Day 8 (D-53) Los Alamos / Bradbury Science Museum

Day 8 (D-53)  Los Alamos  /  Bradbury Science Museum

Before we go to visit Santa Fe, we'll make a stop in Los Alamos, New Mexico.  From there it will be about a half-hour drive to Santa Fe. Another map for you here: 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Los+Alamos,+Nouveau-Mexique+87544,+États-Unis/Taos,+Nouveau-Mexique+87571,+États-Unis/@36.1729254,-106.4958827,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x87186cacdd7d64a7:0xe2627730b580ad3d!2m2!1d-106.3031138!2d35.8800364!1m5!1m1!1s0x871764da7f11fcb1:0x90ea918361a9b782!2m2!1d-105.5730665!2d36.4072485!3e0

Leaving the pueblos with their 1000 years of history behind us, we'll fast-forward to the 20th century and the Second World War!  Do you know what important role this town of 12000 today played in bringing World War II to an end?  Los Alamos, which in Spanish means "The Cottonwoods" or "The Poplar Trees" is the birthplace of the atomic bomb --the primary objective of The Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Laboratory during the War.

During this era, Los Alamos had a top-secret laboratory known as Project Y that was a hotspot for physicists, chemists, metallurgists, explosive exports and military personnel focused on developing and testing atomic bombs. And the wives and families came with them without knowing what their husbands were doing!

Interested in a book about Project Y, from the wives' point of view?   

Nicole Dupré, who has given American literature courses at Uiad and from her own travel experience in the United States helped me plan this trip.   I am very grateful to her.  In addition, she lent me the book "The Wives of Los Alamos" which I read with great interest in the summer of 2018 when I started preparing for this next USA adventure. 

A special treat today.  Let me send you to her blog "La Route des Livres" to read what she has written in French about this book and at the same time you can discover her amazing blog.

https://routedeslivres.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-wives-of-los-alamos.html 

The book and the blog, two good reads.  I love her photos too.  If French is a problem for you, go to goodreads.com--> https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17978193-the-wives-of-los-alamos

My travelers will discover the Bradbury Science Museum where we'll learn more about The Manhattan Project, what they did there and how they lived there. The museum was founded in 1953 and was named for the Laboratory's second director, (1945-1970), Norris E. Bradbury.

My best,
Jane
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--fast-forward = avance rapide