Los Alamos, New Mexico

Millie, Rae Anne, Marcus (L) Evan (R)

September 15 to 23^rd 2018. 

As I said at the end of the last post, we are camped in Kolman’s driveway. It’s actually allowed here for up to 30 days, I guess because there’s not a lot of tourist accommodations in town.  Their driveway is below the level of the street, is heavily wooded and borders the Los Alamos National Forest. It’s a very nice rustic spot.

Ray Anne and Dave both work and Marcus and Evan are 2^nd graders so we extended our stay over two weekends so we could spend more time with them. The Kids knocked on the door of the bus every morning at 7:30 for a visit before school and came back every evening to watch DVD’s with us. 

Marcus's eighth birthday party at the aquatics center in Los Alamos

 We tried to blend into their busy weekday schedule. We sat on the sidelines of Evans soccer practice, went to Marcus’s birthday party at the town aquatic center, shared a few meals together, and helped whenever we could. Millie and the boys made cookies and fruit smoothies.

Larry's Hot Tub Repair Service!

I’m fortunate that they let me stay busy during the week by doing a few small projects around the house. This year Millie and I dismantled an unused 8 person hot tub and hauled it to the trash transfer station. Afterward, Millie pressure cleaned their deck and I got to do some electric work installing lights in a closet and kitchen pantry. 

The cleanup crew

All too soon our visit was over and we were prepping for a Monday morning departure. We’re excited because we’re going into uncharted (by us) territory.

The highways of America: our final frontier. These are the voyages of the Bus, our 18 year old Winnebago. Our mission: to explore new places, to seek out new experiences and too enjoy ourselves along the way, to boldly go where no motorhome has gone before.

From Branson to Los Alamos

Branson MO to Amarillo Texas

Wednesday September 12^th 2018.  Plans often change when traveling by RV and they should. Altering course and just winging it is part of the adventure out here on the road. Our next destination is Amarillo Texas where we will pick up Rae Anne, Millie’s daughter who is there on business. Her conference is ending a day early so we departed Branson and made the 580 mile drive to Amarillo in one day instead of the originally planned two. The trip was all interstate and turnpike so it was an easy run. Our overnight destination, Oasis RV Resort had a site for us and we settled in late in the afternoon.

Amarillo Texas to Los Alamos New Mexico

Thursday September 13^th 2018.  In the morning I picked up Rae Anne at her rental car return while Millie prepped the motorhome for departure. We were soon seated in the bus and pulling out of the park, I looked at the clock, it was exactly 9AM. I don’t know how we do it, but it seems like nine times out of ten, when we go thru our departure routine and pull out on the highway, it will be 9AM.

I-40 west of Amarillo

I-40 west from Amarillo is a long series of crests. As the road passes over each one you can see the road laid out to the horizon. It seems nearly flat but each crest is higher than the last. You climb almost 2000 feet in about 250 miles.

About 50 miles shy of Albuquerque we left I-40 for RT 285 and we started another climb in elevation. We would top out at 7320 feet in Los Alamos, New Mexico. We had to pass thru Santa Fe and it was lunch time so we stopped at our favorite Tex/Mex restaurant called Wecks. Only open for breakfast and lunch it’s not to be missed if you’re ever out this way.

After lunch it was a short 35+/- miles to the mountain top town of Los Alamos, but it may as well be a world away. Home of one of our country’s nuclear research facilities this site was chosen for its remoteness during the Manhattan project. 

View from the road as you go up the hill to Los Alamos

Still an important part of our nuclear program, the town has grown, but it is still a small exclusive community. Duped Atomic City, it has per capita, more doctorate degrees than any other municipality in the US. So there’s like a whole bunch of Einstein’s running around.

As for the nuclear research facility or The Lab, as it’s called here, there’s not much to see, I think most of it is underground.  They do have a small museum in town for the visiting tourist.

Los Alamos perched on Mesa'a in the remote mountains

Los Alamos is a small place geographically, with an eclectic mix of house designs, all perched on mesas with rugged gorges between them. Many of them where built during the Manhattan project and look the same as they did in the 1940’s, but just down the street may be a contemporary design or a log cabin.

It’s an interesting place that’s for sure.

We are parked at Kamp Kolman, that’s Rae Anne's driveway. We will be here for ten days. The boys are happy to have grandma visiting.

Kamp Kolman