Sunday, March 9, 2008

A New Generation Views Los Alamos


Whenever guests arrive for a prolonged stay, they usually have certain attractions on their list of places to see. One of my least favorites is Los Alamos. As a child of the atomic age who remembers her dad bringing home an 8mm reel of the bombing of Hiroshima, I still have that horror implanted in my psyche. For those who were born after the end of WWII or for those who never saw the news clips of the human and property devastation visited upon Japan, Los Alamos is merely a tourist attraction on New Mexico’s Pajarito Plateau.

Recently our daughter, son-in-law, and teenage grandson wanted to drive up through the Jemez Mountains to Los Alamos. We agreed to mount the excursion but included some other, gentler sites such as Valle Caldera National Preserve, Jemez Pueblo, and the tiny city of Jemez Springs. For our grandson, it was to be a history lesson wrapped up as an outing.

For travelers unfamiliar with Los Alamos, it is a city unlike any other in New Mexico, perhaps in the U.S. First, the cultural mix, so obvious in the rest of the state, is missing. Instead of Anglos, Hispanics and Native Americans, you find an international amalgam of highly educated nuclear physicists, chemists, and other branches of science. Los Alamos schools always come out on top in state ratings, and the per capita income is also highest.

In 1917 in what is now Los Alamos, a wealthy Detroit businessman named Ashley Pond purchased the Harold H. Brook homestead. His dream was to create a school dedicated to transforming sheltered boys from wealthy families into robust scholars. By 1918 his vision was a reality in the Los Alamos Ranch School.

During the dark days of World War II, the U.S. government embarked on the Manhattan Project, a top secret venture to tame the power of the atom. They had five considerations for the location of their lab: available housing for 30 scientists, land owned by the government or easily acquired in secrecy, and area large and uninhabited enough to permit safe separation of experimental sites, easy control of access for security, and sufficient cleared land so new building could be started immediately.

The Los Alamos Ranch School was selected because J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of scientific research, knew about the academy. His family summer home was in the mountains at the headwaters of the Pecos River, and as a boy he’d ridden over the mesas of the Pajarito Plateau on pack trips.

After the detonation of bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered and World War II ended, but the work at the labs has gone on with half the effort devoted to the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Detailing the history of the labs and the city, the Bradbury Science Museum has 8,500 feet of exhibit space devoted to interpreting the role of the laboratory to the lay public. To envisage an authentic picture of the time period, no one should miss the 20-minute video, The Town That Never Was.

Located next to the Bradbury, Otowi Station Science Museum Shop & Bookstore has the best selection of books on Los Alamos, the region, and New Mexico in general. In addition, they stock tee shirts, educational toys, stuffed animals, etc. Of course our grandson had to have an atomic bomb tee to impress his buddies back in New Jersey. Maybe I should dig out that old film clip.

The Los Alamos Historical Museum, housed in the former Ranch School infirmary, is a personal favorite. Here, more than anywhere else, you get an idea of the flow of time and events. Exhibits deal with area geology and prehistory, homesteading, the Ranch School, and the Manhattan Project. A small bookstore is in one wing of the building.

Los Alamos has two restaurants of note, The Blue Window Bistro for fine dining, and The Hill for solid diner food. As we pulled into the Hill parking lot, we noticed a great many customers leaving with Styrofoam containers. This should have told us something. The portions are huge! My chicken fried chicken with mashed and glazed carrots would have fed three normal hungers. Their special, banana cream pie, almost defies description. We shared three pieces among five people, and even our grandson with his teenage appetite couldn’t finish his portion. We left Los Alamos totally surfeited with food, returning to Albuquerque via the highways rather than the byways.


The Bradbury Science Museum, Central Avenue and 15th St, Los Alamos, 87544. (505) 667-4444. www.lanl.gov/museum

The Hill Diner, 1315 Trinity, Los Alamos, 87544. (505) 662-9745. http://www.hilldiner.com/

Los Alamos Historical Museum, 1921 Juniper Street, Los Alamos, 87544. (505) 662-4493. http://www.losalamoshistory.org/

Monday, March 3, 2008

Albuquerque Aquarium & Rio Grande Botanical Gardens













Spring was definitely showing her slip on a recent visit to Albuquerque’s Botanical Park. Delicate snowdrops dipped their heads to the breeze, and saffron and purple crocuses showed their true colors.

Although it was very early for garden tours, children of all ages were out enjoying the early March warmth. Toddlers staggered through the Children’s Fantasy Garden, whizzed down the tree trunk slide, watched the G-scale model railroad threading its route through miniature landscapes, and in general attempted escape from parental control. Ducks and geese made a noisy confusion at pond edge. Older couples walked arm and arm, checking out plant varieties and wondering when the flowering trees would pop.

Activity at the Heritage Farm was just beginning. A lazy Jersey heifer and a couple of somnolent sheep stretched out in the weak sun. The vegetable garden had been plowed, and the vineyard looked ready to leaf out. A single white Peking duck nibbled new green shoots, and in the chicken coop a few hens tentatively tested the weather. Lazy pigs, too exhausted to move from the barnyard door, made small moan.

In addition to the Gardens, the Farm and the Japanese garden (which we shall cover in another visit), the Park is the site of Albuquerque’s Aquarium. Don’t expect another Atlanta extravaganza. The floor plan is considerably more modest, but it takes visitors on a journey down the Rio Grande from Albuquerque to the river’s mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. Special highlights include an eel tunnel, luminous jellies, and a 285,000 gallon ocean tank where sharks swim alongside reef fish, sea turtles, and open ocean species. On the day of our visit we saw several new-born black tip shark pups.

A perfect end to our visit was lunch at the Shark Reef Café with its multiple aquarium windows and broad wall backing on the Aquarium’s shark tank. Children love this place, and it was packed with kids, parents, and grandparents, all taking in the constantly moving panorama swimming by. We found the food excellent, well above the usual burgers and fries. My Shark Reef Breakfast plate was a mélange of home fries, sausage, bacon and ham topped with cheese, chile and an egg. The half serving ordered was enough for two! My husband’s guacamole burger was tasty, well presented, and served with a crisp green salad. Breakfast is served all day.

Those with shorter time frames can view much of the Biopark, which includes the Zoo, by hopping aboard the narrow guage ¾ scale Thunderbird Express which travels between the Zoo and Aquarium/Botanic Garden with a stop at Tingley Beach. The Biopark is handicap accessible, and both stroller rentals and wheelchairs are available.

Albuquerque Biopark
2601 Central Ave. NW
Albuquerque 87104
(505) 848-6200
Hours: Monday through Sunday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM; Saturday & Sunday (June-August only) 9:00 AM through 6:00 PM
http://www.biopark@cabq.gov/

The Reef Café, (505) 646-7182
Hours: 9:00 AM to 6 PM Saturday and Sunday in summer: 9:00 to 5:00 rest of the year.
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