Journey to the Trinity Site: An Annual Pilgrimage to the Birthplace of the Atomic Age

Standing at the crossroads of history and modernity, I, Craig, also known as the Natural Medic, embarked on a once-a-year pilgrimage to the Trinity Site at White Sands Missile Range. It's the birthplace of the atomic age, where the first atomic bomb was detonated. Join me as I navigate the labyrinth of security checks and long lines to witness the iconic stone obelisk and a replica of the "Fat Man" bomb that changed the course of history. Feel the weight of history as I recount the eerie transformation of sand into trinitite by the atomic blast, and why this rare glimpse into the past is so profoundly significant.

Back home, the gravity of my experience at the Trinity Site lingers. This annual opportunity to walk through history is unparalleled, and I urge you to seize the chance if you can. For those seeking more context, I recommend watching "Oppenheimer" to deepen your understanding of these monumental events in New Mexico. As you plan your own visit, I've shared some insider tips and links in the description, ensuring your journey is as smooth as possible. If my tales of adventure, equipment reviews, and outdoor tips resonate with you, don't forget to like, subscribe, and explore the additional resources provided.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Okay, craig, the Natural Medic going to the Trinity site on the White Sands Missile Range Just waited in line for about an hour and a half to get in. It's October 19th 2024. They just have one open house a year now. They used to have two open houses. Allow you to go into the site to view the Trinity site where the first atomic bomb was set off. I don't know how much I'll be able to film. I don't know if I can film since this is an active military base. So at the Trinity site, the stone obelisk, there is what marks the site of the detonation happened in 1945. It was July of 1945, but that's the line of people that are waiting to take a picture of it or with it. Then over there on the trailer, you have a replica of fat man, which is the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. I believe this is the Trinity site. Pretty cool, maybe not as exciting as you anticipated, but this is only open once a year. This is where they really did the things. Along the fence there where you see everybody standing, there's a number of panels that talk about different aspects of the project and that shelter way over there past, where the bomb is on the back of the trailer, used to have trinitite in the actual crater where you could see trinitite in there, which was a new element that was created when the bomb exploded the sand here, the atomic blast, turned into trinitite, which is a new element. This is a casing. It's identical to the World War II bomb Fat man. It's the casing, only there's nothing inside of it, but it's a replica that was dropped on Nagasaki.

Speaker 1: 1:52

Okay, I'm back and I'm here at my house, the Trinity site. There's a lot of waiting to get in there, but it's an interesting place to walk, where history happened and if you want some more information on that, I'll put some links in the description below. And I definitely recommend you watch the movie Oppenheimer if you haven't watched that. It kind of tells the story of how that happened, but it's interesting that it happened here in New Mexico. It's only open one time a year now. It used to be open two times a year. It is located on the White Sands Missile Range, so it is not accessible through normal means except for just that one time a year. I'll put the links for that down there for you. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did give me a thumbs up, let me know that you appreciated the video. Think about subscribing to the channel for more adventures, product reviews and tips and tricks for helping you out there in the outdoors. If you have any questions or