Category Archives: History
New Mexico’s Supervolcano
The Valles Caldera is Only Dormant
By G G Collins (Copyright 2021)
Excerpt from Anasazi Medium, Chapter 8
Yellowstone isn’t the only supervolcano in the United States. The Valles Caldera is located in northern New Mexico in close proximity to the Los Alamos National Labs (LANL) and the Rio Grande. An eruption from the dormant, but not extinct, volcano could cause significant interruptions to life or extinguish life depending on the force of the eruption. Some of you will recognize the Valles Caldera as the location of the Longmire sheriff’s ranch.
Images, except the above, are from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science.
We pick up with an interview which journalist Rachel Blackstone is having with character Professor Axel Saxon at the University of New Mexico, Earth and Planetary Science. We join them with the interview already in progress.
“How dangerous is the Valles Caldera?” Rachel asked.
“It is considered a young supervolcano in that it erupted 1.25 million years ago. It’s geothermal and responsible for the hot springs that populate the area. We also know it is dormant, not extinct. The caldera is about 20 kilometres or 13 miles wide. A supervolcano isn’t one eruption, but multiple eruptions occurring at once. When the volcanic pressure cooker just can’t take anymore and it releases pent up energy in many places.”
He showed Rachel another map showing the resurgent lava dome, called Redondo Peak, and the smaller domes around it.
“If it were to erupt again,” Rachel asked. “What force are we talking about?”
“Supervolcanoes have an eruption of magnitude eight,” Saxon paused. “That’s the largest on the VEI or Volcanic Explosivity Index.”
“So this type of eruption really isn’t within our experience in the near past?” Rachel asked.
“No. You’ve heard of Pinatubo, Krakatau and a U.S. volcano called Mount St. Helens?”
Rachel nodded.
“These are inconsequential by comparison to the Valles Caldera. Even Crater Lake and Tambora are smaller. Only the Yellowstone supervolcano is larger.”
“Are you aware that the last time the Yellowstone erupted that ash and dead animal bones were found as far away as Nebraska? The three Yellowstone eruptions we know about produced enough ash to fill the Grand Canyon and were 2500 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Today, if Yellowstone went off it would immediately kill 90,000 people. Those not dead would be standing calf-deep in ash. The nuclear winter to follow could cause famine as the great breadbasket of the world, the States, would likely not be able to grow much.”
“What would the results be of a Valles Caldera eruption?” Rachel asked.
“First there would be the ash fallout to consider. Not only would any planes in the area be at risk of losing engine performance and therefore crash, but water contamination could result and rooftop collapse. That is especially a problem for flat roofs that can be found all over our area, but especially prominent in Santa Fe due to the Pueblo architecture.
Tent Rocks (Kasha-Katuwe) was created with volcanic ash fallout, perhaps 1/4 mile thick. Enough to have cooked a moderate-sized city.
“Agriculture would be adversely affected, maybe not even possible. Livestock would become ill and die from breathing the ash and gases.
“People would also experience health issues and some, maybe many, would die. It would depend on the size of the eruption.
Notice the proximity of Los Alamos (LANL) to the Valles Caldera.
“We don’t even know how it would affect power-producing plants. And yes, we don’t know if the damage to the LANL would be sufficient to release plutonium and other nuclear materials into the air. If so, that could be cataclysmic in terms of loss of life.
“As to the influence on the country and the world; again, depending on the size of eruption, it could bring about the nuclear winter where ash would block the sun and make agriculture impossible. And this brings me to the most lasting product of supervolcanoes: worldwide famine, millions—maybe billions—of refugees, satellite disruption and the crash of world financial markets.”
“Good god,” Rachel said. “All because a New Mexico volcano wakes up.”
Buy Anasazi Medium at: https://amzn.to/3cHlUEA
Thanks for reading.
Ghost Stories in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Ghosts Haunting Santa Fe
Ghost at La Residencia
La Residencia, located at Palace Avenue and Paseo de Peralta, has been a convent, hospital and nursing home. It was the location of the first St. Vincent’s Hospital prior to the “new” hospital being built south of downtown during the late 1970s. Now the Drury Plaza Hotel.
During its life as a hospital, a boy and his father were brought in for emergency treatment after a car accident. Sadly, both died. It is said the child died from his injuries in room 311. Reported phenomena include the sound of a crying child in this room. It was heard so often the hospital tried not to use the room.
When museum exhibits were stored in the building’s basement, unexplained sounds occurred there. Nurses described a strange phenomenon, which appeared to be blood oozing from a basement wall.
But it is the cries of a frightened young boy who haunt his third-floor room we find most disturbing.
Ghost of Julia at La Posada
La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa has probably the most famous of the Santa Fe ghost stories. Julia Staab who
La Posada de Santa Fe
Wikimedia Commons
died in her prime at 52 reportedly haunts the hotel. It has been the subject of television shows such as Unsolved Mysteries and Celebrity Ghost Stories, and in print at The Dallas Morning News.
Abraham Staab had the three-story Staab House built in French-inspired styling which included a mansard roof and a ballroom on the top floor. It would become the hub of society in 19-century Santa Fe. But it would not last. The couple’s eighth child was ill and finally succumbed. Julia was never the same and took to her room, which became room 256 when the house was converted to a hotel.
During a construction project, a befuddled crew came to work one morning and found their building materials in disarray. An enlightened worker began leaving roses for Julia. The mischief ceased.
Other encounters have been more personal including sightings of a transparent woman in a long dress and hood. One man reported a woman’s image in the mirror of the men’s room. And in the basement, which retains its earthen floor and stone walls, an employee of the hotel has noticed a fragrance cloud of orange and rose blossoms.
Visitors to the six-acre resort still ask for room 256, but there was the case of one man who checked in, and returned to the front desk in minutes demanding another room.
Ghost Story at New Mexico State Penitentiary
Santa Fe Abandoned Pententiary
Wikimedia Commons
Many people don’t realize the New Mexico State Penitentiary is near Santa Fe. It’s usually the last thing on anyone’s mind as they drive into Santa Fe enjoying the clear skies, high desert air and anticipating a few days of nonstop green chile and margaritas. But in February 1980 one of the worst prison riots in the US happened here. At least 33 people killed, but the total couldn’t be certain. Two hundred treated for their injuries. The convicts in Cell Block 4 were targeted because that was where the snitches were isolated from the general population.
Eighteen years later, former Gov. Johnson closed the prison due to “uncontrollable disturbances.” The inmates moved into new facilities. After that, the old prison became a filming location for movies as well as a training center for police. One movie extra decided to explore, walked into a cell, the door closed behind him. Once a guard let him out, he left the set and did not return. Other reports of cell doors opening or closing, apparently on their own, lights coming on or going off without reason, unexplained sounds and even shadowy figures that suddenly disappear. Most disturbing are the burn marks on the floors where inmates died that cannot be cleaned or painted away. The marks always return.
Other deserted prisons are considered haunted. Maybe life sentences extend into the afterlife.
Ghost Story at 122 Grant Avenue
This week we have another Santa Fe ghost story. In 1898 a rancher built a house at what is now 122 Grant Avenue, a few blocks from the Plaza. Seven years later a young family moved in. Their son was sickly and required a wheelchair to move about. Unhappy, he was known to beat the walls of his upstairs bedroom to get his mother’s attention. Despite her constant ministrations, the lad died and his parents moved on. When the house was vacant, the neighbors reported seeing lights in the boy’s former bedroom.
In l981 the property was bought and renovated. It became the Grant Corner Inn, a bed and breakfast which hosted such notables as Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan (in better days), and illustrator Garth Williams. It had a knockout breakfast which was open to the public. But the problems did not abate. In Antonio Garcez’s book Adobe Angels: Ghosts of Santa Fe and Taos,he related the experiences of the former caretaker. He told of hearing loud noises, sudden dips in the air temperature that could kill indoor plants and the stench of rancid meat.
Several years ago, the Andrew Smith Gallery bought the property and moved into the house. No further reports of disturbances have been disclosed. Perhaps the boy is now at peace.
Answer at end.
Ghost Story of the Weeping Woman
There are many ghost stories in Santa Fe. A few blocks from the St. Francis Cathedral, along the Santa Fe River, is a story that endures. I’m told there are more than 40 variations on this ghastly tale and it is a favorite throughout the southwest.
Many years ago, the poor would park their wagons along the Santa Fe River (more of a trickle most of the time). According to the story, a woman from one of those wagons met and fell in love with a Conquistador. After having two children with him, she found he had been unfaithful (isn’t that just always the way?). In her sorrow, she took her children, and drowned them in the river. There are two versions of the ending: either she rejoiced that they were gone, then fell and suffered a fatal injury, or she hung herself in regret.
There are reports from people walking in the river park that they heard a woman calling for her babies, but saw no one. She has been seen at the nearby PERA Building. Workers have reported she is a dark shape and messes with the lights in the building. This ghost is known as the Weeping Woman.
Answer at end.
Ghost Story of La Fonda
While La Fonda has stood the test of time, it has also racked up a good number of ghosts. There are so many that we’ll cover just a few this time.
During the 1800s a gambling hall was part of the hotel. As we all know, for every person who wins, there are many more who do not. In one particular incident, a man was hung in the courtyard (sometimes referred to as the backyard). Maybe it he was cheating, but whatever the reason, he was lynched. It has been reported that some guests to La Plazuela have seen the shadow of a man hanging.
The Hon. John P. Slough, who was a chief justice of the Territorial Supreme Court, was shot in the lobby and later died of his wounds. He insulted Capt. Rynerson, also with Territorial government, calling him dishonest. Rynerson took offense and shot the judge. Guests say they’ve seen a man walking the hotel dressed in a long black coat (robes perhaps?).
And yet another man lost his life in what is now the restaurant (La Plazuela). Originally it
was the courtyard and in the center was a well. Apparently a businessman lost his company’s money in a round of cards. He was so distressed, he jumped into the well to his demise. Although the well was filled in long ago, you can still see where it was. Look at the fountain in the center of the restaurant. It even closely resembles the look of the well in the postcard shown. Hotel staff and guests have seen a ghostly figure cross the room to the site of the old well and watched as he disappeared into the floor.
The Southwest Ghost Hunters Association conducted an investigation into La Fonda in 1998 and found the strongest suggestion of paranormal activity in the parking garage. During its construction, human remains were found there. This happens from time to time in Santa Fe and environs. All work ceases until the remains can be recovered.
Answers to Questions:
A. What was stored in La Residencia’s basement that resulted in the bizarre noises? Indian Artifacts.
B. The man who demanded another room stayed in Julia Staab’s room 256 for how many minutes? 7 minutes. He was referred to as the “7-minute man.”
C. What movie was filmed at the abandoned state pen? The Longest Yard.
D. What kind of tree was cut down in front of the house at 122 Grant Avenue? Weeping Willow.
E. The name of the Weeping Woman was? La Llorona,
F. La Fonda has had several names over the years. Which of the following was one of them? The Exchange Hotel.
Santa Fe, New Mexico Museum Hill
It’s Summer! Explore Museum Hill.
By G G Collins (Copyright 2017)
Four world-class museums to discover the Native American Southwest and all it has to offer: arts, culture and history. Lunch at the Museum Hill Cafe. Listen to music as it floats around the huge plaza, compete with its on contemporary labyrinth.
Enjoy the sculpture garden at Museum Hill.
Museum Hill Mountain Spirit Dancer
Labyrinth Courtesy Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM
And don’t forget the Santa Fe Botanical Garden just across the street. The Art Walk has changing exhibits.
Santa Fe Botanical Garden, Art Walk in Background
Have a great day exploring Santa Fe’s Museum Hill!
Quetzalcoatl: Man-eating Deity
Mesoamerican Deity is Threat in Dark Fantasy
Excerpt from “Lemurian Medium” a Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery
by G G Collins (Copyright 2016)
Rachel Blackstone confronts the man-eating deity Quetzalcoatl in her Santa Fe kitchen in “Lemurian Medium.”
Available at Amazon.
Rachel stared at the piece of jewelry lying on the floor.
“I’m sorry,” Chloe stood and started to pick it up.
“No, don’t,” Rachel stopped her.
“Why not?” A second later she remembered Rachel’s earlier experience with the necklace and took a step back. “Is it doing anything?”
“Not yet.” Rachel thought for a moment it had all been a ghastly delusion, until it began to move.
Chloe saw Rachel react, looked again, but it was just lying on the floor.
“Don’t you see it?” Rachel implored as the necklace began to stir and change shape.
“See what?” Chloe kept watching the harmless piece of jewelry and couldn’t figure out why Rachel looked so afraid.
Within seconds the serpent stood up and filled out as if he’d been formed from air blown in from a bicycle pump. But he wasn’t a balloon and didn’t float away. Chile Pod watched with huge eyes. Her fur stood up on her back, ears flat, she dove under the tablecloth and onto a chair. The snake didn’t miss a thing and knew exactly where she hid. He made sure Rachel saw where she cowered by slithering across the floor and nosing at the tablecloth. Then he turned his attention to Rachel.
“I am Quetzalcoatl,” he said as the green substance dripped from each of his fangs. They were six inches long and dagger sharp. The odor of sulfur emanated from his hobnail skin as it grated against itself. He was constantly in slow motion. The stench itself was enough to make her want to flee, but the continuous shifting of his spine beneath the scales was sinister.
Quetzalcoatl feathered serpent form as depicted in the Codex Telleriano-Remensi. Wikimedia Public Domain
“I know who you are,” Rachel tried to say it with strength. Everything in her told her to run, but she couldn’t leave Chloe or Chile. She resisted the urge to recoil, feeling intensely this time the reptile’s desire to harm her. He barely controlled his desire to destroy her.
It rippled and swelled in both height and width. His feathers unfolded around his head, back and tail. The effect was even more menacing this time.
“Screaming won’t help you,” it said reading her thoughts.
“How do you know?”
“I am a deity,” Quetzalcoatl said in a deep hoarse voice. Add a little cinematic CGI and he would make Bruce Willis run and hide. Only this monster was real.
“Rachel,” Chloe stood in the doorway not understanding why Rachel was talking or to whom. “Who are you talking to?”
“Can’t you see the snake? He’s right here in the kitchen.”
“No, I can’t see it, but I can see you and you’re. . .”
“Never mind,” Rachel stopped her not wanting the self-proclaimed deity to know she was about to freak.
“What do you want?” she asked Quetzalcoatl.
“Once again, you called me?”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I do have a message,” it said.
Oh god, she thought, what now?
The snake’s head began to morph before her. In a few moments, it took on more human characteristics, but the fangs remained. She wondered how many more tricks he had.
“Does this look make you more comfortable? You know, lions eat their own kind.” It deliberately turned its head to look at the small tortoiseshell cat peaking from beneath the table; the only thing that separated her tiny cat from this snake-god was a piece of fabric.
“Chloe, would you please take Chile out of the room.”
“Of course.” Chloe reached under the table and pulled out the scared kitty, cupping her tiny body in her arm. Before she could exit the kitchen, Quetzalcoatl rose up and struck out in their direction.
“Run Chloe!” Chloe did, all the way to her car where she locked the doors and held Chile Pod in her lap. She petted her with shaking hands. “Did you see it?” she asked the cat, but couldn’t understand when Chile told her she had.
Back in the kitchen Rachel said, “Tell me the message and get the hell out.”
![By Jami Dwyer [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://reluctantmediumatlarge.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/quetzalcoatl-teotihuacan-feathered-serpent-wikimedia.jpg?w=300)
By Jami Dwyer [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Rachel shuddered. She softened her tone. It pissed her off to do it, but she had to get rid of this raw material for making boots. “Please tell me the message.”
“Much nicer. Was that so hard? I said before they want the artist, but that was diversionary. They want you. You were supposed to enter the picture, not the other woman.”
“Is Stella all right?”
“For now, she is safe. I see you are perplexed. Humans get confused easily. It is a defect.”
“Why do they want me, and who are they?”
“Enough for now. I’ll allow you to digest this information.”
Rachel wanted Quetzalcoatl to go and never return, but she had to know.
“Please answer my questions.” And she blanched when she heard her voice break.
That was when she heard the low growl behind her. She was certain it was the wolf, but took a moment to check for him. Nothing. And when she turned back to the snake, there was nothing but a necklace lying on the floor. “Stupid, stupid!” Rachel berated herself. “Of course it was the wolf. He was warning me to be careful and what do I do? Take my eyes off the monster!”
Her hands shook as she opened the front door and motioned to Chloe that it was safe to return.
She took Chile from Chloe and held her in arms that continued to tremble. Tears threatened. Chloe guided her gently to the sofa where they sat quietly for a few minutes. Rachel began to shiver uncontrollably.
“Are you okay?” Chloe asked.
“Yes, I guess.”
“Of course you’re not okay,” Chloe said softly. “You’re scared half to death. I’m scared half to death and I couldn’t see a thing, only you reacting to it.
“What did you see on the floor if you couldn’t see the snake?”
![Temple of Kukulkan, closely related to Quetzalcoatl. By ATSZ56 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://reluctantmediumatlarge.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/quetzalcoatl-chichenitzaequinox-temple-wikemedia.jpg?w=300)
Temple of Kukulkan, closely related to Quetzalcoatl. By ATSZ56 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
“All I saw was the necklace.”
Rachel felt defeated. How could Chloe understand if she couldn’t see it?
“It told me something. They, whoever they are, want me—not the artist.”
Chloe gasped. “But then why did they take Stella?”
“Apparently, she couldn’t resist the pull of the painting.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t take a chance on astral travel,” Chloe said. “I’m getting a real bad feeling about this whole thing.”
“But doesn’t this make it even more imperative that I learn to do it? We can’t just leave Stella there, wherever that is. We have to try to rescue her and discover what this is all about.” Rachel wiped angrily at a tear.
“I’m not leaving you tonight,” Chloe said. “We’re going to have some of that weed right now and then I’m sleeping here on the couch. No protesting.”
“No problem. Would you go replace the necklace in that damn envelope?”
“Will we be safe then?” Chloe asked.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever be safe again. The rules have changed, I fear irreparably.”
Omnimystery News Guest Blog by G G Collins
Paranormal Mystery Writer G G Collins Blogs
Explosive Tale Pits Psychic Against Nazi Terrorists
Available at Amazon
Check out my guest blog and learn how Atomic Medium came to be. It’s a little bit supernatural, a little bit history and all fun. Join reporter Rachel Blackstone and friend Chloe for their latest adventure in the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery Series. No lines at TSA for this trip, but no map or directions either. Travel back to 1945 when the most feared weapon of mass destruction was developed in Los Alamos. Will Rachel stop two evil men intent on changing history? It’s no small task for the two friends; just save the world!
Amazon 5-Star Review: “I loved that the suspense lasted right up to the last page.” — Mojo
Atomic Bomb Trinity Test July 16, 1945.
Atomic Bomb Test Successful but Deadly
by GG Collins Copyright 2015/Updated 2023
Trinity Test July 16, 1945
Courtesy Dept of Energy
The Trinity Test had to be pushed back to 5:30 a.m. due to rain at the Alamogordo Bombing Range at White Sands in New Mexico. The area was known as the Jornada del Muerto or Journey of Death. As early risers went about their ranch chores, sorted mail for delivery and stocked grocery selves, none knew their world would change drastically in minutes. There was no warning issued to nearby residents.
Those who would be watching this scientific achievement huddled in bunkers made for that purpose. Earth and sand covered the concrete bunkers on three sides and on top. There were viewing holes in the wall facing the test site.Welding goggles were handed out to protect eyes.
The atomic age began with a pinprick of light so bright it lit up the desert with the power of several midday suns. It could be seen for 180 miles. If you closed your eyes, you could still see the light. The energy sucked up tons of desert sand, the dust muddied the light as it rose and churned into a fireball.
Bunker at Trinity Site
Courtesy Dept of Energy
Heat came next to those huddled in the bunkers. It was as if someone had opened an oven door. People dropped to the ground the heat was so intense. Then came the sound wave, as the earth beneath them shuddered with the force of 21,000 tons of TNT. This was followed by the now familiar mushroom cloud. The cloud created by fission rose and undulated to the substratosphere and spread across the heavens.
Some people were temporarily blinded by the light. Others who rode out the blast outside the bunkers had been knocked flat as the super wind rushed across the desert basin. Those who witnessed this first splitting of an atom had various reactions. Some slapped their knees and cheered; others laughed or cried. Still others showed the horror on their faces at what had been unleashed.
Although no humans were harmed directly, families in the area have lived with and died of cancer for four generations. It’s not if they will get sick, but when. Trinity Test Downwinders continue to ask for help from the federal government for health issues that occurred as a result of the bomb testing. Livestock and wildlife did not fair well. Many became ill and died. People continued to consume these animals, their milk and eggs. Rainwater collected from rooftops and stored in tanks and cisterns was contaminated. Cancer, birth defects and stillbirths followed.
It would be even worse for the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Alex Wellerstein, historian at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, asks his students this: “What are the conditions that you think it would be acceptable for the United States to deliberately burn 100,000 civilians alive? That’s a really ugly question, right? Like, that really gets you into really dark territory.”
Scarred Earth After Test
Courtesy Dept of Energy
The atomic bomb that The Manhattan Project developed was both an incredible human feat and the monster that would hide in children’s closets for generations to come. Although the bomb would end WWII, nothing would ever be the same. The era of fear had begun.
For more information: 109 East Palace by Jennet Conant, The Manhattan Project edited by Cynthia C. Kelly, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, http://www.losalamoshistory.org, www.atomicheritage.org/bios, www.lanl.gov, https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Resources/photo_gallery/photo_gallery.htm
Note on photos: From the U.S. Department of Energy. “To the best of our knowledge, all text and images on this web site are in the public domain. Almost all of the photographs were generated by government agencies, or by contractors working for the government, and as such are not subject to copyright. Most of these photographs were acquired from government web sites or government publications. In a handful of cases, photographs were used whose copyright had expired; these were acquired from the Library of Congress’s web site.”
Atomic Medium takes the reader to 1945 Santa Fe, location of The Manhattan Project office, the Atomic City of Los Alamos and to White Sands, New Mexico to experience the Trinity Test. Third book in the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery Series. For more information: https://tinyurl.com/4s97mxj7
Travel: Santa Fe, New Mexico in One Day
Santa Fe in Only One Day
by G G Collins (Copyright 2015)
The Shed Restaurant
Copyright G G Collins
THE SHED: Eat at The Shed! It’s on Palace Avenue a couple of blocks from the Plaza.The Shed is known for their New Mexican cuisine: such as Carne Adovado. Inside or out, it’s colorful and fun. The chocolate fudge sundae for dessert goes beyond decadent. For more on the restaurant’s history and how it came to be called The Shed:
Rainbow Man shop
Former office of The Manhattan Project
SHOPPING: If you enjoy shopping until you drop, you can do that in Santa Fe. A good place to start is Rainbow Man. It’s on Palace too. Be sure to look for The Manhattan Project plaque dedication. It’s at the back of the courtyard under the portal (porch in Spanish). Despite being a historical site, there is no sign to indicate that. If you can’t find the plaque, ask someone at the store. They’re happy to point it out.
For more on The Manhattan Project:
At Wind River, you can enter on Palace, walk through the store (this may take a while with all the jewelry, Native American art and chickens, yes, chickens), and exit on San Francisco across from La Fonda. From top-of-the-line clothing to kitchen items to kitsch, it’s all on the Plaza. The Marcy Card Shop on Marcy Street (a couple of blocks from the Plaza and close to the convention center) has a lot more than cards!
La Fonda, the Inn at the End of the Santa Fe Trail
LA FONDA: Now, cross the street and walk through the lobby of La Fonda. This hotel has a loooong history in Santa Fe. Both the famous and the infamous have walked these Saltillo tiles. Look in the restaurant. See the fountain in the center? That used to be a well in an outdoor courtyard. A business man down on his luck threw himself in it and was killed. His ghost is said to still walk the halls. Oppenheimer and fellow scientists relaxed in the bar–under the close watch of federal agents. There is also a rooftop deck and bar for watching sunsets. Here’s more on La Fonda:
https://reluctantmediumatlarge.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/on-location-with-the-reluctant-medium/
St. Francis Cathedral
ST. FRANCIS CATHEDRAL: The St. Francis Cathedral is worth a look. It’s beautiful inside and out. There are usually members there to answer questions and give tours. And if you are a candle lighter, there are candle alcoves just inside the entry. A labyrinth is in front of the church for contemplation. More on the cathedral:
THE PLAZA: And don’t just walk through the Plaza. Take a few minutes and soak up the sun, be dazzled by the azure skies. The light, and the vibe, is the reason writers and artists have flocked to The City Different for years.
The Santa Fe Plaza.
If you have time and are museum people, the Palace of the Governors is fascinating. There are holes in the floor and no one knows why (carefully covered in thick clear glass for a look-see). Wallace finished “Ben-Hur” at the Palace while governor. The Palace was on high alert and he covered his lamp to conceal the light as attack was imminent.
All of this is within a few blocks.
IF YOU HAVE A SECOND DAY:
Jackalope. Say hello to the prairie dogs!
JACKALOPE: Jackalope on Cerrillos Road is shopping, animals, oh heck, it’s a party. The owner’s story is a fascinating journey. The prairie dogs are a favorite with kids and adults alike. Check out Jackalope at:
Museum Hill Mountain Spirit Dancer
MUSEUM HILL: Is so worth a good look. If you’re not up to the museum crawl, just go out and look at the outdoor art, eat at the restaurant and listen to the music drift on a breeze.The new Santa Fe Botanical Garden is just across the street. Great views of the Sangre de Cristos. Here’s more on both attractions:
https://reluctantmediumatlarge.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/santa-fes-museum-hill-botanical-garden/
Tent Rocks, Public Domain
TENT ROCKS: If you’d like a far-out hiking experience, go to Tent Rocks. Made of ash from a long ago volcano, the tent-shaped rocks are eerie and magical. It’s south of Santa Fe near the Cochiti Dam. You drive right by the dam and it’s a bit scary thinking about all that water behind the dam; so don’t. The car you’re in feels very small and insignificant. Now you can’t stop thinking about it.
10,000 Waves Hot Tub
NEED DOWN TIME: If you can’t take anymore and need to relax, it’s 10,000 Waves time. Massage, hot tubs, facials and a gorgeous Japanese style mountain retreat. It’s on the way up to the Ski Basin, only a few miles. It’s heavenly.
http://www.tenthousandwaves.com/
Whatever you do in Santa Fe, remember, it’s mañana time.
New Book Release: Free June 20, 2015
Atomic Medium Free One Day Only
“We’re three women from two different centuries, trying to save the world from oblivion. I don’t know about you, but that’s way above my pay grade.”
New release, Atomic Medium, will be a free Kindle download Saturday June 20, 2015. One day only! It is Book 3 in the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery series. You don’t need to read them in order. The stories are all separate adventures for new psychic, reporter Rachel Blackstone. But reading them in order does show Rachel’s growth as a Reluctant Medium and how she became one.
Rachel and friend Chloe are drawn into a paranormal mystery that leads them straight into a historic year, 1945, WWII and the Trinity Test. It is a world of subterfuge, secrets and danger. If they can’t stop the men intent on sabotage, history will be changed. For Rachel and Chloe, it’s no small task: just save the world.
In Atomic Medium we learn how Kiyiya became Rachel’s spirit animal and there is a surprise about Chloe–one I didn’t see coming either. Mari-Lynn is back as the pot dispensing crystal expert, a boy helps out much to Rachel’s chagrin and the two friends may move on from misdemeanors to higher crimes.
It’s all adventure with a few laughs along the way. Thank you for trying Atomic Medium.
— G G Collins
The Manhattan Project: 78th Anniversary of the Atomic Bomb
The Building That Changed the World
By G G Collins Copyright 2015/Updated 2023
Rainbow Man shop
Former office of The Manhattan Project
On Palace Avenue just steps from the famous Santa Fe Plaza is a small building that changed the world. It was the headquarters for The Manhattan Project, the top secret mission to build the first atomic bomb and end WWII. Everyone, scientist and secretary alike, passed through this building. They came in the front door and left by the back door where they were secreted off to the Atomic City. No one left by the back door unless Dorothy McKibbin gave them a pass to “The Hill.”
McKibbin was looking for a job in March of 1943. She was offered employment at the First National Bank for $120 per month. Working at a bank wasn’t really what she wanted to do, but income was income. Then she met Joe Stevenson in an awkward conversation in the middle of the Plaza. He told her there was a secretarial position open that would pay $150 per month. But Stevenson was mysterious about what the job would entail.
She did accept the job and became the gatekeeper to one of the biggest discoveries of the last century. McKibbin kept that job until 1963 when she retired. She would remain a loyal friend to Robert Oppenheimer until his death in 1967.
Courtyard at Rainbow Man
The historic site, originally constructed in the 1600s as a Spanish hacienda, is now home to Rainbow Man. The shop is filled with Native American hand-made items, blankets, photos and folk art in vivid colors. The courtyard is beautiful rain or shine. Flowers brighten the entrance in vibrant hues. The old wagon only becomes more silvered with each passing year.
At the back of the courtyard, under the portal and behind the chile ristras is a plaque dedicated to those who split the first atom. Shoppers visit the store to take home a little bit of Santa Fe. Historians stop by for the history and wonder what it must have been like in the 1940s when The Manhattan Project was in full swing.
Commemorative Plaque to those who worked on The Manhattan Project
July 16 was the 78th anniversary of the Trinity Test at White Sands, New Mexico.
For more information, try these books:109 East Palace by Jennet Conant, The Manhattan Project edited by Cynthia C. Kelly, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.
Atomic Medium, takes place in Santa Fe during 2015 and 1945. It is the third installment in the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery Series. Get it at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1SWkjde
G G Collins
GG Collins Mysteries 
Birth of the Atomic Bomb
Jul 27
Posted by G G Collins
I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds – Bhagavad Gita
By GG Collins Copyright 2023
“The beginning of the atomic age began with a pinprick of light so bright it lit up the desert with the power of several midday suns … ” – Atomic Medium
https://tinyurl.com/5n74s59r
When I began writing Atomic Medium I thought the world had forgotten this era. But thanks to a movie called Oppenheimer a new generation is learning about the men and women who developed the bomb. Not with computers and smart phones but with a little thing called a slide rule and human calculators.
By Jack W. Aeby, July 16, 1945, Civilian worker at Los Alamos laboratory, working under the aegis of the Manhattan Project. – This image comes from the Google-hosted LIFE Photo Archive where it is available under the filename 96ad5a9a5c94664e.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See the copyright section in the template documentation for more information., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=140895
I was lucky to have access to photos from the Atomic City of Los Alamos including pictures of the houses where the scientists lived and the mess hall where they ate. I poured over maps of the compound and read books describing the times. Many of my sources are listed below and a full list can be obtained in the bibliography at the end of Atomic Medium.
My characters, reporter Rachel Blackstone and her friend Chloe Valdez, went back in time to 1945 New Mexico. It was here they experienced the first treacherous step into a future of unimaginable weapons.
“They dropped to the ground and held each other. They trembled with terror. Rachel wondered if their hair would burn off or if they were on the verge of incineration.” – Atomic Medium
“Calling it a weapon of mass destruction sounded like an understatement; a news bite, trivial. This was obliteration; one second you were there and the next you were vapor being inhaled by hell’s meteor.” – Atomic Medium
By Trinity_crater.jpg: Federal government of the United Statesderivative work: Bomazi (talk) – Trinity_crater.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12817993
We talk about nuclear weapons today like they have always been here. Each year scientists move the Doomsday Clock a bit closer to midnight. In January 2023 it was moved to 90 seconds before midnight. That’s how close we are to apocalypse.
* * *
Atomic Medium will be priced at .99 cents on July 30, 2023. https://tinyurl.com/5n74s59r
For additional blog posts on this subject: Atomic Bomb Test Successful but Deadly https://tinyurl.com/mu6mdz3v and The Building That Changed the World https://tinyurl.com/22bpr67t
For more reading: Bibliography of Atomic Medium
109 East Palace by Jennet Conant, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005.
The Manhattan Project, edited by Cynthia C. Kelly, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc., 2007.
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1986 by Rhodes & Rhodes.
A Few Good Women by Evelyn M. Monahan & Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee, Alfred A Knopf, 2010.
The Streets of Santa Fe by Josh Gonze, 2012.
A Spy’s Guide to Santa Fe and Albuquerque by E. B. Held, University of New Mexico Press, 2011.
Manhattan Project Suitcase, Manhattan Days Script, Los Alamos Historical Society, http://www.losalamoshistory.org
Los Alamos National Laboratory/Science Photo Library at www.sciencephoto.com/media
Atomic Heritage Foundation, Profiles at www.atomicheritage.org/bios
Los Alamos National Laboratory, LANL History in Images at www.lanl.gov
Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association, Inc., The Otowi Bridge at http://www.mphpa.org
“Manhattan Project spies who met in Santa Fe changed the balance of the world” by Tom Sharpe, The Santa Fe New Mexican, September 27, 2000.
“The Difficulties of Nuclear Containment” by Sam Roberts, The New York Times, September 29, 2014.
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