Trinity site October 19, 2024

[wwillson]

I've always wanted to see the site, so this year I did. It's possibly one of the most historically important sites of the last 100 years.

https://rvthe.us/community/threads/trinity-site-near-san-antonio-nm.977/

 

[97prizm]

It's on my list of places to see. I did white sands last year. Apparently it's the only place on Earth where Trinitite is found, (and it's Also illegal to take samples with).

 

[JeffKeryk]

Trinitite

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

Thanks for sharing.

I would love to see it.

 

[The_Jeff]

That's awesome, I'd love to do some nuclear tourism.

Do you think the Oppenheimer movie led to bigger crowds than usual?

 

[Lyman]

I used to work with a guy who was present at one of the Bikini Atoll tests. He died in the late 80s from cancer.
He knew he had a high exposure rate. It's crazy what our Government did back then not knowing the effects.

 

[wwillson]

Do you think the Oppenheimer movie led to bigger crowds than usual?

Yes, they were expecting a larger than usual crowd.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I’ve dealt hands-on with radioactive sources, but nothing that’s still this “hot” after 80 years, IR-192 gives you ~125 days worth of industrial use before they’re removed from service.

Nice story Wayne!

 

[wwillson]

I used to work with a guy who was present at one of the Bikini Atoll tests. He died in the late 80s from cancer.
He knew he had a high exposure rate. It's crazy what our Government did back then not knowing the effects.

A family friend in my hometown was an electronics specialist in the Army during the '50s. As part of his job, he witnessed several above ground tests in Nevada, at the Nevada Test Site. He's still alive and kicking in his 80s.

 

[jhellwig]

It's on my list of places to see. I did white sands last year. Apparently it's the only place on Earth where Trinitite is found, (and it's Also illegal to take samples with).

Don’t know why your post struck me as odd and made me think. Yes it is the only place where Trinitite can be found but it is and is not unique. It is simply fused sand and bomb parts. Something that can be created any time a bomb of sufficient energy is detonated and sand is pulled into the resulting fireball. The time and place it was created is what makes it unique.


I would rather go to the Idaho national lab if I had to choose one.

 

[burbguy82]

Very cool story.

My wife has never been to the southwest. I was born in Las Vegas, NV, but have not been back there for 25+ years. We were thinking on a cross country trip to Carlsbad to see the trillions of bats. The trinity site would be cool to see, and Roswell, and maybe Walter Whites house.

 

[wwillson]

The trinity site would be cool to see

Remember, it's only open once each year. See info at the Army's site here:
https://home.army.mil/wsmr/contact/public-affairs-office/trinity-site-open-house

 

[burbguy82]

Remember, it's only open once each year. See info at the Army's site here:
https://home.army.mil/wsmr/contact/public-affairs-office/trinity-site-open-house

Two trips then one for bats, and one for the bomb. Maybe i ll just move back to the southwest.

 

[Elkins45]

Remember, it's only open once each year. See info at the Army's site here:
https://home.army.mil/wsmr/contact/public-affairs-office/trinity-site-open-house

Bummer. It used to be a Saturday in March and another in October. I went in October 2008 and it was a neat experience.

There’s a checkpoint a few miles down the road once you get inside the gate. The MP asked if I had any alcohol or firearms and I honestly answered I had a gun. He told me I couldn’t enter with it. Having driven from Kentucky primarily for the event I asked him what I should do and he said most people just hid them in the desert. So that’s what I did: I drove back a couple of miles and turned down a one lane sand track until I saw a plant that looked distinctive and hid my gun behind it. Back at the checkpoint the same MP asked the same question and I said no so he just waved me on in. I have no idea if he recognized me from earlier.

I was quite relieved when my gun was still there when I went back for it a couple of hours later.

 

[daves87rs]

Would love to see it

 

[Finklejag]

Reactor B at Hanford is a cool place to check out also.

Yellow cake taste good.

 

[Elkins45]

Reactor B at Hanford is a cool place to check out also.

Yellow cake taste good.

I would like to tour Hanford some day. Probably because I used to be a science teacher I've done a modest amount of nuclear tourism and would like to do some more. So far I've visited:

Bradbury Museum (Los Alamos)
Oak Ridge (just the museum, I have to go back for the bus tour)
Trinity site
Savannah River
NNSS- the Nevada nuclear testing site (they do free monthly bus tours but you have to apply months in advance)
National Atomic Testing Museum (Las Vegas)
National Museum of Nuclear Science and Energy (Albuquerque)
Titan Missile Museum (southern Arizona)
Minuteman Missile Museum (South Dakota)

We took a group of middle school kids to Oak Ridge when I was a student teacher. Back then you could just freely roam around inside the X-10 graphite reactor building on a self-guided tour, but I think they closed it after 9/11. The most memorable to me were the two missile sites. The tour guide at the Titan site when I visited in 2008 was a former missile launch crew member who worked there before it was deactivated so he really knew what he was talking about.

 

[Opelman]

It really is an experience. A friend and I went years ago as part of a package from what is now the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. Part of this was a presentation the night before with the Army photographer who was there to document the test. Lots of great photos and being able to speak to an eyewitness was a real treat.

 

[cptbarkey]

Was there the same time in 2007, definitely worth a visit. There are feds around so be casual when picking up green rocks

New Mexico is a plethora of nuclear history tourism if that is your thing. I very much enjoyed it and will go back and see everything again.

 

[mk378]

Was more than one bomb exploded there? There were numerous similar above-ground tests during the 1950s.