LOS ALAMOS HISTORY
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Learn / Research >
      • Information For Teachers
      • Teachers and Caregivers
      • Adult Resources >
        • National History Day
        • Homestead Driving Tour
        • History at Home
        • Pioneering Women in Los Alamos
        • Development of the Atomic Bomb
        • Links and Resources
      • Archive >
        • About the Archive
        • Research Appointments
        • Inside the Archives
        • Share Your Stories
        • COVID-19 Collecting
    • Careers/Jobs
    • Who We Are
    • Contact
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Museum Campus
    • Museum >
      • Exhibits >
        • Online and Temporary Exhibits
      • Victory Garden
      • Explore Los Alamos
    • Tours
    • Oppenheimer House
  • Programs
    • Upcoming Events
    • Lecture Series
    • Spring 2023 Tour to Trinity
    • History Award
    • Los Alamos / Japan Project
    • Volunteer Training
  • Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate to Projects
    • Legacy Society
    • Collections Donations
    • Donate Your Time- Volunteer
  • History Blog
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Children's Books & Gifts
    • Apparel
    • Gifts

Explore Los Alamos History:
​Beyond Museum Walls

Anniversary Trail - Inspiration Point

6/10/2020

1 Comment

 
If you want to stand where roads from two eras, Ranch School and Manhattan Project, converge this is your trail!  

The trail ends at Meditation Point, a beautiful spot where one may watch cars snaking up the Main Hill road and view the Rio Grande Rift and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance. 
​
Picture
Getting There
There are multiple entry points to Anniversary Trail that leads to Meditation Point. 
1. Turn off of NM 502 onto a small dirt road right across (south) of the Manhattan Project Main Gate Park. 
2. Park along NM 502 near the water tower.
3. Heading east on NM 502, park on the right wide turnout just before the road descends  around the end of the mesa.

No matter where you park on this road, begin hiking east. This is a small piece of land, bordered by NM 502 to the north, and Lower Los Alamos Canyon to the south. The original Otowi Hill Road zig-zagged to the top of the mesa along the south side of the point. The Manhattan Project road improvement reaches the top of the mesa on the north side of the point (following 502). 

History Nugget
In 1921 Otowi Hill Road was constructed to serve Los Alamos Ranch School and homesteaders on Pajarito Plateau. This road included a series of six switchbacks near the top of Los Alamos mesa. 

When the Manhattan Project arrived on the mesa, they found the switchback turns too tight for some military trucks. Those unable to make the turn would have to back up one of the switchbacks.  In 1943 the road was straightened to remove the final hairpin turn.

Imagine
"I myself can never drive toward the Pajarito mesas without feeling what I did as a little girl, that I am about to enter a legendary land."
​                                                (p.15, The House at Otowi Bridge by Peggy Pond Church)
What are your feelings as you stand in this place, surrounded by historic roads and dramatic  vistas?
 
Explore

1. Find the names, initials, and years recorded in the tuff along the old Otowi Hill Road. 
2. Compare the final leg that is part of the Ranch School Road (on the south side of the mesa) with the improvement created by the Manhattan Project (on the north side of the mesa).
​3. Find a rectangle made out of concrete in the middle of the Otowi Road near the top on the south side of the mesa. This is the remains of an old cattle guard across the road. 
1 Comment
Inspire link
12/7/2022 09:52:01 am

Great post

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Beyond
    ​Museum Walls

    Los Alamos is surrounded by history! We invite you to walk in the footsteps of history as you explore historic sites in Los Alamos, NM.

    Please click
    "Read More" under a picture or choose a category below to learn more about each place. 

    Categories

    All
    Anniversary Trail
    Bayo Canyon
    Camp Hamilton
    Camp May
    Carved Rocks
    Graduation Canyon
    Lujan Road
    Romero Cabin

    RSS Feed

    Los Alamos County Trail Map
    Picture
    Picture
    This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the
    Humanities and the New Mexico Humanities Council.
Home
About
Contact
Plan Your Visit
Shop
​Events
The Los Alamos Historical Society preserves, promotes, and communicates the remarkable history and inspiring stories of Los Alamos and its people for our community, for the global audience, and for future generations. 
Become a Member!
Los Alamos History Museum Logo
Picture
Picture
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Learn / Research >
      • Information For Teachers
      • Teachers and Caregivers
      • Adult Resources >
        • National History Day
        • Homestead Driving Tour
        • History at Home
        • Pioneering Women in Los Alamos
        • Development of the Atomic Bomb
        • Links and Resources
      • Archive >
        • About the Archive
        • Research Appointments
        • Inside the Archives
        • Share Your Stories
        • COVID-19 Collecting
    • Careers/Jobs
    • Who We Are
    • Contact
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Museum Campus
    • Museum >
      • Exhibits >
        • Online and Temporary Exhibits
      • Victory Garden
      • Explore Los Alamos
    • Tours
    • Oppenheimer House
  • Programs
    • Upcoming Events
    • Lecture Series
    • Spring 2023 Tour to Trinity
    • History Award
    • Los Alamos / Japan Project
    • Volunteer Training
  • Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate to Projects
    • Legacy Society
    • Collections Donations
    • Donate Your Time- Volunteer
  • History Blog
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Children's Books & Gifts
    • Apparel
    • Gifts