TURQUOISE TRAIL, LOS ALAMOS, AND BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT

We have been in Santa Fe all week.  It has been HOT.  It was over 100 degrees for the first few days.  It has cooled down to the 90s the last couple of days.  I know, I'm whining. I'm not sure what I am going to do when I go back to Texas!

The first day here, we drove what they call the Turquoise Trail. The Turquoise Trail encompasses 15,000 square miles and is located in the heart of central New Mexico. It links Albuquerque and Santa Fe and sits at the highest peak at 10,600 feet (Sandia Crest) overlooking Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Valley.  Along the 65 miles are homes, ranches, vacation lodging, restaurants, RV parks, a golf course, a ski resort, museums, horseback riding stables, shops/galleries and lots of respected craftsmen and artists. The Trail is also fast becoming known for its adventurous hiking and bike trails. In spite of the recent growth to the area, The Turquoise Trail remains historically quaint and Old West.  From Santa Fe to Sandia Crest, the temperature changed about 15 degrees and was really nice on the top of the mountain when we got there.

The next day, we went to Los Alamos.  Familiar with the Manhattan Project?  Well, that's Los Alamos.  They call it the Atomic City.  They have a GREAT science museum!  It is free.  Part of the museum is about the history of the town and the Manhattan Project.  The other part of the museum is about what the laboratories are doing today and what research is going on.  They have many, many displays.  They have many pictures of people who lived there and were part of the Project.  They give a brief story of one of the things they remember about working there during that time.  Very, very interesting.  There are also 2 short films about the history and about the research.  If you are ever in the area, you HAVE to stop there.

Replica of bomb used on Hiroshima

Replica of bomb used on Nagasaki - they called it Fat Man

Could be a good book to have around.  There were probably many of these around during the Cold War eras.

We left Los Alamos and drove to Bandelier National Monument. 

Human presence in the area has been dated to over 10,000 years before present. Permanent settlements by ancestors of the Puebloan peoples have been dated to 1150 CE; these settlers had moved closer to the Rio Grande by 1550. The distribution of artifacts from the area, along with other traded goods, rock markings, and construction techniques, indicate that its inhabitants were part of a regional trade network that included what is now Mexico. Spanish colonial settlers arrived in the 18th century. The Pueblo Jose Montoya brought Adolph Bandelier to visit the area in 1880. Looking over the cliff dwellings, Bandelier said, "It is the grandest thing I ever saw."

Based on documentation and research by Bandelier, there was support for preserving the area and President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation creating the monument in 1916. Infrastructure, including a lodge, was built during the 1920s and 1930s. The structures at the monument built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps constitute the largest assembly of CCC-built structures in a National Park area that has not been altered by new structures in the district. This group of 31 buildings illustrates the guiding principles of National Park Service Rustic architecture.
The monument was closed to the public for several years during World War II, since the lodge was being used to house personnel working on the Manhattan Project to develop an atom bomb.

There are several trails within the national monument area.  The main loop, which is the main trail to the cliff dwellings, is a 1.2 mile loop.  If you are in the area, it is worth the stop.