Capitol Cities and Atom Bombs
Santa Fe, NM
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Villa De Santa Fe (Village of the Holy Faith) was established by the Spanish in 1610 with the building of the Palace of the Governors, now the country's oldest public building. The structure was first a Spanish government building, then was occupied by the Indians of the Pueblo Rebellion, taken over by Mexico next, and then claimed by the U.S. It now houses a museum that covers the history of this interesting capitol city.

Not far away lies the location of the once secret government atomic research facility at Los Alamos. The Manhattan Project began in 1943 with the closing of the Los Alamos Ranch School for Boys and ended with the July 15, 1945 Trinity bomb test. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that ended with war with Japan in August are milestones in history, but still viewed with conflicting feelings.
Pictures

In Front of The Palace of the Governors

"There were Native Americans selling things they had made. There was lots of beautiful jewelry and pottery. We bought some pine nuts to try."--Amanda

  

Inside The Palace of the Governors

"The Palace was turned into a Civil War museum. It also had info about Spain's rule over New Mexico 1540 and 1821. They even had a picture of a ration biscuit (hardtack) eaten by the soldiers of the War!"--Harrison

  

Behind The Palace of the Governors

"At the Mountain Man Rendezvous there were people dressed up like trappers selling antique clothes, knifes, beads and lots of other stuff. It was fun looking at everything and the people were very nice."--Amanda

  

There were several rugged men who did a convincing job of portraying trappers and traders from the 1800s at the Mountain Man Rendezvous. They weren't shy about posing for us to take their pictures either!

  

Fat Boy, the first Atomic Bomb

"The secret city named Los Alamos is where the atomic bombs were built. Everybody there was at P.O. Box 1663, so that no one would know where they really were."--Harrison

  
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Robert Oppenheimer

Albert Einstein

Franklin D. Roosevelt

  

Trip Tips

Santa Fe is a great walking city, so wear comfortable shoes and sun protection. There are interesting art galleries, fun places to eat, museums, historic churches, and lots more.

Parking can be a challenge, so find a spot early. Don't be late like us and have to keep feeding a meter! There are a couple public lots, but they fill up early during the summer.

Labor Day weekend is the annual Santa Fe Fiesta, held since 1712 in honor of Captian Don Diego de Vargas' bloodless reconquest of the city for Spain. Starting the Friday before Labor Day with buring an effigy of "Old Man Gloom", the festivities continue with four days of parades and other events.

Los Alamos isn't far from Bandelier National Monument, so we visited both in one day trip from our campground in Santa Fe. We were short on time at the Bradbury Science Museum and could have spent a few more hours. If we could do it again, we'd likely spend less time at Bandelier (walk a little faster) so we'd have time to absorb more at the museum.
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