Our Nuclear Family

We were so disappointed to learn that we couldn't fly to California to visit the Jackman's because of blackout dates on our airline tickets. The kids were especially excited to play with their cousins, and Scott has been trying to get down to California for nearly three years now. Of course, we didn't read the fine print until late Thursday night as we were finalizing our packing. With bags packed and kids dreaming of an adventure we had to think fast.

Luckily, with an endless New Mexican "to-do" list we quickly brainstormed some ideas and apt. Kirk came to the rescue and negotiated a good deal on a hotel room in Socorro, NM. After waking to the disappointing news of not being able to fly to California the kids (and Lisa) humored dad with a reluctant excitement to be dragged onto another adventure in the middle of the desert. After packing "Monty" with the appropriate goodies and DVD's it was off to the Holiday Inn Express in Socorro, NM. While the hotel was probably on the higher range of our usual price range the prospects of an indoor pool was too alluring and who can turn down a full breakfast at a hotel?

The kids christened the room upon entering it by jumping on the bed and Austin did his famous "Daisy Dance" which is hilarious! In no time we were in our swimsuits and playing sharks, "puppies in water" and all sorts of aquamarine imaginary games. We had the whole pool to ourselves despite the hotel being booked for the weekend. After a night of sleep we all awoke with bright eyes ready for a huge hotel breakfast and a trip under Daddy's direction to "the middle of nowhere".Now when we say Daddy like to find things in the middle of nowhere we mean it. This time it was Trinity Site. Trinity Site is located in the heart of the White Sands Missile Range and is only open to the public two times during the year. Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was tested on July 16th, 1945 after three years of secret testings as part of the Manhattan Project.

We were told that about 2,500 people visit the site, but we couldn't imagine who those people could be. I mean Trinity Site seemingly is in the middle of nowhere so imagine our surprise when we showed up to the military checkpoint and saw a long line of cars! After passing the checkpoint we drove for almost 14 miles through the north end of the range. We weren't allowed to take pictures and admittedly there isn't much to see but we did get a kick out of the Oryx crossing signs. African Oryx were introduced into New Mexico nearly 60 years ago but that's for another post.

Just as the kids reached their limit of being in the car we reached a massive parking lot next to more desert surrounded by a huge chain link fence. Military Police(?) guided us to our parking spot and soon we were making our pilgrimage by foot to the heart of the bomb site.

They had guides on hand explaining the mysterious Trinitite, a cool greenish glass which formed as particles of sand fused during the blast. Of course, you can only look at the Trinitite and it is a federal offense to take it home so we had fun reminding the kids that we could only look at it like a zillion times!They had on display the casing of a similar bomb which exploded in 1945. After wandering the site for a while the kids were surprisingly ready to get back in the car for the drive home. We stopped in Socorro again so Scott could get a picture of the oldest Catholic Churches in New Mexico the Old San Miguel Mission (1598) and then it was on to Sonic for some slushies and hamburgers. On the way home we had to stop and visit a bunch of longhorn cows. In the end it was a wonderful but quick trip in our own backyard. It's fun to just be with our "Nuclear Family" but we are still hoping we can make the trip to California sometime soon!