On either side, mountains rise up, separating the desert from the world. The soil returns dull green reflections. A light wind muffles the low, reverent voices of those gathered here. Time itself seems to stop. This high desert plain between Socorro and Carrizozo, New Mexico, is where the world was changed forever. Just before dawn on the morning of July 16, 1945, in the midst of the world's most destructive war, the first atomic weapon was detonated at the Trinity test site. Thus began a whole new era of promise and threat.
This site still attracts curious and indebted parties from around the
world to come and reflect on the momentous power unleashed here for the first time. In
the sand beneath their feet are tiny lumps of green rock that, upon closer inspection,
are revealed as sand melted in the blast to become trinitite. All at once, the green
takes on an unholy hue that both warns and condemns. The wind song becomes one of
mourning and soon the history lessons are overpowered by moral lessons.
Contributor: Kyle Robinette, Student, Museum Studies Class, University of Texas at El Paso.
Desert Diary is a joint production of the Centennial Museum and KTEP National Public Radio at the University of Texas at El Paso.