Trinity Site

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Yesterday I made my second trip to Trinity site in New Mexico. The site of the first atomic bomb explosion is located on the White Sands Missile Range and is open to the public only on one day in April and one in October. Call 800-826-0294 for information regarding access.
All of the pictures are from my Flickr.com photo stream.


This simple memorial marks ground zero for the first atomic explosion.

I started my day at 2:30 in the morning, took a quick shower, grabbed my Nikons D90 and D5000 and started out for Tularosa, New Mexico. The convoy for the trip to Trinity Site formed up at the Tularosa High School's athletic field.

We arrived at a large parking lot that also had a fair amount of porta potties and also some vendors for food, souvenirs and so on. All of this is very temporary and very primitive. Remember, it's for one day only.
From the parking area to ground zero is a 1/4 mile walk. A golf cart is provided to give rides to those not able to make the walk.
Click on the images for a larger view.

Just before you enter ground zero you will see this terrifying sign

The government has done a massive job of clearing out all traces of Trinitite (the molten sand turned to glass from the explosion) but there are still quite a few small pebbles of it to be found. Just don't get caught picking it up, else some bureaucrap will spank your naked butt and toss you in the gulag.

Yeah, that sign sure scared people into compliance.

A small amount of trinitite

I followed this guy thinking "Gosh that's a great hairstyle" when he jumped on the flatbed trailer hauling that fake a-bomb and did his pose for his friends who were videotaping him.

About two miles from ground zero is the now completely restored McDonald Ranch house.

There is not a whole lot to see. The interior is empty except for wall-to-wall tourists. Even if you wanted to, there is no way to get a picture of the room where the plutonium was assembled. I did get a picture of another room that I found empty at that time, so I blocked the entrance with my ample butt and took a few pictures.

There is not a whole lot to see  of Trinity Site nor the McDonald ranch house because the Manhatten project was filled with secrecy and paronoia during the time of a horrible war. Readers can google this subject further, there are plenty of books available on the entire topic of the Manhatten project.

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