R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 158

Trinity Site — the McDonald Ranch

The Schmidt-McDonald Ranch House

In 1913 German immigrant Franz Schmidt built a piece of military and scientific history, although he didn’t know it at the time. He built a ranch house. That ranch house, and the 640-acre ranch upon which it sat, were acquired in the 1930s by the McDonald family. In 1942 however the McDonalds were ordered out of their house and off their ranch as the land was “leased” from them and “temporarily” incorporated into the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, which...

Trinity Site Historical Photographs — Part 2

The news breaks — Manhattan Project revealed

Today I present more of the photo history affixed to the chain link fence surrounding Trinity Site.

Trinity Site Obelisk erected in 1965 — 20 years after the blast

The 1965 Open House and unveiling of the Obelisk

This next series of photographs reveal the Trinity test explosion and its aftermath:

Detonation + .006 seconds

Detonation + .025 seconds

Detonation + .053 seconds

Just one tenth of a second after detonation

Characteristic mushroom cloud fo...

Trinity Site Historical Photographs — Part 1

The Gadget — assembled and positioned atop the shot tower

Don’t just look at the Fat Man replica and the Ground Zero obelisk when you arrive at Trinity Site. Spend some time along the perimeter fence for a fascinating look at the history of the Manhattan Project, the men behind it, and the war against Japan in the Pacific Theater:

Army engineers who maintained power and water at Trinity

The Trinity Site Polo Team using police horses, broomsticks, and a volley ball

Jumbo

McDonald Ranch

100 ton...

Trinity Ground Zero and Fat Man

Ground Zero marker

You’ll know when you get to Ground Zero at Trinity Site. It’s marked by the twelve-foot tall lava rock obelisk you see above. The Gadget was hoisted atop a 100-foot/30-meter “shot tower” above this precise location for the July 16, 1945 test. The Gadget was a plutonium device that was the basis for the Fat Man device dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945. There’s even a replica of Fat Man onsite:

Mock-up of Fat Man — the device detonated over Nagasaki

Gadget’s pluton...

Trinity, Jumbo, and the Gadget

Still radioactive over seventy years later

Twice a year there’s an obscure area of scrubland at the north end of the White Sands Missile Range that is opened to the public. Access is tightly controlled. Vehicles are monitored. Guards are posted along the way to direct you. Photography en route to and from this remote site is prohibited. You are about to tour Ground Zero for the world’s first nuclear bomb, a.k.a., “The Gadget“. Welcome to Trinity Site:

Trinity Site

Trinity is open for public a...

Fun Photo Friday — Ballestos Favorites Part 3

This Island is for the Birds

Today is our last look at Islas Ballestas. But before we continue up the coast of South America to Lima, Peru, I’m going to take you on a detour to a very special spot in New Mexico. There’s a reason for this, because this historic site is only open twice a year and upcoming April 2 is one of those two days for 2016. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed in the delay getting back to our northward cruise from Chile to Los Angeles when you see this upcoming surprise. L...

Islas Ballestas, Galápagos on the Cheap — Part 6

Ballestas color

Here is another bird we saw on our excursion to Islas Ballestas. It’s the Inca tern, (the smaller charcoal-colored birds to the left of the larger Peruvian booby) and it sports a stunning red bill, orange feet, and delicate white and yellow designs on its head.

The beautiful red bills of the Inca tern

Here we have a pair of South American sea lions sunning themselves:

Sunning

While these ladies more enjoyed the shade:

Lying in the shade

In this shot we have a number of mother...

Islas Ballestas, Galápagos on the Cheap — Part 5

Peruvian boobies

Yes, we saw much more than Peruvian boobies and South American sea lions on our visit to Islas Ballestas. Here, for instance, are a pair of Humboldt penguins crashing a Pervian booby party:

A pair of Humboldt Penguins crashing the party

We also got a good view of this colorful little guy, a red rock crab, also known as a Sally Lightfoot (grapsus grapsus):

Sally Lightfoot meandering amongst the mollusks

Another look at the nursery:

Sea lion moms and their pups

More Peruvian bo...

Fun Photo Friday — Ballestos Favorites Part 2

Battling Birds for the Catch of the Day

I hope you enjoy today’s second of three Fun Photo Fridays dedicated to Islas Ballestas favorites.

On the Perch

Bridge of Birds (sea lion out for a swim on the left)

Blue on Blue

Green Islands

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Fun Photo Friday, Islas Ballestas, Paracas National Reserve, Peru, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation

Islas Ballestas, Galápagos on the Cheap — Part 4

Natural Bridge

Entire cliffs on Islas Ballestas were covered in birds. Here are more of the ever-present Peruvian boobies demonstrating what I mean:

A Cliff of Birds

Meanwhile Islas Ballestas beaches were crowded with mother sea lions and their army of pups (note the gigantic male on the left side of the photo):

Babies on the Beach

Lest you think that the above photo was merely a tight cropping that misrepresents the numbers, here’s another view:

Pups and Moms

Here are some females enjoying s...