Santa Fe - Part 2: Los Alamos

As part of our preparation for Santa Fe, Mark and I read the following book: 

109 East Palace - a story about Robert Oppenheimer and the nuclear bomb project at Los Alamos.

Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim took us to visit Los Alamos... and what was a surprise to me (which is really sad to admit to) I believed it was going to be a deserted town. (Kind of like the Japanese internment camps in Delta - don't bother going... There are only foundations to look at.) Much to my surprise, Los Alamos is still an active lab and the little community is still going strong. They had a museum which was great to go to for the sole fact that they had life-sized statues of Oppie and General Groves. After reading about them, seeing them in even in plaster form really made them that much more real to both Mark and I.

This was taken on the drive up. It's a beautiful sight, but at the same time, it is amazing to me to think about what it would have taken to go up the mountain in the 1940s without the convenience of modern engines and roads. Not to mention how those scientists must have felt to get to Lamy, NM and see the "nothingness" of the desert landscape in stark contrast to the California and New England landscapes they came from. 

There are a few events that took place in Santa Fe, and we had the chance to visit them as well. Here is the actual office at 109 East Palace - the front office for the project. Obviously, the office no longer exists, but it was so fun to be there!

And lastly, La Fonda - This is where Oppenheimber enlisted the help of Dorothy McKibben (a Kansas City native - woohoo!!) and the story story begins. History coming to life. I loved it!

Santa Fe - Part 1

At the end of September, Mark and I were very lucky to spend the weekend in Santa Fe visiting with his Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim. It was a fantastic trip because it had everything you could hope for - wonderful company, beautiful sights, relaxing moments, memorable events.

I had never been to Santa Fe (or any part of New Mexico). Therefore, my first impression of Santa Fe was "Oh wow! It's like being in Utah!" followed later by "Oh my goodness - it is SO DRY out here!" Santa Fe is definitely one of those towns with personality and it was fun to be there. Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim showed us the town and treated us to some great places (the Bishops Lodge and Pink Adobe) and we loved spending each afternoon chatting with them on their veranda as the sun set overlooking Santa Fe.

Santa Fe is known for their Pueblo-style architecture. As Aunt Margaret said, you have 10 different brown colors to pick from when you paint your house and you get in trouble if you don't use one of those 10. Yet people still put their personalities into their homes and I loved seeing the contrast between the green of the trees and the periwinkles, turquoise, and reds of their flowers, chilis, and painted door and window frames against the brown of the adobe.

This is where we went to brunch (my first ever brunch experience) and where we also had our very first taste of Buffalo meat - and it was DELICIOUS!!

Their art museum

This is the main plaza...vendors sell food, there's a bandstand that hosts free concerts in the summers, and there are people who sell jewelry along the sides of the roads. There are lots of little shops around the area if you really want to get into the Santa Fe spirit and buy fringe, sequins, and cowboy boots (which Mark almost did - I did not take pictures of this, but we did almost succumb and bought some Lucchese boots like theses ones). There's a really great small town feel, which is really interesting since as a State capital I would think it would have more of a bigger city feel. (And yes, that is Mark looking back.)

And of course we have to share the view from their veranda ...breathtaking!! We are both big fans of the view. :)