My long time readers may remember my trip to California to see Lisa and Harry about a year back. It was soon clear last, that this had to be repeated; the plan for this year had been to include a bit of New Mexico and the area, where Harry used to live before moving back to California.

We kind of decided to follow the some pattern and to get going with New Mexico this time, before then having a quick flight over to Oakland and into California.

So – on the 18th I made it across the pond and after a lengthy transfer in Atlanta into Albuquerque. Lisa and Harry picked me up at the airport and we made the two-hour drive up to Harry’s house in Los Alamos.

This morning – after a non-rushed breakfast – we got started with a bit of history – the history of Los Alamos and (of course) the Manhattan Project – it’s not without reason that Los Alamos calls itself atomic city. Starting point was in the excellent Bradbury Science Museum, giving a complete wrap-up around the Manhattan Project, covering the full historic background leading to the project and thus to the development of the atomic bomb (including full scale models of Little Boy and Fat Man) and its usage, as well as influence during the cold war. The museum also covered the development of other countries, as well as an extensive section on in-parallel technological achievements.

From the museum we continued to the visitor center of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park just across the street. Here the focus is less on science and more on history – i.e. the history of Los Alamos, how it came into existence – and the buildings left from those times – – or to put it into the ranger’s words: “You see the parking lot over there? – There used to be the building, in which the first atomic bombs have been assembled.” – history close enough to touch …

In the afternoon we made a bigger step back in history – in nearby Bandelier National Monument. The park is features perfect hiking ground – complete with mesas and canyons – and also the remains of homes of the ancestral puebloans (dating back to anywhere between the 12th and the 16th century).

We kicked it of at the main parking lot and made it to the park along the Frey trail – first on top of a mesa (so relatively flat), then into the main canyon to merge with the main loop trail for a glimpse of the old settlement. We made it all the way up to Alcove House, where we returned to make it to the visitor center and the shuttle bus to get back to the parking lot.

Once back into the car, we drove up into the Valles Caldera National Preserve for a quick glance of the landscape inside the caldera of this super-volcano. From here it was back to Los Alamos – well in time for dinner.