Visit Los Alamos

When people think of visiting New Mexico, the cities of Santa Fe, Taos, and Albuquerque quickly come to mind, usually in that order. But the most historically significant place in New Mexico is a little known town that permanently changed the world.

Los Alamos is the birthplace of the atomic bomb. For years it was a closed city; a large military installation cloaked in secrecy. The major employer is still the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Groundbreaking physics continues, but so does cutting edge research in biology, astrophysics, and genetics. It's no longer all about bombs, but there are still plenty of secrets.

Outside of Los Alamos, people may try to discourage you from visiting by telling you the water is radioactive or the people are crazed warmongers. The secret is – that’s not true.

The Pajarito Plateau

The city sits on five finger-mesas of the Pajarito Plateau, formed during the last eruption of the Jemez Volcano, 1.1 million years ago. To the east is the lush valley of the Rio Grande River. Surrounding the city is national forest land, Bandelier National Monument, and tribal lands belonging to San Ildefonso Pueblo. Thanks to the high altitude, summers are pleasant with cooling afternoon thunderstorms, and the area is populated with ponderosa forests full of wild flowers and boletus mushrooms. Consequently, Los Alamos is the mountain biking capital of New Mexico, with hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, many of which become cross-country ski trails in the winter.

Ashley Pond and Fuller Lodge

Most of us like to travel to learn about the world. If you have an interest in science and history, then Los Alamos should definitely be in your travel plans. The interesting sites are centrally located so seeing the little city on foot is fun and easy. Spring-fed Ashley Pond is the center of town. The original laboratory was located around the pond but it has transformed into a lovely park with commemorative plaques. The Laboratory is now located on the other side of a deep canyon.

The Bradbury Science Museum is filled with facts on the development of the atomic bomb, and the subsequent impact on human history. The library, designed by famed architect Anton Predock, is excellent and a cool stop on a hot summer day. A local non-profit, the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) provides hands-on programs for adults and children year round. Pick up a walking tour map of the city at the Historical Museum and stroll through history. The museum is next to famous Fuller Lodge, home of the original boy’s school, taken over by Dr. Oppenheimer when he conceived of a secret location to develop the bomb.

Beautiful scenery nearby,
this is the Capilla de la
Familia Sagrada at the base of
Black Mesa.

The bright yellow bus zipping around town is a tour of the city and the labs. Georgia Strickfadden is an excellent guide with an encyclopedic mind for history. Tickets can be purchased at the Otowi Bookstore next to the Bradbury Museum. Bandelier National Monument, an interesting pre-historic town occupied by Pueblo people was abandoned 800 years ago. It is accessible only by taking free buses leaving nearby White Rock at regular intervals. In Los Alamos, a car isn’t essential. On weekdays, buses run frequently around town including White Rock, and they’re free.

The best value for the night is the North Road B&B. For the price of a regular hotel room, you’ll get a suite with a kitchen, plus a cooked breakfast. The restaurant scene contains a number of international cuisines as well as local fare; buffalo burgers, New Mexican enchiladas with red or green chile (say “Christmas” if you want both), sopaipillas, and chiles rellenos. And for music all summer long, the local businesses sponsor the Gordon Concerts on Friday evenings, a giant free street-party with excellent bands (like the Red Elvises) from around the country.

New Mexico Fire Lessons

Dorothy Hoard

In Los Alamos, New Mexico, there is an organization - The Pajarito Environmental Education Center, known widely as PEEC. It was started in earnest after the horrendous Cerro Grande Fire in 2000 which burned more than 400 homes and put 1400 people in search of a new place to live. At that time, the fire was the largest in New Mexico history, but just last summer in 2011, another fire blew up in the Jemez mountains and swept towards Los Alamos at a fast pace, causing the town to be evacuated. Fortunately, much was learned after the 2000 fire. Back fires were set along major roads which were only possible because of an evening shift in the wind direction. Those back fires prevented the big fire from entering the town. New growth during the intervening eleven years went up in flames. That fire was the largest in New Mexico history, burning approximately twice as much land as the Cerro Grande.

This summer, 2012, a fire started in the Gila Wilderness in southern New Mexico and it is the largest in history, burning about four times the land area of the Cerro Grande.

This past Saturday, I went on a PEEC sponsored hike to see American Springs with naturalist Dorothy Hoard, author and guide extraordinaire. Along the way we could see trees that survived the Cerro Grande standing alone among the grasses. Below them were aspens that had regrown and were about eight feet tall. Last summer they burned again. Now tiny little aspens are a foot tall, growing from the ancient roots of their family, and fed by seeps like American Spring.

Dorothy reflected in the waters of American Spring

The actual spring has a concrete containment built around it, to hold the water in for a while before it seeps on down the hill. The containment was built sometime in the 1930's when a logging company needed water for its operations. Now there is about six inches of water and while it's not accessible to most animals, the larger grazers can put their heads through the hole for a drink. Other small seep puddles are open for the racoons, skunks, and squirrels.

Dorothy knows almost every plant; which are indigenous and which are invasive. She knows the geology of the entire region, and is an encyclopedia of information.

PEEC runs walks, tours, summer camps, and classes for adults and children all year round. Recently the county council agreed to spend four million on a new building to house the program. Up till now, PEEC has been run with donations of money and time, and was housed in an old elementary school building. Having a new expanded facility, which will include a planetarium, will allow PEEC to offer many more adventures in the quest for knowledge.

PEEC's website is here: http://www.pajaritoeec.org/

And of course, continued donations are gladly accepted, volunteers are welcomed.

Some dead trees from Cerro Grande (the sticks) and
some from last years fire (with branches still).

New growth around
last years burned dead aspens.

Portions of forest that survived two devastating fires.

A few Ponderosas that escaped
both fires, and are now "Mother"
trees for the forest.