- Joined
- Nov 16, 2013
- Messages
- 1,659
Fellow Beckerheads,
Some of you have noticed my comments (perhaps whining) in the Snark about working long hours... Despite working 31.5 hours of overtime last week (and only getting paid for 29 of them), I got some time off yesterday morning and only had to work an hour and half in the afternoon. I thought I'd share some photos for your enjoyment.
For those who suggested that wearing clothes might keep the dust and sand out of my crevices...
It was nice to see the sun setting on activities for the first phase.
I did have some time this weekend to cook up some leftover steak with potatoes and onions. The BK16 is not bad, but I'm missing the BK5 that I left at home. Anything is better than the junk Tramontina knives the hotel supplies in the kitchen.
So, yesterday we had a small guided tour that was coordinated by one member of the team. One of the long time employees here at White Sands was able to give us a tour of some of the area.
First stop was the Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was tested. Outside the fenced area is a large hunk of scrap metal called "Jumbo". The Manhattan Project scientists originally intended to set off the bomb inside Jumbo in case the standard explosive trigger went off, but the plutonium didn't go off. They didn't want all that plutonium blown into the air if this happened. They wound up not using it as confidence that the atomic bomb would actually work. The Army did set off eight 500 pound bombs in it that blew the ends off. It was originally a cylinder made from 6" steel plate with another 9" of steel banding. The remains are just the 6" plate.
Ready to head into the fenced in area.
This is a view from the back side of the fenced area.
Supposedly the radioactivity is down to a level that is no more dangerous than some naturally occurring areas of the planet. There is more radiation in higher elevations (like Denver, etc)...
They mark the actual spot of the detonation with an obelisk made from volcanic basalt from the area.
To simulate an air burst, the bomb was suspended from a concrete tower reinforced with 3" rebar. I've never seen rebar that thick before...the BK14 is next to what is left of one piece. The remains of the tower were only a couple feet above ground; everything else was vaporized. Since 1945, the crater has slowly filled with sand and dirt, and is only about a foot deep now.
To calibrate the instrumentation before the actual atomic blast, they tested the explosion of 100 tons of dynamite. One of the photos along the back fence is of the soldiers stacking the dynamite-4,000 boxes at 50 pounds each. Not a job I'd want!
We found a few pieces of trinitite, which is a greenish glass made by the heat and pressure of the atomic bomb explosion. The green color comes from copper in the sand and rock. It is against federal law to keep any, so we took photos and released the rocks back into the wild.
We checked out the McDonald-Schmidt ranch house that was used as the headquarters for the on-site work. The family was evacuated as part of the government acquisition of the test range. It was closed for renovation, but they apparently made a primitive "clean room" in the former master bedroom. This was about 2 miles from the detonation site.
We also stopped on the way back at a small saline spring that runs year around. It is home to a protected (or some other official term) species of pupfish only found on WSMR. I saw one, but no good picture with a cell phone camera. They were pretty under-whelming, and looked like any other small fish. I briefly thought about tasting the water to see how salty it was, but the guide suggested I only do that if I wanted to vigorously evacuate my bowels later that day. I passed on that experience...
The final stop was the basalt from lava flows near the pupfish. This was about 20 miles or so from the Trinity Site. I declined to explore and just took a photo, since I was stationed in Hawaii before and familiar with how easily the stuff will cut you up if you lose your footing.
These went along for the ride. The BK14 under my polo, BK16 in the rucksack, and Benchmade Ascent and ESEE Zancudo in opposite pockets. I had loaned the ESEE to one of the guys for a few days and he returned it with the paracord lanyard.
Starting tomorrow, it's 12 strait days of work, but I'll pop in when I can.
Some of you have noticed my comments (perhaps whining) in the Snark about working long hours... Despite working 31.5 hours of overtime last week (and only getting paid for 29 of them), I got some time off yesterday morning and only had to work an hour and half in the afternoon. I thought I'd share some photos for your enjoyment.
For those who suggested that wearing clothes might keep the dust and sand out of my crevices...
It was nice to see the sun setting on activities for the first phase.
I did have some time this weekend to cook up some leftover steak with potatoes and onions. The BK16 is not bad, but I'm missing the BK5 that I left at home. Anything is better than the junk Tramontina knives the hotel supplies in the kitchen.
So, yesterday we had a small guided tour that was coordinated by one member of the team. One of the long time employees here at White Sands was able to give us a tour of some of the area.
First stop was the Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was tested. Outside the fenced area is a large hunk of scrap metal called "Jumbo". The Manhattan Project scientists originally intended to set off the bomb inside Jumbo in case the standard explosive trigger went off, but the plutonium didn't go off. They didn't want all that plutonium blown into the air if this happened. They wound up not using it as confidence that the atomic bomb would actually work. The Army did set off eight 500 pound bombs in it that blew the ends off. It was originally a cylinder made from 6" steel plate with another 9" of steel banding. The remains are just the 6" plate.
Ready to head into the fenced in area.
This is a view from the back side of the fenced area.
Supposedly the radioactivity is down to a level that is no more dangerous than some naturally occurring areas of the planet. There is more radiation in higher elevations (like Denver, etc)...
They mark the actual spot of the detonation with an obelisk made from volcanic basalt from the area.
To simulate an air burst, the bomb was suspended from a concrete tower reinforced with 3" rebar. I've never seen rebar that thick before...the BK14 is next to what is left of one piece. The remains of the tower were only a couple feet above ground; everything else was vaporized. Since 1945, the crater has slowly filled with sand and dirt, and is only about a foot deep now.
To calibrate the instrumentation before the actual atomic blast, they tested the explosion of 100 tons of dynamite. One of the photos along the back fence is of the soldiers stacking the dynamite-4,000 boxes at 50 pounds each. Not a job I'd want!
We found a few pieces of trinitite, which is a greenish glass made by the heat and pressure of the atomic bomb explosion. The green color comes from copper in the sand and rock. It is against federal law to keep any, so we took photos and released the rocks back into the wild.
We checked out the McDonald-Schmidt ranch house that was used as the headquarters for the on-site work. The family was evacuated as part of the government acquisition of the test range. It was closed for renovation, but they apparently made a primitive "clean room" in the former master bedroom. This was about 2 miles from the detonation site.
We also stopped on the way back at a small saline spring that runs year around. It is home to a protected (or some other official term) species of pupfish only found on WSMR. I saw one, but no good picture with a cell phone camera. They were pretty under-whelming, and looked like any other small fish. I briefly thought about tasting the water to see how salty it was, but the guide suggested I only do that if I wanted to vigorously evacuate my bowels later that day. I passed on that experience...
The final stop was the basalt from lava flows near the pupfish. This was about 20 miles or so from the Trinity Site. I declined to explore and just took a photo, since I was stationed in Hawaii before and familiar with how easily the stuff will cut you up if you lose your footing.
These went along for the ride. The BK14 under my polo, BK16 in the rucksack, and Benchmade Ascent and ESEE Zancudo in opposite pockets. I had loaned the ESEE to one of the guys for a few days and he returned it with the paracord lanyard.
Starting tomorrow, it's 12 strait days of work, but I'll pop in when I can.
