'My two great loves are physics and New Mexico'

Statues of two of the major players in the Manhattan Project, Robert Oppenheimer, left, and General Leslie Groves, stand by the Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Highway Hasman photo

As a student of early Cold War history (from the 1940s until JFK's asssassination), I have always been fascinated with Robert Oppenheimer. 

He was, as the book title American Prometheus: The Triumphs and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer suggests, a man who experienced the highest of highs playing a pivotal role in helping put the atomic bomb together at Los Alamos and a fall from grace when he lost his security clearance due in large part to former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss's efforts to limit Oppenheimer's influence on national nuclear policy.

That said, this post is not about how I feel about what happened to Oppenheimer during his security hearing in 1954. Instead, I want to briefly look back at Sunday's 100-mile trip from Albuquerque to Los Alamos and appreciate some of the places that I saw. 

Oppenheimer and Bethe houses

New Mexico has always been a special place for Oppenheimer. 

"My two great loves are physics and New Mexico," he said. "It is a pity they can't be combined."

He had the best of both worlds for several years. He traveled on and off to his Perro Caliente Ranch in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains while he taught physics on the West Coast, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery that Los Alamos offered while helping his country in the war effort in World War II. 

A big treat during the recent trip to Los Alamos was standing outside the house Oppenheimer and his wife Kitty, and children Toni and Peter lived in off Bathtub Row. This was also where Robert and Kitty hosted many martini-filled parties for the other scientists.

The Los Alamos History Museum now owns the building and visitors are not allowed inside as work is being done. However, they are able to photograph the exterior of the house that was used in the filming of Oppenheimer.

Here is the house where Robert Oppenheimer stayed during his years at Los Alamos. It was also one of the filming locations for Oppenheimer.
Highway Hasman photo

Built in 1929, the house once served as the Los Alamos Ranch School before the federal government took it over for the Manhattan Project. 

Most project workers lived in government-built housing, which had showers instead of bathtubs because the iron used for the lining in tubs was needed for the war effort. Oppenheimer and his family were among the lucky few at Los Alamos who had bathtubs.

Another person who enjoyed that luxury was fellow scientist, Hans Bethe, who lived next door with his wife Rose in what is also part of the Los Alamos History Museum.

The Bethes moved to the United States years before to avoid anti-Semetic persecution in Nazi Germany. While working at Cornell University, Bethe became known for his confidence and energetic attitude. Oppenheimer believed adding Bethe to the Project Y team at Los Alamos would convince other scientists to join, and Oppenheimer thought Rose could help organize the housing and community at Los Alamos, according to the National Park Service.

From the Bethe House check out the rest of Bathtub Row, which includes the Power House, which originally housed the electrical generator of the Los Alamos Ranch House, the history museum, and the Fuller Lodge, which served as the dining hall for the ranch school and was a community center for Manhattan Project workers.

Just a few minutes away from the lodge is Ashley Pond, named after the founder of the Los Alamos Ranch School. 

In early 1943, when the school was taken over for the Manhattan Project, the Technical Area, known as TA-1, was built around the south side of Ashley Pond. The water was a safeguard in case of fire in the wooden buildings that comprised much of the wartime laboratory.

Visitors get to relax and enjoy some tranquility at Ashley Pond.
Highway Hasman photo

A trip to the museum

Before leaving Los Alamos stop inside the Bradbury Science Museum. 

In 1953, Robert Krohn, who was in charge of early nuclear tests at what was then known as Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, decided the lab needed a museum to house historical weapons and research artifacts. He convinced Norris Bradbury, who replaced Oppenheimer as lab director, that a museum would preserve the lab's history and provide a place for visitors to learn about its weapon programs.

An old ice house on the bank of Ashley Pond served as the first museum when it opened in 1954. But museum kept adding on (including unclassified exhibits tracing the development of the town and lab) and would move a couple of times before finding its current home in downtown Los Alamos in 1987.

Stop by the Bradbury Museum for a lesson on atomic history.
Highway Hasman photo

The museum is filled with interesting nuclear-related history including replicas of the "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" that were used to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, as well as a Mitchell 35mm camera that filmed the Trinity test between San Antonio and Alamogordo, New Mexico.

With all this material and history tattooed into me it was time to go back to Albuquerque and finish American Prometheus and watch Oppenheimer, which by the way was an excellent movie.

An Ode to the Chief Hotel Court

The Chief Hotel Court as it appeared in 1986.
Courtesy of UNLV Special Collections and Archives

Las Vegas is known for its treasure trove of neon signs. While some may not be as glamorous or popular as the Stardust, signs like the Chief Hotel Court cannot be ignored with its Native American motif.

In 1940, Harold J. Stocker opened the Chief Hotel Court at 1201 Fremont St. (U.S. Highway 93). He financed the building by selling a glass and sand mining operation he owned in the Moapa Valley in Nevada, according to the Nevada Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology. The motel, once known as the Chief Autel (a cross between auto and motel or hotel) Court, was named in honor of the Santa Fe Chief. 

The one-story, U-shaped motel made of stucco once advertised steamed heat to bring in winter visitors on chilly nights in Vegas. Unfortunately, the motel closed in 1989 and was demolished in the early 1990s. However, the sign was saved and later restored by the Neon Museum.

Founded in 1996, the Neon Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that collects, preserves, and exhibits iconic Vegas signs like the Chief Hotel Court. 

The Chief sign sits inside the museum's Neon Boneyard, a place where sign geeks and others can drool at other legendary signs that once graced the streets of Sin City. 

The Chief Hotel Court sits comfortably inside the Neon Museum's Neon Boneyard.
Highway Hasman photo

The Boneyard features more than 250 unrestored signs. At sunset, they are illuminated with ground lighting. People can come by for tours or schedule personal and commercial photo/video shoots.

The Neon Museum is located at 770 Las Vegas Boulevard and is open seven days a week. Hours vary depending on the time of year. 

Time to explore the world of Lincoln, New Mexico

An interpretative marker greets visitors heading west into Lincoln on U.S. 380
Highway Hasman photo

Saturday was my first day volunteering at the Lincoln Historic Site in Lincoln, New Mexico.

Once a month I will be taking the 3-hour drive from Albuquerque to help visitors have a good time as they learn more about Lincoln, the Lincoln County War and the interesting characters involved, including Billy the Kid.

At about 10 a.m., I parked by the Anderson-Freeman Visitors Center and Museum where I met interpretative ranger Oscar Navarro.

I shadowed Navarro and learned some of the ropes and material to present to tourists. While I am not an expert on Billy the Kid or the war (I aim to read more and more on the subjects), I decided to volunteer because Lincoln played an important role in Old West and American histories. I want to be able to help share that history with others. 

Here is a look inside the Tunstall Store that was built in 1878.
Highway Hasman photo

One subject that people come to learn about is the Lincoln County War. 

But what was it about?

The war, which some say delayed New Mexico statehood for years, was a conflict between competing business interests (especially cattle) in the New Mexico Territory. On one side was attorney Alexander McSween and sheep rancher John Tunstall (Billy the Kid and the rest of the Regulators would side with them), and businessmen Lawrence Murphy and Jimmy Dolan on the other. Each side competed to monopolize trade with nearby Fort Stanton.

"New Mexico's Lincoln County War was a power play gone berserk," Nora True Henn wrote in the "Lincoln County and its Wars." 

Both sides had powerful backers. Cattle baron John Chisum supported McSween and Tunstall while the Santa Fe Ring, comprised of powerful people that included land speculators, represented the interests of Murphy and Dolan.

"The contest was for economic and political control of the area, ignited and fanned by rival merchants," Henn said.

It was Tunstall's murder in 1878 that sparked violence that became so intense, President Rutherford B. Hayes called Lincoln's main street was the most dangerous street in America. 

Today, the road through Lincoln is paved, but otherwise the town still has the feel of a western frontier community, without the violence. Many of the historic properties remain including a courthouse where one man was supposed to die for his part in getting retribution for Tunstall's death.

Exploring the site

Billy the Kid and the rest of the Regulators got revenge by killing Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady, whose posse was responsible for Tunstall's death. 

The Kid would eventually be brought to trial at the old Dona Ana Courthouse in Mesilla where he was found guilty and sentenced to hang in Lincoln.

The Lincoln Historic Site comprises of several buildings including the old Lincoln County Courthouse (now a museum) where the Kid was jailed and waited for his appointment with a rope. However, he was able to escape, but not before killing two deputies, James W. Bell and Bob Olinger. Billy lived a couple of more years before Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett killed him at Fort Sumner in 1881.

While the courthouse was a highlight of the tour, there were other interesting buildings to see while walking around Lincoln. Others that I enjoyed include the Tunstall Store, which has items from the 1870s; the El Torreon (a defensive tower built by native New Mexicans in the 1850s when the community was known as La Placita); and the Anderson-Freeman Visitor's Center and Museum where I was able to grasp a comprehensive view of Lincoln's history.

Looking forward

After the tour ended, Navarro and I went our separate ways. While I did not accomplish a lot on my first day (I just observed and asked questions) I told myself I can do this.

As I mentioned earlier, I am continuing to dig into the history of Lincoln, Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War. I recently started reading Frederick Nolan’s The West of Billy the Kid along with stories and blogs about Lincoln in True West Magazine.

I picked up "Lincoln County and its Wars" by Nora True Henn then tried a Billy the Kid Amber at Bonito Valley Brewing Company.
Highway Hasman photo

I look forward to continuing to educate myself and to soon be able to show people around the historic site. Perhaps, they will regale me with some of their favorite Billy the Kid and/or Lincoln County War facts that will add to my knowledge.

“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.” Michel Legrand

Shoot a ‘$36 (or $26)’ a night sign for free

 

A sign is the only thing left of the Interstate Inn in Albuquerque.
Highway Hasman photo

A former motel sign with the word “interstate” on it stands on Route 66.

It sounds like blasphemy, I know.

Located off 1916 Fourth St. along a pre-1937 Route 66 alignment, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Interstate Inn was once a place for I-40 motorists (and others) to come for the night.

It is uncertain what guests actually paid. One side of the sign reads the rate was once $36 a night while the other side has $26. 

Regardless of the cost, the motel was relatively modern as it opened around 1982, the year it started advertising for a manager in the Albuquerque Journal. George Perry would be the man to fill that role from 1983 until 2000 (It’s unknown who took over after that).

It was in the early 21^st century, however, when the Interstate Inn became popular for being more than a place to spend the evening.

A motel employee reported that convicted offenders lived in a federally contracted pretrial and housing facility behind the motel, though they did “not mingle with the guests,” according to the Nov. 22, 2002, issue of the Journal.

But that was the least of the issues that plagued the Interstate Inn.

In August 2003, the Journal reported that there were sex offenders living at the motel. Two years later, in October 2005, a woman in her 40s was found dead at the Interstate Inn.  A “large amount of blood was found in the room,” former city of Albuquerque spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said.

The motel closed a couple of years later.

There is nothing left on the property except for a metal fence and the motel sign, which should be photographed before it goes away.

The Rio Puerco Bridge: A special place off 66

Interstate 40 travelers coming from or heading west of Albuquerque pass the Rio Puerco Bridge, which sits on Route 66.
Highway Hasman photo

People traveling west after leaving Albuquerque see nothing but open skies until they find a piece of roadside history on the north side of the highway.

Nestled between Interstate 40 and a post-1937 Route 66 alignment is the 250-foot-long Parker Through Truss designed Rio Puerco Bridge.

Built in 1933, the bridge opened the Laguna Cutoff to transcontinental traffic. Four years later, this stretch of highway became Route 66. 

In 1957, the truss was remodeled, and the lower portal struts were removed and replaced by lighter structs that were inserted above to create a higher clearance. Forty years later, the bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is now being preserved by the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

While people can no longer drive over the bridge today, they can walk across it, take photos and create memories.

A refuge

I moved to Albuquerque in October 2021 and one of the first places I stopped at was the Rio Puerco Bridge.

I drove over to take pictures of the bridge at least twice a week. Over time, however, it became more than a place to improve photography skills. It became a refuge, a spot to hang out at and cool off after a long day or to recuperate from the disappointment of a team’s defeat in the NFL playoffs. 

While pondering ways to handle life's stressful moments I would capture the bridge in its glory on late afternoons. 

Looking east on the Rio Puerco Bridge
Highway Hasman photo

Little did I know, however, that the bridge would be an important place for other people. 

Taking a final trip

On a cool Saturday morning last October, a purple 2019 Dodge Charger pulled off onto the asphalt in front of the Rio Puerco Bridge.

Kathleen Davis and her friend Charles Thomas got out and walked across the bridge snapping photos and observing I-40 traffic. Moments later, Davis took out a small Ziploc-type bag filled with some of her dad’s ashes and poured them onto the parched Rio Puerco River. She sealed the bag and headed back toward the car when my sister (who was in town visiting) and I exchanged hellos with them.

Davis, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, resident, said they were heading west on one last road trip with her late father, Robert “Bob” Davis who died from cancer on Jan. 11, 2021. She and Thomas were stopping at various locations on their way to Morro Bay, California, spreading small amounts of her dad’s ashes in many places along 66 including off the Rio Puerco Bridge where she thought would be a good spot for parts of her dad to remain for eternity. 

As we spoke about their travel plans, Kathleen went to the backseat of the Charger and took out some artwork Robert made including a watercolor painting of a 1940s era car parked in front of a snow-covered rustic house, and a piece with a photo of a 1966 Ford Ranchero sitting in front of a computer designed Gibble Gas Station off Route 66 in Bristol, Oklahoma.

I was impressed by the artwork. I had to know more.

Kathleen Davis, standing next to her friend Charles Thomas outside the Rio Puerco Bridge, holds a piece of artwork that her late dad Robert Davis made.
Highway Hasman photo

'It's engrained in me'

Robert Davis was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1942, but he traveled all over including Long Beach, California, where he worked as a welder.

After being assigned to create signs and logos as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1960s, however, art became his passion. He would go on to college where he studied graphic arts. 

Years later, Davis moved to Oklahoma where Kathleen was born.

As she got older, Kathleen and her dad took road trips together where they played games like I Spy and listened to surfer rock artists like The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean. “And I had the trusted job of navigator in the time before GPS,” she said, adding that “I always enjoyed following along on paper maps.”

Being on the road was also a way for father and daughter to interact. Kathleen's parents got divorced when she was three so every weekend he would drive two hours each way to see his daughter. “Most of my childhood memories involved a car for that reason. It’s engrained in me,” she said. 

But it was his artwork that stood out to Kathleen. 

Pictured is a caricature that Robert Davis drew of his daughter Kathleen Davis when she was a high school freshman.
Courtesy of Kathleen Davis

"He would sketch little things for me when I was a kid - doodles on napkins and stuff," she said. "And I thought everybody's dad was artistically talented. It took me a while to learn that was not true."

Years later, it was time for Kathleen to share his talents with the world. 

‘Much better than the typical funeral’

After leaving the Rio Puerco Bridge, Davis and Thomas continued west where they left some of Robert’s artwork at gas stations, restaurants and other roadside establishments in Arizona and California. She even left a piece or two at Disneyland where Robert and Kathleen visited years ago.

“I think leaving bits of my dad’s art in increments across an area of the U.S. that he always loved was really good closure,” she said. “It was the perfect way to honor him and his talent."

After distributing the artwork, Davis and Thomas reached Morro Bay where they scattered Robert's remaining ashes at a rock garden and said goodbye. 

"The weather was great. The drive was great. The company was great,” she said. “And every art piece dropped/given away was like sharing dad with the world.

"I think Dad would have loved it, honestly. [It was] much better than the typical funeral. “

Say Hi to Sleepy Bear

 

A 1960s era TraveLodge billboard still stands outside Albuquerque, New Mexico
Highway Hasman Photo

Just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on a pre-1937 stretch of Route 66 is a 1960s era TraveLodge roadside billboard featuring Sleepy Bear.

Next to Sleepy Bear, the ad reads “Ahead 2 Locations Central Avenue Exit.”

The iconic bear has been a part of the TraveLodge and roadside experience since 1954 (14 years after the first Travelodge opened in San Diego, California) when the brand’s “Ambassador of Adventure” was introduced. Sleepy Bear was seen all over including on billboards, postcards, and matchbook covers.

Sleepy Bear may be one of the most loved hotel mascots in North America, Rui Barros, former TraveLodge brand senior vice president, said in 2012.

Neither of the Albuquerque TraveLodge locations mentioned on the roadside ad (615 Central Ave. NE and 3711 Central Ave, NE) exist anymore. The 3711 Central Ave. location, which changed names a couple of times, is now Hotel Zazz while the other former TraveLodge is a Days Inn.

As for Sleepy Bear, while the design for the iconic logo has changed over the years the bear is fortunately still around. In fact, people can join Sleepy's Adventure Club. As a club member, people will receive an activity booklet that consists of a log where they can jot down places they see during their trip or adventure, a crossword puzzle and other games, and a passport to be stamped at the location they are staying at.

On that next drive down old 66 on the way to or from Albuquerque, check out that 60s era Sleepy Bear billboard and see what generations of Americans saw when they took that great American road trip out west.

Neon signage meets the movie industry

A film crew member gets the Prickly Pear sign ready for a scene.
Highway Hasman photo

It is not often one can pull over the side of the road and find a film crew on a movie set, let alone one on Route 66.

Better yet, the set was at a roadside motel several blocks from home.

A couple of weeks ago at the Downtown Inn in Albuquerque people were getting the hotel ready to film scenes from the Warner Bros. Pictures film “Coyote vs. Acme,” a live-action and animated hybrid film based on the Wile E. Coyote cartoons. It starts John Cena, of WWE fame, Lana Condor and Will Forte.

One of the things the crew at the Downtown Inn did was put up a fictitious neon sign named the “Prickly Pear.” They sprayed dirt and water on the new signage to make it appear it had been up for many years.

The sign has been taken down, but the memories will remain.