Remaining vacation update...

So after the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, Shawn and I headed south to the VLA, the Very Large Array.  Think Jodie Foster in Contact...

27 antennae arranged in a Y pattern over 13 miles.  They had a great walking tour except...

 For a sense of scale, here is Shawn, 6' 1" compared to one antenna.  Each one was the size of a baseball diamond.

Tuesday, we changed direction and headed north to Los Alamos, where the 1st nuclear bomb was developed during WWII.  The whole town was kept secret (as much as you can keep a town secret).  While they don't let you go to the actual research facility (something about national security), they have a great museum, the Bradbury Science museum, and best of all it is free!

Wednesday, we were in Chama (tiny, tiny town) to ride the Cumbres Toltec narrow gauge railroad.  The train engine was manufactured in the 1920s and is steam powered.  

For those who have never ridden a steam engine, go prepared to come back with bits of coal ash in places of your body that never even saw daylight.

This is the one of tunnels.  If you recognize it, it's because they've filmed a lot of movies here.

Thursday, we headed to Taos.  This is the Rio Grande Gorge.  This picture does not even come close to the dizzying height the bridge we're on.  I was clinging to the camera and the hand railing for dear life.  We stopped at the Taos Pueblo, the oldest continuously inhabited site in the US (over 1,000 years).  No pictures as it cost $5 a camera and it cost $10/person just to get in.  The site was maybe the size of a football field and we completed the walking tour in about 15 minutes.  It was neat to see (but a bit pricey).  People still live there without electricity or running water.  

 

Shawn found a new buddy in town...

Friday, we were in Santa Fe.  This is the Loretto Chapel, the site of the "miraculous" staircase.

 The original choir loft was accessible only by a rope ladder.  So the sisters prayed to St. Joseph (patron saint of carpenters) to send a carpenter to build a staircase.  Well, one showed up.  His original staircase had no handrails (yikes).  It was 33 stairs (Jesus lived 33 years) and made 2 complete 360 degree turns.  What is amazing is that there is no center support.  What holds it up is the perfect balance of the design.  There are no steel supports; the entire thing is made of wood. After the carpenter completed the design, he left without receiving payment.  

In conclusion, it was a great vacation, but if I don't eat another chili for a while that would be ok.