#Visit Alamogordo

[nmnomad]

Sunrise at White Sands. Normally, it is a challenge to get to the dunes before the sun rises, because the gate opens after sunrise. However, they open the gate PRIOR to sunrise during the White Sands Balloon Invitational in early September.

[thekimspoblog]

Sheepdog: "Elevator"

Kim continues to doggedly drag herself across the hallway of the courthouse. The elevator is still several yards away, and other people in suits have already packed themselves into it. Just as the doors close and the music begins to fade out, Howard’s voice pierces through the commotion like nails on a chalkboard.

“Kim! Kim! Aha! Was almost worried I wouldn’t catch up to you”

Our heroine just nods, counting the seconds that this exchange has to drag on.

Howard continues, “Wow… Look at you!”

“Look at me…” she parrots, praying the sarcasm is hamfisted enough that he’ll take a goddamn hint.

“It’s just… I had no idea!” the pompous little prince apologized.

“It’s a funny story. Neither did I!” replied Kim.

“How… How do you feel?”

“My back hurts, my boobs hurt, my feet hurt, nausea, dizziness, fatigue. All the hits; all the classics. Truth be told, I feel more beaten up than when I wrecked my car. Then again, they gave me Percocet when I wrecked my car…”

“Well you look great,” Howard had to push it, “You’re glowing”

“Wish I could return the compliment, Howard. But really, you look like hell. I mean you’ve always kind of looked like a wax mannequin, but lately it’s like you’re melting under the lights!”

“How’s the solo practice working out? No offense, but oftentimes even if pro-bono work can be spiritually validating, financially it can feel like a fisherman who’s limited themself to minnows”

“Well, that’s one reason we didn’t spring for a big ceremony” Kim responded through a gritted smile, “But I’ve found my own ways to still put bread on the table. Bootstraps and elbow grease and long nights, and all that”

“You know, I know how difficult it can be to quit smoking. Believe me, it took multiple tries myself. But I was recently reading yet another medical journal emphasizing the harm cigarettes and other tobacco products can do to an unborn child. You have no idea the stress it puts…”

This was a good point for Kim to cut him off, “Howard, are we friends?”

“What do you mean?”

“Because if we were friends, this level of concern would be very touching,” her eyes widened, “But if we’re not friends, this exchange could be interpreted as intrusive, and condescending, and overbearing, and… annoying”

“Well…” Howard’s face broke into a deep frown, “Chuck’s gone… If you and I aren’t friends… I guess I don’t have any friends…”

The elevator finally returned to the ground floor.

“Congratulations, either way…” Howard shrugged, sounding wistful, “Give Jimmy my best”

Kim lugged her heavy briefcase into the compartment and turned around. “This conversation was a treat. I’ll tell you everything, how about next Thursday? We can go over it over tequila shots!”

The doors closed before that life-sized Ken doll could get another word in edgewise.

________

At around 9:45 pm, over 13 hours and several scenes later:

Wexler-McGill are engaged in some blandly cute preoccupation; lavender swaying in the breeze, warm milk, and reveries, all that jazz, when the landline rings…

“Hello?” Jimmy answers, “Oh hey, Ernie! Long time, no talk. I'm going to put you on speakerphone”

“Hey Jimmy… Did Howard ever visit Alamogordo? Trinity Test Site? Was he ever anywhere near White Sands? You and Kim knew him longer than I did”

“Trinity?! Um, no. He never mentioned anything like that. Can you really imagine him mucking around in the desert in his Bontonis?”

“I just didn’t know who else to talk to,” sighed Ernie, “I’ve still got friends at HHM, and they’re all kind of panicking, because they know they’ve basically lost their jobs. But it’s all just so weird! The examiner keeps asking me questions, and nobody here knew him well enough to have any answers”

“Ernie, what are you talking about?” Jimmy tried to interrupt.

“At first, it seemed like a heart attack, or maybe the flu. He was in a cold sweat when he collapsed. Then, early test results were saying kidney cancer, and it went undiagnosed? But apparently - they can’t explain it - the body’s radioactive. Like he walked too close to a power plant. Or he picked up a piece of radioactive glass, or something? His hair was falling out; now the doctors are saying it was radiation poisoning”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down. You’re saying Howard is sick? He’s in the hospital?”

“I’m sorry!” Ernie stammered, “I assumed you’d already heard… Howard’s dead”

“That’s impossible. Kim talked to him this morning”

Kim averted her gaze.

“He refused to take a sick day, said he’d just sleep it off on the couch. He said he felt great afterwards, everything went on as usual, then just as they were all packing up, he was saying something to Marci when he just… dropped. The rest of the employees are fine, but the doctors called in some people with Geiger Counters, and their readings are over 5,000 on Hamlin. A-apparently that’s high…”

“Ripley's…” Jimmy mumbled, quite perplexed but still fundamentally apathetic about any loose threads involving his former boss, “I’m sure more will be in the news in the coming weeks. But needless to say, Howard and I weren’t close, especially not these past few years. I’ve got my own plate full, otherwise I’d offer to hire those poor mailroom comrades who are now out on their asses. This is real spooky. Keep me posted, Ernie”

After a few more patient nods, Jimmy put the receiver down. He looked over to see Kim running her hands over her middle, disturbed. Wasn't this what she wanted? Didn’t she wish for Howard to drop dead? Since yesterday, every obstacle in her path seemed to be courteously moving out of the way. And there was only so much that could be blamed on serendipity.

[3pirouette]

Fic: The Prices We're Willing to Pay (2/?)

Title: The Prices We’re Willing to Pay

By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :)

Story Summary: Inspired by Multiverse of Madness. What if it had all gone differently?

READ PROLOGUE/CH 1 HERE

Chapter 2: The First Avengers

AN: Pivotal moments from Captain America: The First Avenger. These are all meant to just be small scenes, showing where major changes happened. You can fill in with your own head cannons things you think happened that I missed.

I was a little worried that I wrote a check I wouldn’t be able to cash- that set up- I just love this idea so much but I really was concerned I wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

I can’t tell you how excited I am now, because this chapter told me that not only can I pull this off, but I’m going to love every minute writing it. Chapters will get longer and detailed the more we start to deviate from the existing canon.

~*~

She bemoaned that her hair was wet and that she wasn’t exactly stepping forward with her best foot, but it was a war and she had looked somewhat presentable when she’d left her tent. If he’d changed somehow since she’d last seen him, if his only desire was the thin chorus girls in the short skirts and tight vests as opposed to her now broader shoulders and muscled calves in the SSR uniforms, well then, he wasn’t what she wanted, anyway. “Hello, Steve.”

He turned, and she wasn’t sure if it was surprise or shock that was written on his face, but she hoped she wasn’t imagining what she thought was excitement, too. “Hi…” he stammered, turning to her. His eyes were just as blue as she remembered them being all those months ago when she last saw him. “What are you doing here?”

“Officially, I’m not here at all,” she sighed, folding her trench coat and sitting on it, “but Stark has to be here, so…” She looked away at the pounding rain then back at him, trying to fill the silence. “That was quite a performance.”

“Yeah,” he turned, feathers ruffled. “I had to improv a little bit. The crowds I’m used to are usually more…” he shook his head and she saw embarrassment and frustration behind his bright eyes, “twelve.”

“Come on,” she tried to smile, he hadn’t turned away from her yet. “Aren’t you America’s new hope?” she asked, parroting back the ridiculous tag line she’d seen on posters.

He hung his head. “Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit.”

“Is that senator Brandt I hear?” She shook her head, looking far off into the rain. “At least he has you doing something.”

She could feel Steve’s eyes on her as he spoke. “You know just as well as I do that Stark taking you with him was the best outcome.”

She couldn’t look at him, didn’t want him to see the tear that spilled from the eye turned away from his gaze. “I’d done so much more as a spy, though, before this. I could do so much more.”

His voice dropped, soft. “There was no safe place for you in Alamogordo. We all know that.”

Her head turned, sharp. She knew well the rumors of what happened to women in places like that, she knew it didn’t matter how strong or how fast she was if they had collars and cuffs and chains and sedatives, and she knew that going with Howard and keeping her new abilities a secret had been the best choice. It didn’t make it hurt any less. “At least you’re doing something.” She laughed mirthlessly, wiping at her face. “Even if you do feel like a dancing monkey.” If he’d seen the tears, he didn’t mention it. “At least you’re not just getting coffee and typing and filing all day.”

“I’ll have you know that the heavy lifting you do more than makes up for the fact that your coffee should be considered a war crime.” Howard Stark’s voice surprised them both. He laughed, stepping under the tent and pushing his hood back. “So deep in your pity party you didn’t hear me coming, huh?”

Steve hemmed and hawed, looking away and closing the book on his sketches. “We were…”

“Misery loves company,” Peggy bit out, smiling harshly.

“Yeah,” Howard blew out a heavy sigh, sitting on an overturned crate, “you’ve made me very aware of how you feel.” He shrugged, pulling the book from Steve’s hands and flipping back to his drawing. “So those are your only choices? Lab Rat, secretary, or dancing monkey?”

Steve pulled the book back, flipping it closed, and Howard stood, pacing. “You were meant for more than this, you know.” He sighed, leaning down to get in Steve’s face. “He believed in you, and I do, too.”

“And me?” Peggy asked, tired of being overlooked. Howard laughed, and she reared back, jaw set tight. “I don’t see what’s so—”

“You already were!” Howard laughed out. “To have you, one of the greatest spies of this war, getting me terrible coffee and filing my paperwork with the pentagon, is a damn waste. And you!” He leaned back down at Steve, “You might be untested, but Erskine hasn’t steered me wrong, yet.” Howard stood, shaking his head. “They don’t trust you, but we do. I do.” He poked himself in the chest, fervent and almost ranting. “If you can run and jump and punch half as hard as she can, the two of you put together would be unstoppable. You win this war.”

They were all brought up short by shouts and horns, the sound of a medic truck pulling though and the sounds of wounded men reminding them of just where they were.

Steve kept his eyes on the medics as they unloaded man after man. “You know, for the longest time I dreamed about coming overseas, fighting on the front line, serving my country… I finally got everything I wanted, and I’m wearing tights.” He sighed, turning back to Howard. “They’ve been through hell. The two of us, there’s no way…”

Peggy shook her head, agreeing. “When you’ve managed to convince Brant to let us out into the field, let me know. I think it’ll be years before he’s willing to let us move around unchaperoned, if at all.”

Howard’s smile was more than enough to clue Peggy into the fact that he was up to no good. “That’s the genius part of my plan, Carter.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his toes. “Brandt ain’t here, and I have a private plane.” He turned, flipping his hood over his head and stopped, looking back when they didn’t move. “Well? Come on. The 107th isn’t going to save itself.”

Steve jumped, running after him. “The 107th?”

She barely had time to throw her coat over her head as she ran to follow them. Peggy’s heart was beating fast, and she wasn’t sure if it was with fear or excitement, but she liked it.

~*~

Peggy stared at the empty plane as Steve took a seat at the controls. She was well familiar with what she could do as Lady Britain (a title she very much did not enjoy) and hadn’t been exactly surprised when she and Steve managed to make a successful grab for the plane’s wheels before it took off. She wasn’t exactly surprised at how the fight had gone, either, though the tesseract’s energy blast still left her feeling off-kilter and anxious.

“Peg,” Steve’s voice trembled more than she’d ever heard it, and she was by his side immediately.

His eyes said all she needed to know, but she asked, anyway. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ll…” He took a deep breath, looking across the broken controls, “We’ll have to put her down in the water.”

“We’ll get Howard on the line- he’ll—” She was stopped short by the crack and fizz of electronics dying short deaths under his hands, the German instruments they could read making no sense and other displays broken so badly they couldn’t tell where they were if they wanted to. “There has to be…”

He took one hand from the wheel and took hers, lacing their fingers together. “You saw those bombs, Peg.” He swallowed, hard. “Even if we don’t hit New York, wherever we land…”

“Just…” her heart was pounding, she didn’t know what to say. Of all the crazy things they’d done, of all the times they’d stared down death, it had never felt as close and as real as it did in this moment. “Phillips saw us take off. There will be planes any moment.”

His face crumpled tight, and she could see the tears gather in the corners of his eyes. “I wish you hadn’t jumped after me,” he whispered, taking both hands off the wheel and hugging her tight, burying his face against her stomach. “I don’t know how long we can wait.”

She ran her fingers through his hair, and could feel his anguish in the way he held her. She didn’t know how it was possible- either they’d been on the plane far longer than it felt, or the plane was far faster than any of them dreamed- but the clouds cleared and she could see just the tiniest outline of a coast. She wasn’t equipped to know if it was England or Iceland or America, but the truth was, it didn’t matter and they both knew it. “I know, my darling,” she whispered, holding him to her. “I wish neither of us had, now.”

“We can wait,” he whispered against her. “We can wait just a little while longer.”

Peggy thought of all the times one of them had uttered that sentence: behind the mess after their first kiss, behind his tent after their second, sitting quietly just far enough away from each other on quiet nights while the Commandos slept soundly in tents under their watch, when things had gotten just a little too intense one night after a mission and they found themselves half drunk on adrenaline and half naked in each other’s arms behind a little bar in Poland… There had been too many times where they’d pushed each other away, where they’d put their happiness on hold, where they assumed there’d be a tomorrow to explore the pull that existed between them.

And now, there really was the chance that there was no tomorrow.

They’d missed their opportunity to know one another, to love one another, as more than just partners and soldiers and friends.

They’d been so caught up in their duty, in being Captain America and Lady Britain, that they never got the chance to just be Steve and Peggy.

But she knew him well enough, they’d stolen enough moments and kisses and conversations, that she knew that under his broad shoulders and bright white smile was a kind and sweet soul that felt every loss, and was being crushed by the decision he thought he had to make in this moment.

With one hand, Peggy reached out and pushed the wheel forward, sending them into a nosedive and taking the decision from him.

He looked up, fear and surprise in his eyes. “Peg…”

“I’ll love you forever, my Captain,” she whispered, knowing he’d hear it even though the wind whipping through the cockpit.

He pulled away and stood, feet shifting to get a better stance as he wrapped one arm around her and set his hand next to hers on the wheel, pushing just a little harder, accelerating them. He turned, looking just barely down into her eyes. “I’ll love you forever and a day, my Lady,” he replied, voice thick.

She barked a laugh as she held back tears. “Always have to one up me, don’t you?”

“I never could,” he replied nosing at her cheek, serious. His lips pressed against hers for just a moment before the plane jolted, knocking them against one another. He held her tight, looking around. “We could, you know, try to survive.”

She laughed again with actual mirth this time, stepping back and pulling him with her towards their shields as the ground made a fast approach. “So practical, you.”

“It’s why you keep me around,” he pointed at his head as she tossed him his shield and pulled him back into the corridor, “good, old, strategic mind.”

“Actually,” she handed him her shield and slid against one of the ship’s central I-beams, Steve nodding at her choice of crevice as it seemed most likely to hold them tight without crumpling against them, “I rather just keep you around because I like your arse in those tights.”

He shook his head, sliding in with her. “You know very well I don’t wear the tights anymore.” He pulled their shields tight against the gap, further protecting them. “Peg, can you move a little? I don’t want to step on your—”

He never finished the sentence, didn’t get a chance to as the earth stopped the ship, the metal bouncing off the ice like a stone skipping across a lake, the sharp sound of the metal rending itself apart against the ice slowly halting until there wasn’t a sound but the hiss of the hot plane melting the ice around it, sinking further and further into the unforgiving elements.

~*~

Ever since that day in the pod, when Steve declared he could smell her, Peggy paid attention to scents. Their heightened senses could detect the faintest hint of things, and she often wondered which of the things they smelt on a daily basis in the field, the acrid odor of mud and shit of the latrines, the fresh dewy scent of winter pine, the floral notes of her perfume, Steve was smelling for the first time.

Strong smells always made an impression, and nothing smelled stronger than a hospital. There were always the cleaning agents, the sanitizers, the alcohol and the iodine. A hospital was the sharp taste of metal on her tongue and the underlying stench of putrid gangrene and bedsores.

Every hospital and every medic tent she stepped into during the war smelled the exact same, which was why she knew the room she was in was not in a hospital like the young woman at the foot of her bed touted.

It smelled too warm, too soft, and not sharp enough.

And the sounds…

She couldn’t hear the clang of instruments through the walls or the mumbles of doctors or the wails of the sick.

She heard mechanical noises.

Noises she’d never heard before.

She jumped from the bed and held the woman against the wall. “Where am I?”

“Agent Carter—”

Peggy jumped back, the woman crumpling to the floor. Only a handful of people knew her true identity, and this woman certainly shouldn’t have known, Axis or Ally. “Where is Steve?”

She reached for a button on the side table, and Peggy wasn’t quite fast enough, didn’t quite have her legs under her enough to get to it before she pressed it. Peggy used the momentum from her miss to push past the girl and straight through the wall. It was flimsy, no more than thin boards, and she ran. She barely looked at the room, at the people as she moved, bemoaning her bare feet and the flimsy hospital gown she wore with what she was sure was little or nothing under it- she hadn’t really stopped to look.

“Agent Carter!”

She stopped in her tracks, the booming voice demanding her attention. Peggy turned slowly, coiled to strike at the dark man in leather with a patch over one eye. “How do you know my name.”

“I know a lot more than that,” he offered, clearly but gently. He waved a hand and the row of men in suits behind him with guns raised lowered them. “But I think there’s someone you might want to see first.”

She tried to keep her interest from showing on her face. “Where are we?”

“New York,” he supplied, “but the where isn’t exactly as interesting as the when part.”

Her heart pounded in her chest, hands shaking with the adrenaline. “The when?”

“What do you remember, Agent Carter?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because I’ll take you to Steve,” he responded, cautiously but firmly stepping closer. “I’m going to do that anyway, by the way.” He held out his hand. “Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD, formerly known as the SSR.”

She looked him up and down, stepping closer but not taking his hand. “So, the when is important.”

“Stark, Erskine, and Phillips starting looking for you the moment your ship went off the radar. Finding you and Captain Rogers was SHIELDs first mission.” He dropped his hand and clasped them behind his back. “I’m sorry to say that your rescue mission was about seventy years too late.”

Her eyes widened, her mouth moving but little more than a hiss came out as she tried to quantify what was a lifetime come and gone. Her eyes seemed to focus the moment before her brain did, and she finally saw the metal and glass of the building, the architecture she’d never imagined before, the screens that showed brightly colored moving pictures, the tiny boxes the men were talking into… somehow, though shocking, it was easier to accept than she thought.

“Seventy,” he confirmed, snapping his hand behind him. “Coulson, get this woman some clothes, please.”

The young agent nodded, moving out of the formation, mumbling to himself. “I told them she’d never go for it.”

“He’s a fan,” Fury nearly smiled. “Been heading up the continued search for years now.”

“You said you could--” she took a shaky breath, eyes closed as the images came flooding back to her: the way the land rushed up to them, finding the tiny space to hide in, his scraped up face when she found him on the floor, his eye swollen shut, the way the snow drifted onto his eyelashes as the plane rocked gently in the water, the way she suddenly felt warm, even though she couldn’t really feel anything at all. She popped her eyes open, pushing her shoulders back and willing the memories away. “You said you could take me to him. Is he—” She found she couldn’t finish the sentence, didn’t want to think about what it might mean to have it answered.

“Captain Rogers is alive,” he did smile this time, and Peggy felt her entire body relax. “He’s still coming to. Maybe a regular room might be a better idea?” She nodded, and he swept his hand out, showing her the way back from where she’d come. “I’ll get them to bring in a chair for you.”

[melmac78]

For the ask game: 6 for John please

How would I spend the day with John?

Well, clearly it's space themed somewhat … but as I'd expect he'd visit these two places for sure I wouldn't be taking him to the traditional NASA/Space Center Houston (Texas) or Cape Kennedy (Florida).

I'd argue he'd be interested in touring the remains of the Trinity Project site, but as that's an all day event and you really wouldn't see much - I think he'd skip it unless he really needed sleep.

(The Trinity Project site is open only twice a year as it's on the White Sands Military base. It's the site where they tested the first nuclear bomb, and really from what I've seen and read, there isn't much).

So, we'd go to the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, New Mexico and tour the building.

He'd probably be like me - but worse, correcting folks on names of astronauts next to the scale models of the original projects.

(No seriously - for as much as they talk about Alan Shepard himself and John Glenn's Friendship 7 mission, they sure do use a lot of photos of Gordon Cooper for references to items. Cooper wasn't even from New Mexico. Several of the doctors and physicians who whittled down the 32 applicants to 7 were that I know of, and the original 7 had their physicals in a clinic in Albuquerque).

He'd likely too get a kick out of seeing all the rockets and test tracks and such.

Don't know if the staff would be appreciative or annoyed he’d talk people through the landing of shuttles in the simulators (they have fun seeing folks try but fail spectacularly…) then debate the rocket building. (He Would have some issues about the experiences of the experience if you were in a rocket or shuttle for several projects).

We'd likely skip the planetarium and Omni, but instead go to White Sands National Park (not part of the base) and have fun walking and sliding down the sand dunes. (Yes, we'd get the sleds to do this, and hilarity would ensue. There'd be perks here with him being well known- he would have a lifetime pass to the parks).

Afterward, we'd likely go to either Pistachioland for pistachios (maybe sample some wine) or just head up 18 miles to Cloudcroft, stopping at the Red Barn Restaurant to eat a good burger and fries (I preferred theirs over the restaurant I ate at in Cloudcroft, though it too was good), maybe see the railroad trestle bridge too.

If the weather was pleasant we'd eat outside and enjoy the mountain view (it was too windy and cold for me to do this last go).

The rest of the day would be enjoying the mountains in Cloudcroft, some shopping (if the weather was nice - the snow does stay there even in 60*F temps), drive by the museum (I'll be honest it'd be closed by the time we got there), do some walking around the cabin site and then turn in for the night. It would either be two separate cabins or one of the larger ones with two separate rooms.

Thanks for the ask.

[rabbitcruiser]

Extraterrestrial Culture Day  

Extraterrestrial Culture Day exists "to celebrate and honor all past,  present and future extraterrestrial visitors in ways to enhance  relationships among all citizens of the cosmos, known and unknown." It  was established with the passing of House Memorial 44 by New Mexico's  legislature on March 21, 2003. (Memorials do not have the force of law,  and do not need to be passed by both houses or be signed by the  governor.) Although the day is specific to New Mexico, it has been  celebrated by those beyond its borders.

State Representative Daniel Foley of Roswell introduced the day with  House Bill 766. The bill designated the day to be celebrated on every  second Thursday of February, but when the memorial was passed, the  holiday was changed to every second Tuesday of the month instead.  According to the memorial, the day was created because  "extraterrestrials have contributed to the worldwide recognition of New  Mexico through their many and ongoing visitations, sightings,  unexplained mysteries, attributed technological advances,  experimentations, expeditions, explorations, intrigues, provision of  story lines for Hollywood epics and other accomplishments of alien  beings throughout the universe."

How have extraterrestrials contributed to the worldwide recognition  of New Mexico? It all goes back to 1947, to a spot about 75 miles from  Roswell, where rancher Mac Brazel found debris in his sheep pasture.  After finding metallic sticks held together with tape, a glossy and  heavy paper-like material, and pieces of plastic and foil reflectors, he  called the local sheriff. The sheriff called Roswell Army Air Force  Base, and they came and took the debris away in armored trucks.

On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Daily Record ran a front-page story  titled "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch in Roswell Region." The  following day, the Roswell Army Air Force put out a statement saying  that it was not a flying saucer that had been found, but rather, it was  remnants of a weather balloon. But by looking at the debris, it was  pretty clear that it wasn't a weather balloon, and many people didn't  buy the story, with some even believing that it indeed was a flying  saucer.

In the decade that followed, many "dummy drops" to research ways  people could survive high drops were done in New Mexico. Dummies with  skin made of latex and bones of aluminum were dropped from the sky and  military vehicles retrieved them. People found this quite odd, as it  looked like aliens were falling from the sky, and some thought that was  the case and that the vehicles that picked them up were taking them to  get experimented on by the government. This did nothing but increase  speculation that there had been a conspiracy and cover-up in Roswell in  1947.

In 1994, the Pentagon declassified most information about the dummy  drops. They also declassified information about what they claimed had  really been found in Roswell, which they said had to do with something  called Project Mogul—a top-secret atomic espionage project. The General  Accounting Office also released a report titled "Report of Air Force Research Regarding the 'Roswell Incident.'"

According to the government, Project Mogul was started during World  War II and stationed at the Alamogordo Air Field, being made up of  geophysicists and oceanographers from New York University, Columbia  University, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The project placed  balloons with low-frequency sound sensors in the tropopause, the area  between the troposphere and stratosphere, where sound can travel  thousands of miles. The hope was that they would be able to pick up  information about nuclear tests taking place in the Soviet Union.

The report said that the debris was made up of 700 feet of neoprene  balloons, radar reflectors, and sonic equipment. Some new materials  were invented for use in Project Mogul, so it made sense that some of  the materials weren't recognizable and looked otherworldly. According to  the report, the Roswell Army Air Field didn't have any knowledge of the  project. They weren't exactly sure what had been found, with some  thinking the debris may have been from a Russian spy plane or satellite,  but they just said it was a weather balloon because that made the most  sense. Those at Project Mogul couldn't step up and say what it actually  was, as that would compromise the project. In the present day, many  don't believe the government's story, and some make trips to Roswell to  be near the spot where they believe extraterrestrials crashed to earth.  On Extraterrestrial Culture Day, we honor these and other  extraterrestrial visitors.

How to Observe Extraterrestrial Culture Day

Perhaps the best way to celebrate the day is to go to New Mexico and attempt to find the Roswell crash site. Tours are sometimes also given. Official tours weren't given until 2018, and you could check if any will be held soon. There are also other tours  you could take, which are given by local researchers that take people  to various sites related to the incident. Roswell also has the International UFO Museum and Research Center and other attractions.

The day could be celebrated by reading a books about aliens or the Roswell incident. You could watch television shows such as Roswell or Roswell, New Mexico, or a documentary series like Ancient Aliens. There also is not a short supply of alien movies. Some classics include Alien, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

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[thetiemandemons]

First Post Woo!

Hello! My name's Holland, my mom's name is Julie, and we're the Tieman Demons XD. I had a hard time coming up with a duo name for us, ok? This blog was first proposed around 10 years ago, when my mom and I were still travelling, but we never actually pursued it. I decided that I'd create it just for fun so that we can blog about our time in Las Vegas this coming December (2023), where we'll be travelling to celebrate our birthdays - Mine is the 12th and hers is the 5th. This is just to sort of simulate what that travel blog may have looked like, and we thought it might be fun to share our experience in Las Vegas. For some background, my mom and I have travelled all across the country, hailing from Illinois and living in a few different states, namely New York, New Mexico and Nevada, specifically Buffalo/Niagara Falls, Alamogordo, Las Cruses, and of course, Las Vegas, one of our all time favorite places to have ever lived. I think I was 9 or 10 when we moved there, and I was 10-11 when I had to leave after shifts in custody, returning to Illinois where we currently live together. Now I'm 20. I've been planning this trip for a long time, deciding on places to visit, shop and eat and watching new developments from afar while waiting for the right time to return (yes, I adore Keith Lee!!). I thought that it would be fitting to return to Vegas once I was old enough to fully indulge in everything it has to offer - drinking, gambling, clubbing, and so on. Too bad pools will be out of season, I had briefly considered visiting some topless rooftop ones that I remember longing to visit as a kid (haha). Over the next few months, I'll be working to save up and prepare for this trip, though we already have the vast majority of the money we need for it saved (thank god for unemployment settlements XD). I plan on posting here about plans of where I'd like to visit, though I don't plan on giving any specific dates for me and my mom's safety, and because we'll mostly be going with the flow for most of the trip. I also hope to answer any questions about past travelling experiences, speak on those experiences, and take suggestions for places to visit while in Vegas. Anyway, this is much longer than I meant for it to be, so here's a picture from about 10 years ago, and then a picture from about a year ago from a trip to Minnesota :)

[labrisaphoto]

A year ago, I was photographing Morgan and Justin’s incredible wedding in Michigan. Throughout the day, Brisa was sending me updates on her efforts to get ahold of her dad. As the wedding reception was in full swing, I stepped out to check my phone. After reading Brisa’s text, I collapsed to my knees in shock at what I just read. I couldn’t believe it. That was impossible. Then, I gathered myself and went back into the reception. The joyfulness and exuberance of that celebration gave me just enough energy to prevent me from fully breaking down. A year later, we decided on Monday to make a trip to visit G-pa’s gravesite this weekend. Brisa called her soon to be 98 year old grandma to invite her to come and amazingly she said yes! Grandma, now GG (aka Great Grandma), flew by herself to AZ, and then we road tripped it to Alamogordo, NM. We spent the weekend playing in the White Sands and eating well at local restaurants in memory of him. Before driving back home, we picked up lunch and had a perfect picnic at his gravesite and reminisced about our son, father, father-in-law and G-Pa, Ruben. I can’t believe you’ve already been gone for a year. It still doesn’t feel real. Thank you for continuing to watch over us and for giving us a reason to visit beautiful New Mexico more often! #PreserveRelationships (at Alamogordo, New Mexico) https://www.instagram.com/p/CirO6EbrvaH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[the-page-ladies]

Giveaway/Book Review…Come Down Somewhere by Jennifer L. Wright Olive Alexander has lived on a ranch in the Jornada del Muerto region of southern New Mexico her entire life. But when World War II begins Olive is forced to live in nearby Alamogordo with her grandmother and find a place in a new school. When Jo Hawthorne crosses her path, Olive sees a chance for friendship--until she learns that Jo's father is the Army sergeant who now occupies her beloved ranch. Already angry about her new reality, Olive pushes Jo away. But slowly she warms to Jo's winsome faith and steady attempts at friendship, until the sky explodes around them and their lives are torn apart. Seven years later, Jo returns to Alamogordo, determined to put the past behind her once and for all, Jo hunts for answers and begins to realize the truth may be far more complicated than she believed, leading her on a desperate search to find her friend before it's too late. This is an intense emotional and suspenseful story! The chapters alternate between Olive and Jo and even though I didn't really connect with them I was still very much so interested in their story. I can't every remember reading about Jornada del Muerto and the Trinity test so it was interesting to read about and added a unique backdrop to the story. Overall it's a well written, unique and at times devastating story. Thank you Just Read tours, Jennifer L. Wright and Tyndale House Publishers for sharing this book with me! Giveaway – (1) winner will receive a print copy of the book and a $25 winner’s choice bookstore gift card. LIKE, SAVE, and SHARE this post FOLLOW me @jennwright82 @crazy4fiction @tyndalehouse @justreadtours TAG a friend (up to 3x per post). VISIT each hosted post of this tour for more entries. Schedule at @justreadtours. (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics. Instagram is not affiliated with nor responsible for this giveaway. Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on September 19, 2022.) #justreadtours #comedownsomewhere #books #jenniferlwright #Tyndale #booktour #bookreview (at Cleveland, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/CifeYglLJ-I/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[realityphotography]

“joyride”

It was the early 70’s when my paternal grandparents, Henry & Jo, surprised my mother with a used black AMC Rambler. My father was constantly MIA, leaving my mother without transportation and the responsibility of two young children. Grandpa Henry wanted her to have a vehicle to make her everyday life easier and “just in case of emergencies”.

When I spied this old Rambler sitting in a New Mexico junkyard, just viewing the distressed chrome emblems & dashboard brought on a rush of misplaced, happy memories.

A joyride/road trip down HWY 51 to Horseshoe Lake near Cairo, Il., to visit mom’s sister, Aunt Karen, Uncle Russell & Cousins, Kim & Kathy.

I’ll never forget

the smell of the dashboard’s push-in cigarette lighter making it’s first contact with mom’s Tareyton 100’s,

hand-cranking the passenger window down to feel and play with the air’s resistance as we drove down the highway, laying on the front bench seat, watching the rhythm & repetition of power-line poles whizzing by while mom hummed along to music from whichever radio station we could tune in best.

This will forever be a good memory, the simple bliss of independence and quiet content.

#fromthearchives #nikond70 #50mm #april2006 #junkyard #amcrambler #amc #desert #alamogordo #newmexico #1970smemories #illinois

[fycarmensandiego]

A chat with author Melissa Wiley

In 1996, HarperCollins published six Carmen Sandiego chapter books, featuring VILE villains from the then-current "Deluxe"/"CD-ROM"/"Classic" generation of computer games and a new lineup of Acme agents, headed by a Black female Chief (Lynne Thigpen ha impact), and focusing on kid detectives Maya and Ben.

The series included two books each by two writing teams and one solo act, Melissa Peterson. I got in touch with Melissa, who now uses the pen name Melissa Wiley, and she graciously answered some questions about writing the Carmen books and beyond.

To get you caught up to my knowledge before the interview, here's Melissa's website, and here's her bio as printed in the two Carmen books (accompanied by the caricature above):

Melissa Peterson is the author of several books for young readers. Born in Alamogordo, New Mexico, she has lived in eight different states and visited Germany and France. She has never ridden a dolphin, but she did eat a great deal of sour cherry ice cream outside the cathedral in Cologne. [Note: These are both references to plot points in Hasta la Vista, Blarney.] Her research for Hasta la Vista, Blarney included many hours playing Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? An official ACME Master Detective, she lives in New York City with her husband and young daughter.

FYCS: Thanks so much for agreeing to this interview.

Melissa Wiley: What a fun blast from the past! The Carmen books were my first professional writing gig and I had so much fun working on them.

That's so exciting to hear! With that being the case, how did you get involved with the books?

I was an assistant editor at HarperCollins, working for the wonderful Stephanie Spinner. I started out as her editorial assistant at Random House right after grad school and moved to Harper with her a year later, shortly after [my husband] Scott and I got married. Stephanie knew that I wanted to be a writer, and she often sent in-house writing assignments my way (lots of cover copy). When I left Harper in 1995 to have a baby, Stephanie recommended me for several book assignments, including the two Carmen Sandiego novels. That project had been underway for several months—Harper was doing a tie-in with the game and TV show. There were six books in total; two were assigned to me and four went to other writing teams [Ellen Weiss and Mel Friedman, and Bonnie Bader and Tracey West]. I often joke that I got my first modem, my first baby, and my first book deal in the same month!

I loved working with my Carmen Sandiego editor, Kris Gilson. The two books were a blast to write and a great learning opportunity for me. Ellen Weiss remains a good friend of mine. She's a true gem of a person!

Have your experiences writing the Carmen books influenced your work since then?

With Carmen, I discovered how much I love writing humor. Before that (in grad school), my poems and stories were on the serious side. I had so much fun with the playful, sometimes goofy tone of the Carmen Sandiego books that I definitely shifted afterward to more of a focus on humor in my books. I still find writing from a place of playfulness to be my most satisfying kind of work.

Were you familiar with Carmen Sandiego before writing the books?

I loved the computer game! I'd seen several episodes of the show—it's all a bit blurry now and hard to say which I encountered first—and really enjoyed it, but I especially loved the game. Instant classic!

How much guidance did you receive from HarperCollins / Brøderbund? Were the plots your own, or were you given plot outlines?

We were given the basic descriptions for the two kid detectives, and I had a couple of meetings with the editors and the other writers to flesh out the characters a bit more—give them personalities. I don't think Mel was in the meetings, but Ellen was there, and Tracey and Bonnie.

Then I wrote outlines for my two books and the other writers outlined theirs. I was assigned one "Where in the World" mystery and one "Where in Time" mystery. I think I submitted several plot ideas for each—the big challenge was thinking up interesting objects for Carmen and her henchmen to steal. The Blarney Stone and cocoa beans were my favorite ideas and I was thrilled that they got picked!

How did you research the books?

Those were AOL days, and the web wasn't yet a place for intensive research, so I spent a lot of time in the library. For The Cocoa Commotion, I conducted phone interviews with staff members at the Hershey chocolate factory—lots of fun. But I never did get to visit the Blarney Stone!

What was your favorite part of working on the books?

Researching the history of chocolate! Naturally I had to do a lot of sampling in order to describe it properly. ;)

Your author bio in the books mentions that the scene in which Maya and Ben eat sour cherry ice cream in Cologne, Germany was inspired by an actual experience of yours. Did any other experiences of yours make it into the books? Have you had any other travel experiences that notable? (Note: I'm originally from Northern Michigan, so travel experiences involving tart cherries are a high bar to clear for me.)

Ohhh, that sour cherry ice cream! I hope I get to taste it again someday. Apart from eating a lot of chocolate, I can't remember any other personal experiences that informed the books. If I were to write one today, I'd make sure to set a scene in Barcelona. My husband and I spent a week there in 2008 and it was an incredible trip. The paella! The Gaudí buildings! Art on every corner! I'd love to go back someday.

The bio also features a caricature of you with your baby daughter...

That drawing was made by the brilliant comic book artist Rick Burchett, who was working with Scott on Batman comics at the time. Scott was an editor at DC Comics and Rick was one of his favorite artists to work with. When I needed a bio illustration for the Carmen Sandiego books, we commissioned Rick to draw it. I love that piece so much! The baby is my oldest, Kate, who was born right around the time I started working on the books. We still have the original art!

You've written over 20 children's books for a variety of ages, in a variety of genres. Do you have any favorites among them?

That's so hard to say—I'm fond of all of them and I dearly loved creating worlds and adventures for Charlotte and Martha in my Little House prequels—but The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World are extra-special to me. I grew up in Aurora, Colorado and had a summer job at a wildlife refuge on the prairie, a landscape that served as the setting for Prairie Thief. I loved getting to weave secrets into the prairie setting that means so much to me.

Your most recent book, The Nerviest Girl in the World, was published last August. Can you tell us a bit about why you wrote it?

I lived for 11 years in La Mesa, California, a small town just outside San Diego. While I was there, I learned that in the very early days of silent film, there had been a film studio in town. Eventually the studio moved to Santa Barbara, but it was exciting to discover that before Hollywood was the center of the American film industry, little old La Mesa was a moviemaking place. I began reading everything I could find about the studio, and when I learned that many of the cowboys in those early Westerns were real cowboys and ranchers, an idea for a book began to take shape—the story of an adventurous girl who stumbled into work as a daredevil film actress along with her cowboy brothers.

Of course, I'm legally compelled to ask the question that literally every interview currently includes: how has the pandemic changed your job?

LOL! Yes, it's the question right now, isn't it! Well, I've worked at home since the Carmen Sandiego days, and I homeschool my kids, so in the biggest ways our lives weren't hugely affected by the shutdown. But I used to do a lot of my writing in cafés, and I miss that like crazy! I had to think up all sorts of new strategies for staying focused at home this past year. I'm hoping to get back to the coffee shops this summer!

Something I found really interesting is that you have a Patreon, which you explain you started to help pay for medical bills. How has that experience affected your work as an author?

I've played with lots of kinds of content on Patreon and really enjoy having a space to share behind-the-scenes stories. It's a more intimate and personal space than social media, so I feel free to let my hair down and be really frank.

Thanks so much for these fantastic questions! I had so much fun reminiscing about the Carmen Sandiego adventure!

[redrocksescapeartists]

TBNMRT: White Sands

The thing is, this is not my first trip to New Mexico. The first time I went, I was a pretty young teenager and due to my young age + the fact that people with ADHD are not great at self-knowledge at the best of times, spent most of it experiencing a very strong emotion I was not able to place. Up until that point, I had spent nearly my entire life surrounded by either mountains, trees, or buildings and so had for the most part never been able to see farther than about a mile in any direction— and usually much less. Also, I think I was relatively unprepared for just how *empty* some parts of the country are. Upon reflection, I have come to realize that the emotion I was experiencing was sheer terror at how alone and exposed I was.

You see, we went there in the first place because my dad LOVES astrophotography, so he picked the most desolate, empty places to visit (the better to be away from light pollution) and my little brain was just not prepared. This time around, armed with self-knowledge and Vyvanse, I was on guard for the creeping horror that got me the first time around. Luckily, Albuquerque has none of that. In fact, I felt so chill about it all that I assumed I was basically cured. Actually, it turns out that we just hadn’t gone anywhere that triggered that particular fear. Folks, I’m pleased to tell you that I’m still a little bitch about open spaces, as I discovered on US-54 S. It’s easy to imagine how it might have been in the 50s or even the 1500s— an empty stretch of scrub reaching out to the horizon, a mostly-shuttered town of less than 1000 hidden behind a band of volcanic rock serving as the county seat. One has to wonder if this is where the Spanish sent their most annoying monks.

I took this from Google Maps because trying to take a photo from a moving car is sheer fucking misery

It’s one thing to look at desolate places on maps, it’s quite another to visit them in person yourself and really get a feel for the overwhelming loneliness and isolation. I like to think of myself as a person who looks for out-of-the-way places, but standing at the crossroads of two minor highways and realizing that that’s it for hundreds of miles still fills me with the urge to run screaming in the direction of the closest civilization, even when we really weren’t all that far from Albuquerque. I was contemplating this particular feeling of dread the way you contemplate a scratch on the roof of your mouth with your tongue when we pulled into Alamogordo and I was forced to accept that even in this out-of-the-way place, there is still a Buffalo Wild Wings. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, White Sands.

Sand as described. 5 stars

White Sands is probably most known for the Trinity test site, which is a shame, because apparently it was a fairly popular picnic site before the US military ever set their sights on it. The national park is ~228 mi2, mostly (but not entirely!) dunes made of gypsum crystals, i.e. the titular white sands. The largest gypsum dunefield on Earth.

I don’t know these kids but I do know their parents weren’t around because they were *whispers* saying curse words

You can walk on the dunes, you can sled or surf down them (they’ll even rent you the sled), or you can do what we did and just throw yourself right down them and spend the rest of the day with sand in your everywhere. Unfortunately, it had rained recently, so the sand wasn’t as soft as I’m told it usually is. But that did make climbing the dunes easier, which was nice.

A cool thing about White Sands is that any photo taken there looks like a promo photo for a 90s boy band

I was not prepared for how cold the sand was. In retrospect, I know what albedo is so I probably should have guessed, but it was such a hot day otherwise that I was expecting burn-your-feet hotness. Imagine my surprise when I dug my fingers in and it was genuinely a bit chilly. It’s kind of wonderful.

Victoria helpfully coating my backpack in a thick layer of sand. Thanks, Victoria.

It’s not just sand, though. The dunes give way to grassy field with startling abruptness:

It was so hot that we only attempted one quick hike, the Dune Life Nature Trail. It was incredible scenery, but I kept wondering how spectacular it would have been had we come at dawn. We even found some little mushrooms, which I had no idea grew in the desert at all.

It was also the longest time Victoria has spent out of the house in girl clothes! Fuck yeah!

Victoria, conquering gender.

Overall: an excellent park. 5/5 sand-filled Chuck Taylors. I wanted to put a photo of the amount of sand I collected in my shoes by the end of the visit, but I guess you can only put 10 pictures per post, so you'll just have to imagine how much sand was in there. One of the rules of the park is that you're not allowed to remove sticks, rocks, or sand, which seems unenforceable given just how much sand we shook out of our clothes and bodies. I mean I found that shit in my ear holes. Wild.

Trans friendliness: Victoria went to both the washroom and the gift shop and I don't think anybody even looked at her at all, let alone said anything, so overall excellent!

[nmnomad]

There's something serene about the dunes 😊

[two-wheeled-therapy]

So many things happened on this Thursday that it may very well go down as the Most Memorable Day of the trip. We started out in Roswell, NM and decided to try out the Cowboy Cafe. In one word - AMAZING! The locals say that it is next to impossible to get in without a long wait on weekends, and I can see why. The food will easily go down as Best Food of Trip, our waitress, Marquise, was very friendly and of course Timmy took a liking to her. And their bathroom, has to be the most interesting restaurant bathroom I have ever been in. All this and we've only ridden about 5 miles! After breakfast, we played tourist and visited the Roswell UFO museum before getting back down to the business of riding.

Being the crazy fools we are we headed south to Artesia where the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is. Of all the centers there are, this is the one that most people don't want to go to, because it is smack dab in the middle of no where, so of course we needed to stop and take a picture of our bikes in front of the place. From there, I had two places that I had been wanting to ride in for a long time, Cloudcroft and Riodoso.

Way back in 1992, when I was on Active Duty, we delivered a shelter system to Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, NM. The delivery, set up, testing and training of the 22 shelter system took a couple of weeks and over the week ends, I visited those towns in the rental car. The seed was planted way back then when I owned Uncle Garry's old 1979 Suzuki GS-850GL, one day I would ride out here.

It took 29 years, but I finally checked it off my motorcycle bucket list! We started out heading up into Cloudcroft. Bob and I had looked at the maps and routed a nice route through the mountains. The Prize of the ride was New Mexico 130 heading south out of the small town. At first it looked like a great road with a slow moving mini van leading us down the road, but the mini van turned off near the top and we were free. Bob was in the lead on his 2021 Road Glide Ultra followed by Bob on his 2015 Voyager and me on my 2011 Voyager. Both Bob and John had just bought their their bikes in the past two months, but watching them dance and chase one another down the mountain, you'd think they both had been riding them for years. Even with some of the dirt runoff from the earlier rains, it was an amazing road. In fact, I would have to put this as my #2 favorite road I have ridden, only behind Lolo Pass which was similar to NM 130, but much longer and it's twists and turns were along a river.

So far on this day, we have what will likely go down as the Best Food of Trip, Most Interesting Restaurant Bathroom ever, and a new #2 as the best motorcycle road ever. Isn't that enough memories for one day, can you really pack any more memorable moments into a day of riding?

PREPARE TO DIVE!

After riding though the amazing mountains, and checking two things off my motorcycle bucket list (I was disappointed with Riodoso, it grew way too much in the past 29 years and was nothing like the small village I remembered, a nice touristy town, but not what I remembered), we headed on to make more progress towards our destination. As we were heading in towards Socorro, NM, John was leading the way down a back road that had some nice little sweepers, and turns and rolling hills. Speaking of sweepers, the road could use one because the rains had caused a lot of washout of dirt and debris across several sections of the road. But from their appearances, the rain waters had subsided much earlier and the sun had baked what was mud into dirt and dust . . . Until we rounded that one corner . . .

When I first saw the shimmer on the road surface, I thought it was the shimmer you see often on the roads in the hot sun, you know where the road kind of disappears and rolls out of the shimmer as you roll forward . . . This one wasn't rolling. Johns brake lights came on and as I applied my rear brake and grabbed a handful of front brake, we both were braking hard. I followed John as he made his way to the center of the road to make his river crossing, thinking that is where I would have gone if I were in the lead, I tucked in behind him. Praying we both had made the right decision, I watched John hit the water, and released my brakes just as I hit it in his wake. Water and mud went everywhere. The water came up to our floor boards. In my rear camera video (to be posted soon) you can see the wakes of the tires and the two out board wakes.

Needless to say, we made it across OK. The water stunk. Anyone who has ever road dirt bikes or ATVs through muddy terrain will know that smell . . . Fortunately we found a car wash and a hotel in Socorro. By the time we went to bed, all evidence of the Voyager U-Boats was gone. But the memories will last forever! The memories and the miles are racking up, and I am now 868 miles from the magical 100,000 miles on my bike.

RIDE ON!

[melmac78]

Today, I’m showing a bit of White Sands National Park and Alamogordo.

White Sands is neat place to visit, but due to costs ($25 a car, regardless occupancy) and going by myself (meaning a few safety concerns), I elected to not go into the entire park. There are online photos of the dunes. (Note: I wish I got a lifetime membership when mom got hers, though mine would’ve been higher. It’d paid itself off going to White Sands - before the fees soared.)

I knew we could see some dunes toward the front, hence the hill photo of the native grasses and yucca holding one (of sorts).

The visitor center was open, but there’s not tons to actually photograph or show except some panels and the diorama.

The adobe building is quite comfortable inside any time of year (I’ve come to Alamogordo in the summer too.)

There’s also a photo I took from the Space Museum of White Sands, which is the 7th photo down. You can also see it from the Cloudcroft Tressel, but both days I was at that location there was a slight fog.

The mountain shot is where Cloudcroft is. About 25 miles and 2,000 feet… temperature went from 45 to 80*F. Forgot this when I visited Alamogordo the day before (I wanted to explore and shop), and wore long pants. Very hot, but helps I live in west Texas so I managed.

••••••

Now why I use the full name mostly:

There’s also a base there with the same name.

It may not be familiar to many… but, this was also the place where the Trinity Project was tested. (Or, where the first nuke was tested).

Mind you it is MUCH further away than where I was visiting, but the city does get lots of tourism for the project.

I was there a week before the time of year they open the site to the public, but I wouldn’t have done it a. Due to costs, and b. family in service, plus I had a somewhat distant relative who was part of the Bikini Atoll test and didn’t want to be asked questions.

••••••

The tokens and pin I got from the park’s gift shop. This is the only place I know that has two (national and for profit) and honestly, I preferred the national park’s shop as the money literally helps the park. (I got a mug and challenge coin too, but they’re redundant designs to what’s shown).

The tokens include a Buffalo one about the National Parks and the Trinity project. The pin is the patch they used for those on the project. It was intentionally designed this way for security at the time.

No clue what the tokens are for… unless at $1 it’s a way where even kids can get a souvenir with spare change.

••••••

So ends day 2 of my travel stories.

I still have the Space Museum, Pistachio Land, Cloudcroft and its museum. I can talk about apple cider, but it’s a little bit of a combined post too with dining.

So… what would you like me to write on next?

[rabbitcruiser]

Extraterrestrial Culture Day  

Extraterrestrial Culture Day exists "to celebrate and honor all past,  present and future extraterrestrial visitors in ways to enhance  relationships among all citizens of the cosmos, known and unknown." It  was established with the passing of House Memorial 44 by New Mexico's  legislature on March 21, 2003. (Memorials do not have the force of law,  and do not need to be passed by both houses or be signed by the  governor.) Although the day is specific to New Mexico, it has been  celebrated by those beyond its borders.

State Representative Daniel Foley of Roswell introduced the day with  House Bill 766. The bill designated the day to be celebrated on every  second Thursday of February, but when the memorial was passed, the  holiday was changed to every second Tuesday of the month instead.  According to the memorial, the day was created because  "extraterrestrials have contributed to the worldwide recognition of New  Mexico through their many and ongoing visitations, sightings,  unexplained mysteries, attributed technological advances,  experimentations, expeditions, explorations, intrigues, provision of  story lines for Hollywood epics and other accomplishments of alien  beings throughout the universe."

How have extraterrestrials contributed to the worldwide recognition  of New Mexico? It all goes back to 1947, to a spot about 75 miles from  Roswell, where rancher Mac Brazel found debris in his sheep pasture.  After finding metallic sticks held together with tape, a glossy and  heavy paper-like material, and pieces of plastic and foil reflectors, he  called the local sheriff. The sheriff called Roswell Army Air Force  Base, and they came and took the debris away in armored trucks.

On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Daily Record ran a front-page story  titled "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch in Roswell Region." The  following day, the Roswell Army Air Force put out a statement saying  that it was not a flying saucer that had been found, but rather, it was  remnants of a weather balloon. But by looking at the debris, it was  pretty clear that it wasn't a weather balloon, and many people didn't  buy the story, with some even believing that it indeed was a flying  saucer.

In the decade that followed, many "dummy drops" to research ways  people could survive high drops were done in New Mexico. Dummies with  skin made of latex and bones of aluminum were dropped from the sky and  military vehicles retrieved them. People found this quite odd, as it  looked like aliens were falling from the sky, and some thought that was  the case and that the vehicles that picked them up were taking them to  get experimented on by the government. This did nothing but increase  speculation that there had been a conspiracy and cover-up in Roswell in  1947.

In 1994, the Pentagon declassified most information about the dummy  drops. They also declassified information about what they claimed had  really been found in Roswell, which they said had to do with something  called Project Mogul—a top-secret atomic espionage project. The General  Accounting Office also released a report titled "Report of Air Force Research Regarding the 'Roswell Incident.'"

According to the government, Project Mogul was started during World  War II and stationed at the Alamogordo Air Field, being made up of  geophysicists and oceanographers from New York University, Columbia  University, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The project placed  balloons with low-frequency sound sensors in the tropopause, the area  between the troposphere and stratosphere, where sound can travel  thousands of miles. The hope was that they would be able to pick up  information about nuclear tests taking place in the Soviet Union.

The report said that the debris was made up of 700 feet of neoprene  balloons, radar reflectors, and sonic equipment. Some new materials  were invented for use in Project Mogul, so it made sense that some of  the materials weren't recognizable and looked otherworldly. According to  the report, the Roswell Army Air Field didn't have any knowledge of the  project. They weren't exactly sure what had been found, with some  thinking the debris may have been from a Russian spy plane or satellite,  but they just said it was a weather balloon because that made the most  sense. Those at Project Mogul couldn't step up and say what it actually  was, as that would compromise the project. In the present day, many  don't believe the government's story, and some make trips to Roswell to  be near the spot where they believe extraterrestrials crashed to earth.  On Extraterrestrial Culture Day, we honor these and other  extraterrestrial visitors.

How to Observe Extraterrestrial Culture Day

Perhaps the best way to celebrate the day is to go to New Mexico and attempt to find the Roswell crash site. Tours are sometimes also given. Official tours weren't given until 2018, and you could check if any will be held soon. There are also other tours  you could take, which are given by local researchers that take people  to various sites related to the incident. Roswell also has the International UFO Museum and Research Center and other attractions.

The day could be celebrated by reading a books about aliens or the Roswell incident. You could watch television shows such as Roswell or Roswell, New Mexico, or a documentary series like Ancient Aliens. There also is not a short supply of alien movies. Some classics include Alien, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Source

[barbs-np-utah-travels]

Day 30 - White Sands National Park, Alamogordo, NM

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Can you imagine being in a place where your brain tells you that you are either in the middle of the Sahara Desert or maybe in the the Arctic?  That’s how White Sands National Park felt to me today when we visited.  The Arctic part  is that they use snowplows to keep the roads clear, visitors use sleds to go down the sand dunes and the small bathrooms look like the huts people use when they are ice fishing.  However, it’s clear that you are surrounded by large, hot, sandy, sand dunes and it was getting quite warm while we were there. Fun fact - it’s a new National Park, having been designated in December 2019 after being a National Monument since the 1930’s.  It was an such an interesting landscape and also an adventure driving on the “sand roads” with the trailer. I’m glad we went!

We then took off for our next destination towards Carlsbad, New Mexico and traveled thru Lincoln National Forest.  It was a large expanse of rocky mountains with not many trees until we got to the other side.  You’ll see a great picture from a lookout where you can even see the White Sands in the background.

We’re now at our campground in Carlsbad, NM and plan to visit the Caverns tonight to see the 1/2 million bats fly out of the mouth of the cavern. Should be fun and interesting! I’ll report tomorrow about the bats after we’ve visited the Cavern and ventured down, down, down into the ground.