We hadn’t planned to make Santa Fe our next capital, but since we wanted to catch Todd and Tatiana in Albuquerque and had a couple of days to kill, and because the weather report sounded like the weather would actually be pleasant, we headed north. The drive became a little bit grueling because we ran into some unexpected high winds near Vaughn on the way there, but as I checked weather reports for the more northern towns we were passing through on the way to Santa Fe, it looked like the high winds were in a relatively narrow corridor, which proved to be the case. As we drove out of the high winds, some beautiful views which we could actually enjoy opened up to the north.
We were a little disturbed by the snow on the peaks we were approaching, and a little more disturbed by the increasingly large piles of snow we could see from the highway. But, it was sunny and in the 50s and very pleasant once we were through the wind. We were a little surprised that as we drove towards and into Santa Fe, the snow cover got deeper rather than disappearing, and by the time we got to the Capitol, the ground was completely covered in about eight inches of snow. When we had looked at the weather reports, it had never occurred to us to see what the weather had been over the past week and to see if there was any snow on the ground! In the end, it didn’t really matter because despite the snow the warm sunshine made anything more than a sweatshirt unnecessary, and Ty and Princha got to see snow for the first time in their Belizean potlicker lives. Kismet had played in the snow when we were in the US in the winter of 2015/2016, but those two didn’t really know what to make of it. Ty eventually came around and decided that it could be fun, but Princha wasn’t really a fan.
When the dogs finished playing in the snow, we walked on to the Capitol. The Santa Fe Capitol is the only round capitol in the country, and one of only 11 capitols that do not have domes. Downtown Santa Fe is a beautiful and clean city, and the Capitol makes a worthy centerpiece. Even on a Saturday afternoon all sorts of people were walking around, in and out of the building. The building is open to visitors, so Tom and I took turns holding the dogs outside while the other went in, since even though we haven’t been visiting the insides of the capitols, we’d read that this one was worth a look, and it was.
Before leaving Bottomless Lakes SP that morning, we had looked online for a place to stay for the night. We saw a number of BLM lands listed, but most had the caveat that you had to get there on a bumpy dirt road, and since we didn’t know what time we’d be pulling in, we had decided that wasn’t a great idea. We found a Harvest Host brewery in Los Alamos that had all good reviews, and since we were interested in seeing Los Alamos anyway, we booked. We finished walking around the capitol complex in Santa Fe around 4pm, and headed towards Los Alamos and the Bathtub Brewing Co-Op. As we were pulling out of Santa Fe, we realized that Tom wasn’t prepared to hook up the Buddy heater that night, so we did a detour north to a Walmart in Española to pick up a couple 1# propane cylinders to run the heater. That meant we arrived at the brewery shortly after dark.
This shouldn’t have been a problem. It’s in the center of Los Alamos, and they knew we were coming. We checked in, and the bartender told us to drive around to the back where we would be able to park in their private back lot, off the Main Street. When we got to the back lot, we found that it was snow-covered dirt, and the space for our rig was a little tight because another car was parked next to it, and they’ve been doing some landscaping and construction so there were dirt piles and building refuse piles. Tom maneuvered around the obstacles and started to pull into the spot…and sunk. It hadn’t occurred to anyone that the warm temperatures melting the snow on the dirt lot would create a mud pit. Tom realized what was happening right away and stopped, and I got out and switched on the 4WD hubs, and Tom was able to back out before we went any deeper without doing major damage to the lot surface. We drove back around to the front to find out what to do, and after a quick conference among the brewery management reps who were there that night, they cleared us to park on the street behind the brewery. They were working hard to convince us that we’d be okay and safe on the street, and we put their minds at ease by explaining that we’re actually pretty comfortable parking on the streets in Mexican cities, so a back street in Los Alamos for one night seemed like a pretty good deal to us.
This shouldn’t have been a problem. It’s in the center of Los Alamos, and they knew we were coming. We checked in, and the bartender told us to drive around to the back where we would be able to park in their private back lot, off the Main Street. When we got to the back lot, we found that it was snow-covered dirt, and the space for our rig was a little tight because another car was parked next to it, and they’ve been doing some landscaping and construction so there were dirt piles and building refuse piles. Tom maneuvered around the obstacles and started to pull into the spot…and sunk. It hadn’t occurred to anyone that the warm temperatures melting the snow on the dirt lot would create a mud pit. Tom realized what was happening right away and stopped, and I got out and switched on the 4WD hubs, and Tom was able to back out before we went any deeper without doing major damage to the lot surface. We drove back around to the front to find out what to do, and after a quick conference among the brewery management reps who were there that night, they cleared us to park on the street behind the brewery. They were working hard to convince us that we’d be okay and safe on the street, and we put their minds at ease by explaining that we’re actually pretty comfortable parking on the streets in Mexican cities, so a back street in Los Alamos for one night seemed like a pretty good deal to us.
We woke up to a dusting of snow the next morning, which covered the muddy mess we’d made, visible in the lower right of this photo.
After we parked the truck, we went into the brewery to fulfill our Harvest Host commitment and buy some beer. Bathtub Row Brewing has a very yummy chocolate stout, so we had no difficulty drinking a couple of beers each and talking to the locals about what’s fun to do in the area. We hadn’t realized that the National Park Service had turned the Los Alamos Manhattan Project into a National Historical Site until we started talking and also found out that the brewery’s name, Bathtub Row, is because all the lead scientists working on the Manhattan Project lived in the nearby row of houses which were considered nicer than the temporary houses because they had bathtubs. We ended up sitting with the local museum director, who not only explained a lot of the history to us, but also gave us a packet so we could do a walking tour of the town in the morning. We perused the information, drank our stouts, and went back to the camper to get something to eat before going to bed.
Back in the camper, Tom decided to try the Buddy Heater with the propane cylinders. It started right up, and created a lot of heat…for about 10 minutes. When it went out, Tom shook the cylinder to see if it had burned through it that quickly, but it was still almost full. He tried to restart the heater, but it wouldn’t start. After a few minutes, it restarted, but then it went out again after a very short time. When all else fails, we read the directions, so Tom pulled out the instruction book and started through the trouble shooting tree. Not too far down the tree, Tom discovered that most of the Buddy Heaters don’t work well above 7000’. We checked the altimeters on our watches, and discovered that we were at almost 7400’. That solved the mystery of the failing Buddy Heater, but didn’t do much towards keeping us warm, so we closed up for the night and went to bed, hoping it wouldn’t get cold enough to freeze our pipes. All things considered, we both slept well, and woke to temperatures still slightly above freezing, with our pipes intact. Cooking breakfast warmed the camper up to a tolerable temperature, and we ate and then went on our walking tour.
Back in the camper, Tom decided to try the Buddy Heater with the propane cylinders. It started right up, and created a lot of heat…for about 10 minutes. When it went out, Tom shook the cylinder to see if it had burned through it that quickly, but it was still almost full. He tried to restart the heater, but it wouldn’t start. After a few minutes, it restarted, but then it went out again after a very short time. When all else fails, we read the directions, so Tom pulled out the instruction book and started through the trouble shooting tree. Not too far down the tree, Tom discovered that most of the Buddy Heaters don’t work well above 7000’. We checked the altimeters on our watches, and discovered that we were at almost 7400’. That solved the mystery of the failing Buddy Heater, but didn’t do much towards keeping us warm, so we closed up for the night and went to bed, hoping it wouldn’t get cold enough to freeze our pipes. All things considered, we both slept well, and woke to temperatures still slightly above freezing, with our pipes intact. Cooking breakfast warmed the camper up to a tolerable temperature, and we ate and then went on our walking tour.
We discovered that we had spent the night basically in the back yard of the house occupied by Manhattan Project Scientific Director Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. This was one of the Bathtub Row houses.
Every point in the city of Los Alamos has a fantastic view.
The walking tour isn’t just about the Manhattan Project; Ancestral Pueblo history is also included, as well as pioneer history.
After our walking tour, we telephoned Bandelier National Monument to see if the roads to get there were okay, and if the trails were open. The ranger who answered the phone assured us that everything was open and accessible, so we packed up and headed for Bandelier National Monument.