A Day in the Sun with Da Bombs

While I was gone today, someone in St. Petersburg, FL, googled: souvla, spit, for, sale and they got my blog. What in the world??? I googled "souvla" and it means lamb on a spit. Still with the Easter stuff???

Anyway, I'm back from the Trinity Site. It was interesting. Not the kind of interesting that I'm jumping up and down, saying, "Ouu, ouu, ouu, you gotta go!!!" No, but it was worth a trip to stand at Ground Zero, to see where it took place, to imagine some of the details, and actually see some things in person for the reality check. Would I go again? Hmmm, probably, but with different plans. I'd love to go when the crowd thins out for better photos. It was interesting in the historical sense, and there was somewhat of a sense of awe at realizing the enormity of it all.

What I'm posting here are pictures taken around Ground Zero, where the bomb was actually detonated. I'm posting more pictures here, which were taken at the McDonald/Schmidt House, a ranch house where the plutonium core of the bomb was assembled. The house was allowed to deteriorate until 1982, when restoration began. There are some out-lying buildings, appearing to be bunk houses or something similar, which have fallen to ruins. These made wonderful focal points, back drops and frames for photos.



The sign on the monument, constructed at exact Ground zero.



Me in front of the monument. Or rather, behind it, because too many people were jostling to get pictures beside the plaque (above photo). The monument is made of lava stone, probably brought from the nearby lava flow called Valley of Fire, in the Malpais, near the Site. (Do not confuse this with "El Maipais National Monument," which is West of Albuquerque) I find it interesting that this lava flow with its deep black rock is only about 15 miles or so from the White Sands, a huge area with dunes of white gypsum. Quite a contrast!





This was the 100 foot tower that held the bomb. It was at the top of the tower in that little shelter. (Clearly not my picture, as I was just 15 months old when this disappeared in the blast!!! I took this from the website to help you see the configuration of it all.P



This is the remaining pieces of one of the cornerstones of the tower. I know ... this picture is unimpressive, but if you note the feet, it gives you an idea of the size of the concrete footing. The metal pieces sticking up were part of the tower frame, and I'd say they are about two feet apart, making the base about two feet square.


It says in the information passed to us at the gate that dogs were not allowed on the Site and must be kept in cars with windows open for ventilation, etc. You can see how that was honored.

And.....


And.....


What the hell is wrong with people?? I wouldn't want my kids walking around in that dirt, even though the radiation level is slight. After all, it would cling to their fur, and they lick their paws, for gawd's sake!!!


These pix were interesting as they showed the rapid formation of the "mushroom cloud." This one is at .006 seconds after detonation.


And at .025 seconds.

At .063 seconds.

At .100 second.

At 15 seconds.


A picture of a soldier standing at Ground Zero. It doesn't say when, and I wonder about how much radiation he picked up. shudder.



The headline of the big secret disclosure after the bombs were dropped on Japan.


This is what is left of "Jumbo." Jumbo was not a bomb. It was a casing designed for transporting the explosives. It was strong enough to contain the explosion, had there been some sort of accident along the way.



This is a picture of what Jumbo looked like before the ends were blown off. (At this moment, I'm not recalling how/why that occurred.)



Another angle of Jumbo. Yep, it's a big sucker!!



All day long Gail kept walking in my camera lens just as I shot, so I thought I'd put one here. LOL!!



We stopped to see "Fat Man," the casing for an atomic bomb. I know you can't read this, but if want to read it, you can click on it.



I included the trailer here for a size comparison.



It is pretty big. Not like Jumbo, of course, but big.



We coerced a young woman passing by to take our picture in from of Fat Man.


If you're interesting in reading a little about this, you can go here for a short but more authentic description of what we saw today and just a little bit of the history.