A ride to the Trinity Atomic Bomb Test Site - New Mexico

[Invisigoth]

If Los Alamos, New Mexico is the birthplace of the bomb, then the Trinity Test Site is the delivery room.

On July 16th, 1945, "The Gadget" was exploded in a remote part of New Mexico. This test was necessary due to the complexity of Fat Man and its imploding sphere. They did not need to test Little Boy. Just a few weeks later Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

The Trinity Test Site is now part of the White Sands Missile Range, and is only open two days per year. This past Saturday, April 1st, was one of those days.

The first picture is of the site a few days after the test. The ring in the lower right of the picture is the result of a previous 100 ton TNT calibration explosion. The second is how it looks today.

[Invisigoth]

I slabbed it down I-25 in the rain for 100 miles south of Albuquerque and turned east on US-380 at San Antonio, NM. Conrad Hilton (grandfather or great grandfather of Paris Hilton) built his first hotel in San Antonio, NM. But that is a story for another day. Then headed South on State Road 525 to the Stallion Gate. This is one of the entry points to the Missile Range.

As with many tourist attractions in New Mexico, you seem to take your life into your own hands when you visit.

[Invisigoth]

After a 40 mile drive inside the Missile Range, I arrive at the Trinity Site. I finally got around to reading the rules that I was given at the Stallion Gate. Hmmm - Stay below 40 mph - oops. Motorcyclists must wear an orange vest - oops. Don't take any unauthorized pictures - oops and oops some more. Oh well, at least I stayed on the paved roads.

The first thing you see is Jumbo. If the gadget failed to detonate, the plutonium sphere would have been scattered all over the place. They planned to explode the bomb inside this giant jug. If the gadget worked, Jumbo would be vaporized. But their confidence in the bomb design made using Jumbo unneccesary. Later in life - Jumbo was used to house large explosions.

Some shots of Jumbo then and now.

[Invisigoth]

The gadget was placed on a 100 ft tower and detonated. The tower vaporized and the only thing left was a small piece of the foundation for one of the legs.

General Groves and Robert Oppenheimer brought lots of people to see the bit-o-foundation and I guess they were all mightily impressed. I don't know about you, but it just looks like a hunk of concrete and rebar left by some construction workers.

[Invisigoth]

The plutonium core was assembled in the master bedroom of the (recently liberated) McDonald Ranch House. That must have been one heck of a scary thing to do. This house is still standing, and is just a few miles away.

[Invisigoth]

No expense has been spared in this operation.

[Invisigoth]

Back at ground zero - they have an oblisk to denote the occasion. They also have a building housing the last of the trinitite - sand melted into glass. You can't see the trinitite anymore, the sand blew in and covered it up. Maybe its just me, but I think they could have gotten a broom out and cleaned it off a little for us.

[Invisigoth]

On the way home, I passed by some intersting old lava flows.

[Invisigoth]

And what would a trip be without a nice picture of blooming flowers - New Mexico style

[G8ESCAP]

Nice Jim. A lot of the history that is often overlooked. Keep those desert photos coming. I'll soon be posting many myself!