Santa Fe to Alamogordo

This morning we found out that D would be released from the hospital this afternoon. That is a huge relief. I know he will be much happier at home, with his family and Bella, the dog you met in yesterday’s post. I was able to stop by the hospital for a visit this morning before I headed South to Alamogordo, NM.

Yet again, I drove almost 4 hours through a whole lot of nothin’. Some of it was quite scenic but, again, no place to safely pull over. I’m going to have to figure out how to store and organize all of the mental images I am accumulating during this trip.

Alamogordo , established in 1898 to support the construction of the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad, is an early example of a planned community. It is known for its connection to the 1945 Trinity test , which was the first ever explosion of an atomic bomb. It remains a civilian support community for various aerospace sites outside of the city, including White Sands Space Harbor , White Sands Missile Range , and Holloman Air Force Base . With the creation of White Sands National Monument  in 1933, tourism was added as an important economic factor.

I did not previously know of the connection of New Mexico to the Shroud of Turin, a religious relic believed by some to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. Apparently, the world's largest scientific expedition ever launched to study a single artifact, the Shroud, began in NM in 1976. Alamogordo hosts the Shroud Exhibit And Museum , located in White Sands Mall, which showcases a full-sized back-lit photographic transparency of the Shroud. I’m not sure I will have time to visit the exhibit as I have other activities planned, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Across the street from my hotel I noticed B.H. Lescolmes Winery and Bistro . Although this restaurant is effectively a chain, it is surprisingly upscale for a town dominated by standard fast food chains. They feature wines of New Mexico.  As has become my habit I sat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine and an appetizer. This allowed me to chat with the bartenders, and a couple who sat next to me. Among other topics of conversation, I got a restaurant recommendation for Oklahoma City.