior to the government scraping it up and making it illegal to remove from the site.

It's about 80 miles from Alamogordo to the Trinity site. You will not find any fused glass from atomic detonations in Alamogordo itself, unless someone brought it over there.

I remember the distance because I was driving through the barren desert from Trinity a few years ago. I was doing about 80 and there was another guy right behind me doing the same when we crested a hill and saw the waiting cop. He busted us both in the middle of the friggin' desert north of Alamogordo.

P.S. Mike, e-mail me your address. I might be able to come up with a piece of trinitite for you.

 

[Kevin the grey]

Those first two pictures are beautiful and forbidding at the same time .
I,ve enjoyed your pictorials on the trails you take . The only trail I take is the one at the archery range . It is in woodlands recovering from being a landfill for a cement company . There is a river that is recovering as well . Its called the turtle river . I have only seen two turtles in it . What biguns they were . I would say 16 by 20 inches with a head the size of a small mans fist . You,ve given me a taste to get back out there again . It is nothing compared to the views you have . The air is a little fresher there which is always nice . Your photos have an eery quality to them . I think at least one must have been taken near dawn or dusk . I find that gives them an otherworldly feel .

 

[Howard Wallace]

Your photos have an eery quality to them . I think at least one must have been taken near dawn or dusk . I find that gives them an otherworldly feel .

Kevin, you're not the first to experience such feelings. New Mexico is often called the "Land of Enchantment" in the tourist literature.

 

[munk]

The Conquerer-
Western movie associated with John Wayne's and entire cast being exposed to radiation. Filmed about 100 miles away from nuclear detonation sites in Nevada.

Most everyone on the cast of that film developed cancer, though they also all smoked.


munk

 

[Kevin the grey]

The Conquerer-
Western movie associated with John Wayne's and entire cast being exposed to radiation. Filmed about 100 miles away from nuclear detonation sites in Nevada.

Most everyone on the cast of that film developed cancer, though they also all smoked.
munk

I,m quite the fan and I never heard of that movie . John did smoke like he thought it was a cure for cancer . It was painful to see him in his last couple of flicks recovering breath between lines because he was so short winded .
I always liked his fight scenes and I remember a couple of wrist throws he did that just forced the opponent to flip or come away with a broken wrist .
I,ll have to scare that movie up . Thanks Munk .

 

[munk]

It also starred a famous Mexican film star...naturally this munk with his poor memory cannot recall- but he was in that Wonderful film where Wayne and two other men attempt to get a baby out of the desert to safety.


edit- come to think of it- maybe the Conquerer is the horrible film about Ghengis Khan- ah heck- what do I know?


munk

 

[bwray]

It also starred a famous Mexican film star...naturally this munk with his poor memory cannot recall- but he was in that Wonderful film where Wayne and two other men attempt to get a baby out of the desert to safety.
munk

No mention of the Duke is complete without citing "The Searchers", one of Waynes best IMHO. Unfortunately, cinematic treatment of indians, as was typical of the period, is so bad that it always has me cringing and squirming in my seat. That said, Wayne carrys himself well in the role and contributes to the movies eventual recognition as a classic western.

We had to wait for Wes Studi to strengthen the Native American presence in American films. His depictions of Magua in "Last of the Mohicans" and the Pawnee war chief in "Dances With Wolves" were simply awesome. No other word sufices.

 

[Kevin the grey]

Munk You bring back great memories . Isn,t that the one where they give the baby milk from a glove finger ?

The " Searchers was one of Johns best and a true change in direction for him . Wasn,t it a young Natalie Wood he was searching for ? While he played a hard lmplaccable man in "Red River" it was the "Searchers" that struck me the hardest . Even though some of his "Oaters" were not the best it was not his fault that he needed to pay the bills . I just considered them on the edge of being spoofs and moved on from there . While it was often put forth that he was an actor not a cowboy his cool under fire nature always impressed me .

B:T:W: BWRAY ? We are lucky to have A"P"T"N" where I live . Aboriginal peoples television network . While there are rather ordinairy dramas on it there are many informative shows . I learned more just recently of The Metis fight to be recognized as a people and to have their language declared an official language . Right now they are having an " Adam Beach movie week which has its good points and bad .While it wasn,t the lead role "The Rez" series and "Dance me outside " the movie are neat to watch .

 

[Tohatchi NM]

I wanna go home!!!!!


Nice pics!

 

[bwray]

Those first two pictures are beautiful and forbidding at the same time .
I think at least one must have been taken near dawn or dusk . I find that gives them an otherworldly feel .

The second aerial photo looks like it was taken near dusk. It is erie. There's an interesting lighting effect we have out here when fresh fallen snow is illuminated by a full moon. There's not a lot of artificial light or traffic in most of Northern New Mexico, and moonlight is amplified by the thin, clear air as the sun is during the day. So as you're driving through unpopulated areas you can see the terrain very clearly, but there's a restfullness to it that is not there in the day. You can get out of your car and walk unaided by a flashlight without fear of tripping or running into something. But it's very cold, so you return to the car before long and drive on home feeling energized and refreshed.

 

[Yvsa]

Never mind.

 

[bwray]

One year when Barbie and I took the old Ford F150 to Raton to gather up a load of Sweat Rocks we caught the weather just at the right time.:thumbup:
The weekend before it had come a blizzard and there was heavy and deep snow drifts from western Oklahoma all the way into NM!!!! And the farther we went the worse it was!!!!
When we left Raton we took a different route than what we normally did and fortunately we didn't meet with any trouble.
I swear there were snow drifts in some of the arroyos that were 12 feet deep or deeper!!!!
The top of one hill/mesa was completely covered with snow about a foot deep and the air was so clear that you could see way across the state line into Colorado!!!! We were very fortunate that there wasn't quite as much snow at Capullin(sp?) and we were able to pick up some nice Rocks, enough for a good truckload, about 250 good sized Rocks. The old Ford didn't know what was happening.
Oh yeah the wind was so strong that weekend that I could see past the weatherstripping around the truck's door jams!!!!
And we picked the right weekend because the very next one we had severe weather all across the plains.
Many times the Powers that Be just smile on us ainnit.:thumbup:

The concept of a sweat lodge, with its spiritual and phyiscal cleansing properties, is very interesting to me. I bookmarked several sites that seem to cover all aspects of the experience, from construction to use and shared participation. Look forward to browsing through them later this evening. It's great that in modern times you are still able to experience and benefit from what your forfathers did many centuries ago. Our modern culture needs more of this sort of activitiy.