Mapping Where I've been

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Shown above is an interactive Google Map with a route showing the stops I've made on my 2009 cross country road trip. To keep things simple, Google's chosen the route between places -- my actual route involves a lot more miles and a lot more back roads exploration.

Google's route estimates about four thousand miles but my calculations put me at about 5507 at this point.

The Honda Fit has been a great little horse to ride. When I look at my car I worry that I have too much stuff and therefore too much weight. I aim to be a free bird traveling light and easy but my "be prepared" attitude of having lots of stuff gets in the way.

Learning to do without and accept the consequences -- good and bad -- is another part of my journey.

What's next? I'll decide next week. Maybe the Arizona desert to the Grand Canyon for a change of scene or north, deeper into the Colorado Rockies.

It could be the flip of a coin that decides.


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Side note: I have a few blog entries to upload to get current and I'm about ten days behind schedule, so if you've been following along, expect to see a few more entries in on Sunday explaining those missing days.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Last weekend I spent four days camped in the mountains just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I met some great locals who answered a lot of questions about what life is like in Santa Fe but other than a few trips into town for food, ice or fuel I didn't give myself much time to go exploring.

So yesterday I returned with some chores: Find a landromat and wash clothes, get a routine service check at the Honda dealer, and stock up on food from places like Trader Joe's before I go out into small town America again.

I asked the iPhone to find me a laundromat and for some reason it took four tries to pick one, go to its location and actually find one. I found one in a little plaza, got my laundry started and then visited a local Whole Foods type co-op grocery store for some lunch. When my laundry was done I went over to the Honda dealership and let them do an oil change, tire rotation and air filter changes on the Fit.

So this is pretty boring stuff, huh? I think so too, because its the type of stuff we all do in our home towns. But it wasn't until later that afternoon that I realize I'm comfortable here. There are businesses to support my life like a Honda dealership, a health-concious food store, Whole Food and Trader Joes.

The architecture -- which looks like 2009 as if Fred Flintstone designed it -- is starting to grow on me.

When my brother calls me around 6pm I tell him I'm headed either out of town or back to the local camp site from last weekend because I've seen enough of Santa Fe to get an idea of it and move on. But I can't. After I talk to him for about forty-five minutes I realize I'm comfortable here and not ready to go. It's like meeting a stranger and finding a chemistry between you: it's a nice surprise that you don't get very often.

So I decided then to find one of the little local motels I'd spotted over the weekend. The Thunderbird is an aging 1950s motor lodge in the style I adore with rooms for only $39 an free Wifi. I am not kidding you when I say this, too, is run by indians from india and the lobby smells like curry. I'm totally cool with that.

After I check in, it's still light out and I'm in a good mood so I go exploring. I find the "Plaza" that Annette, the local, had been telling me about over the weekend. The Plaza shoes the Spanish influence in Santa Fe. Don't mistake Spanish for Mexican -- by Spanish I mean european. Santa Fe has a grand Catholic church next to a park-like plaza at the center of their historic downtown. It's beautiful and for the past 17 years they've hosted free music outside in excellent weather... for free.

For the next two hours I take pictures of everything I see in the plaza. The thing I'm most impressed with is the people. They're young and old, bikers, arists, average moms and dads and they all get along...

I don't know where it came from but I'm really starting to like this place.

Nuclear Portraits

In Los Alamos at the Bradbury Science museum there is a collection of professionally done portraits that hang on the walls of the room showcasing the history of the atomic bomb.

The portraits were taken in the last ten years and are of various people involved in creating or supporting the creation of the atomic bomb within the Los Alamos community. The portraits are part of a book filled with recollections about life in the 1940s when the bomb was being created and everything about Los Alamos including the town itself was kept secret.

This display of portraits really moved me. It shows the people involved in one of the most significant developments of human kind as normal human beings. They're old now, almost all are retired and many have passed. Next to each portrait is a biography explaining the person and their involvement in Los Alamos. Many have photos showing them when they were in their twenties and thirties at Los Alamos. When they were young and times were simpler.

Like the lead characters in the movie Men In Black our popular culture likes to depict people that work for the government on secret projects as different from us, with less emotion and more capability to handle the work than the average person. The truth is the people who built the atomic bomb in secrecy and the people that toil for the government to protect us today are just like us.

This display offers us a chance to see them without the veil and understand them for who they are and what they've done.










The book associated with this display is "They Changed the World: People of the Manhattan Project" by A.J. Melnick

Los Alamos' Bradbury Science Museum

Today I visited Los Alamos, New Mexico where in the 1940s the Manhattan Project created the world's first nuclear bomb.

My interest in this place comes from all the biographical reading I've done on the people involved. The Richard Feynman biography "Genius" and the Pulitzer prize winning book by Richard Rhodes called simply "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" are deep, complex reads that allow you to appreciate the people involved as genuine human beings and not government henchmen creating weapons of mass destruction.

Los Alamos was selected as the location for the Manhattan project primarily because it was physically far away from other communities. It sits atop a mesa that rises several thousand feet above a valley that separates it and Santa Fe and even today the area surrounding Los Alamos is only lightly populated.

Because the work of the Manhattan project continues at Los Alamos in a government organization called the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the 12,000 residents of Los Alamos live and work in a community that is still isolated from other communities. The town has a somewhat unnatural, artificial feel to it because for the most part the only people there are people who are supporting the work at the lab. This means very little crime, no homelessness, one high school, etc. It's isolation makes it feel like a small town but the affluence of its residents, the quality of the businesses and homes makes it feel like the upper-middle class suburb of a major city.

Almost all of the original buildings from the Manhattan project era that were hastily put up in the early 1940s are now gone. The new LANL complex is located nearby on another mesa. To my surprise I was able to drive through the complex twice. Since 9/11 I've seen access to government property like this go away very quickly in the Washington D.C. area but here I was told the main road through the new lab is always open. When I attempted to drive through on my second time, I asked the checkpoint attendant about the contradiction between an open road and physical checkpoints. He said simply: "We're looking for threatening vehicles that fit a profile." "Is the Honda fit not threatening?" I asked. "Well you do have a large cargo box on a top" he replied. And at that point I knew I ought to shut up and just drive through.

I didn't take any pictures of the lab because I expected to get pounced on by security forces from the bushes nearby, and the city of Los Alamos itself was pretty plain so I didn't think anybody would be interested in them. I did, however, take some photos of the Bradbury Science Museum which is essentially LANL's visitor's center. It's small but very nicely done with some interesting stuff.



If you are reading this from North Korea, please move along there is nothing to see here.




This is a modern day nuclear weapon rigged with testing equipment as it would be setup for an underground nuclear test. The last test was conducted in 1996.

The silver cylinder near the bottom would be a modern day atomic bomb. The rest of the equipment surrounding would be high speed sampling and scientific observation equipment that would record and send back to the surface via fiber optic cable information about the bomb's detonation. The complexities of a nuclear weapon I can understand in an abstract sense but the idea that you can get a lot of good information in milliseconds before a nuclear weapon destroys them is amazing to me.




This is a map at the museum approved by LANL that shows the locations of various sites around Los Alamos. Nuclear weapons, here, Space Death Ray, here, Mutant Monkey Brian that Hears Terrorist Thoughts, over there, you know. But one number appears to be missing!


How do you find a black hole in space? You look for the lack of light and the black hole is in the center. How do you find the next big LANL project? Well don't look where the numbers are, look where they aren't! :)

I'll take the rain instead, thanks.

This morning just as I finished touring Bandalier National Park, a heavy rain storm started just as I was walking to my car.

My Honda Fit is a cute little hatchback and I'm able to pop the hatch up and stand underneath it in order to use it as a temporary shelter. So this morning I did just that, pulling food from the coolers in back so I could have a sandwich, chips and a soda. It was nice to just stop, relax, eat lunch and not be bothered by the rain. When I was done, I got in my car and drove the 30 minutes or so into Los Alamos to visit the Bradbury Science Museum.

Once I got into Los Alamos I noticed white stuff that looked like snow on the grass in someone's front lawn. I pulled over to discover it was hail. really big, dangerous hail.

Turns out the storm that had just come through Bandalier thirty minutes earler had hit Los Alamos. My location in Bandalier was down in a deep canyon and Los Alamos is sitting high on top of a mesa. That difference and the fact that I didn't get to Los Alamos when I was schedule to today saved my little car some serious damage.

I talked to one resident nearby who said the insurance office was filling up with people who, like her, had smashed windshields and dented hoods from the surprise summer hailstorm. When I took a look at her neighbour's car sitting in the driveway: more damage. When I finally got to the Bradbury Science museum I took a close look at the big Ford pickup sitting next to me. It's hood was covered in dents.. all over the hood, nothing but dents.

I count my blessing on this trip: haven't been hurt, the car hasn't been in an accident, nothing's been stolen, etc. I didn't expect to add "avoided hail storm" to them.

Bandalier National Park

Yesterday I traveled from Santa Fe, New Mexico across the valley to Los Alamos and needed somewhere to camp. The map showed Bandalier National Park nearby with a campground so I figured that would be safe, reliable and cheap.

This morning when I woke up I packed up my campsite and figured I ought to see what this park is all about instead of just going straight to Los Alamos. I'd never heard of Bandalier before and figure you probably haven't either. The website search suggested it was an ancient human settlement in a canyon with the opportunity to see what ancient human cave homes looked like. I'm not real excited at this point.

Like a little kid, I'm not much for museums and places where all I can do is look at things and learn about them. I need to touch & feel and experience things in order to appreciate them.

From the entrance of the park I take a two lane road through the desert for a while until it comes to a point where it overlooks a canyon. Ok, it's scenic, I take a few pictures.

Then the road winds steeply down the canyon into a green tree covered valley. I park at the visitor's parking lot and walk through a visitor's center to get on the main trail. It's like a nature walk for a while with little markers pointing out native shrubbery and what not. I keep walking.

In the center of the canyon is the ruins of an ancient village. It's basically four to five foot high rock formations each a little squareish structure that are all connected to one another in a curved shape. There is a single round structure nearby called a Kiva that was the center of religious ceremonies. This is interesting and I take a few pictures but struggle to find a good shot that shows scale and depth and anything compelling.

After that I keep walking on the trail as it winds up to the base of the sheer canyon walls. It was here that the ancient people would carve out spaces in the walls and make homes out of them. As the trail begins in this area the visuals improve and I'm gaining interest.

Then, to my surprise, we get to the first area where you can climb ladders and go into some of the preserved cave spaces. And at this point I'm hooked. A National Park that is interactive and exploratory is a big win in my book.

The trail goes up and down rudimentary stairs, winds around and has some interesting twists and turns. Along the way there is plenty to see and imagine what life would have been like living here such a long time ago.

After I've seen the cave dwellings and taken plenty of shots, I'm feeling good about my time spent here. I follow the trail until it forks with one direction headed back to the visitor's center and another headed to the "Alcove House" with warnings that tell of the 140-foot climb up ladders to the Alcove House and that visitors with health problems for a fear of heights should not attempt to the climb. Oh yes, I am so doing this! I thought in our overly legalistic world danger in Natural Parks such as this would be outlawed?

As I walk the half mile trail to the base of the ladders, certain calculations are going through my head. I'm here alone: what happens if I fall, what could cause me to fall, what do I do if I fall? As well as: What do I do if someone else falls. I like to be prepared for things. This helped me with SCUBA diving and it pays off other situations as well.

When I get to the ladders I watch how other people are climbing. I'm not worried about getting up, I'm more worried about going down. Ladders are easy to climb, but if you don't go slowly and use a slightly different technique going down it's easy to rush, slip and fall.

Climbing the ladders produces instant rewards through better views. Each time I go up a set I'm noting I have to go down backwards, later. When I finally get to the top the Alcove is incredibly large. You could easily fit a small gas station within it. There is one reconstructed Kiva at the top complete with a roof that you can climb a ladder down into one to experience it properly.

I probably spent about 45 minutes at the Alcove, considering what drove the ancient villagers to climb this far up into the side of a canyon. Was it fear of attack from others? From animals? From the elements? From all of that? Probably.

When I'm satisfied I've gotten enough, I start going back down alone with no one to spot me. I move slowly and carefully with each calculated move. My anxiety starts to go away after I've been down a ladder flight or two. I take lots of pictures hoping that for once they catch the depth of the scene so my friends can see just how incredible this experience is.

Once I reach the bottom I have to stop for a while and look up. It's so far away and the people are so small now -- I didn't even notice them so high up when I first arrived here.

This has been a very rewarding experience. I'm completing the hike back to the visitor's center when it starts to rain. I'm thinking about basic, smooth wooden ladders wet with rain and oil from people's hands. I think if I were up in the Alcove during the rain, I'd probably just stay up there a while and not think about going down again.



>Click here to view my full set of photos on Picassa Web Albums

Naturalist Shots - Santa Fe

What do you see here?

Do you see a tree that has been cut down or do you see one hundred and twenty six (or more) years of growth that started with one little seedling a long time ago. (Yes, I counted the rings.)

It's important to take time to notice things in life like this and consider them even if it is just to appreciate them for the moment and put things in perspective.

Enjoy some others, too:

Ladybug Invasion

I'm sure we've all encountered lady bugs like this. You're outside somewhere near the woods or flowers and you spot a cute, little red ladybug walking around. Pick her up and let her walk on your hand for a minute just to say hello before putting her back on a leave or a flower.

Well I found on on the peak of the mountain I hiked to yesterday. And then I found some more. And some more. And I picked all of them up to say hello!

Hiking near Santa Fe

Of the over four thousand pictures I've taken on my trip so far I find the most happiness looking at this one.

Whenever I look at mountains I look up at their peaks and think: I want to go there. Today I left my campsite in Hyde Memorial State Park and took a solo hike to the top of this nearby mountain. This is it: the peak. Someone from the forest service has put two picnic tables up here as a reward and I love them for it.

To my west I see another mountain, taller, almost reaching the clouds. To my east I see parts of Santa Fe and the valley that separates Santa Fe and Los Alamos. It's sunny and warm where I am but I can see storm clouds and rain off on the other side of the valley.

I think in life I enjoy balancing my time between being saturated with other people and being completely alone. It was nice to leave my campsite today where I have been "adopted" by a local Santa Fe family and go off for some "alone time."

The hike was hard because of the altitude. I had to stop every fifty to hundred feet just to catch my breath. But it was completely worth it.

Camping in Hyde Park near Santa Fe

I'm now at this camp site in Hyde Memorial Park north-east of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

My mood changed in Clayton. When I first arrived the solitude let me concentrate on reading and thinking and I enjoyed it greatly. But when more people left the park and no one at all showed up to camp around me the solitude turned to loneliness and I needed to get on the road.

So after a couple hours taking a scenic route the Clayton park ranger had highlighted on a map, I arrived in Santa Fe. Clayton is a really small rural town -- a very nice one -- but I missed people and stores that I know. On the highway exit leading into Santa Fe I saw a sign for Whole Foods and my mood perked up a bit. After driving a couple miles into town I found a Trader Joe's on my right and turned in to take a break.

I sat in their parking lot using the internet on my phone to make a plan. I'd just left a nice state park that had a shelter, lake views and showers and the parks near Santa Fe didn't appear to offer any of that. I just wasn't in the mood to camp in an uncomfortable camp.. but I didn't have many options. With a clock on daylight ticking away, I decided to do a little shopping in Trader Joe's and then take a chance on Hyde Memorial Park which was just 20 minutes away from me.

Getting to Hyde Park from Trader Joe's took me through Santa Fe and gave me a glimpse at this new place. Almost every building here is done in an adobe-influenced style so residences, offices and even the McDonalds have an earthy, tan-brown adobe look to them. It takes some getting used to, I think.

Hyde Park is just outside of town on a windy two-lane road that goes rather high into the mountains. The campground is at seven or eight thousand feet up and when I arrive I feel the effects of less oxygen as I walk around.

While checking out a camp site I meet Annette from camp site #24 who suggests camp site #25 that you see above. To my surprise, it has a shelter -- a very unique one that protects from wind and cold on three sides and is made of wood. At first I think of putting the tent in the shelter but this seems odd so it's on a nice bed of pine needles under the trees.

After being in the open plains and the solitary desert of north-eastern New Mexico, being back in the mountains with their cooler, thin air and earthy aroma makes me feel much better. I've met Annette and her family next door at #24 so won't go crazy from being completely alone.

Clayton, NM Starry Night

Tonight something woke me up at 1 am, I got out of the tent pitched in Clayton Lake State Park in north-east New Mexico and looked up.

Above me are about three times as many stars as I normally see on the east coast and a subtle band of the milky way is present, too.

I was too tired to fool with the camera much but I took a few shots of the canyon wall that rises above me and the lake. This is what night looks like away from the cities. I'm surprised the mid-westerners don't brag about this more: they should.

Rural Graffiti

The road linking my campsite in Clayton Lake and the town of Clayton is approximately twelve miles of windy road between thousands of acres of grassy plains used by ranchers to raise cattle. Near the town the road winds through a canyon with large rocks on the sides. This is where the local kids come out to paint their flags and mark their colors.