Goal: The Very Large Array and Truth or Consequences
Looking at the maps and route, Rob discovers that we will be passing close (for the west) to the Karl G. Jansky Very large Array. The VLA is a set of 27 large radio telescopes arranged with 9 dishes on each leg of a Y shaped layout to act as a single large antenna. There are railroad tracks that run down each leg.At the junction of the legs is the control room and shops. One of the shops is large enough for 1 or more dish assemblies to be inside for updates or repairs. Also, there is a 28th dish as a spare. The dishes are mounted on concrete piers adjacent to the rails. Several times each year, the dishes are loaded one at a time on to a special rail car and relocated to change the shape of the array permitting it to focus on various regions of space.
Oh, and will only cost us 2hrs out of our way!
Sales pitch done, Deryl says sure, lets go!
Hills and valley coated in junipers and grasses. We weren’t sure what caused it, but the mountains in the distance today were hazy. They were green and beautiful, but the not in focus as they had been on earlier days.
Cats are riding happily today as this section of US 380 is reasonably smooth. US380 ends at I25 in San Antonio NM.
San Antonio is a tiny town with no gas station though it did have the Owl Bar & Cafe. Good thing we fueled yesterday.
We climbed up onto I25 N towards Jansky VLA. For T.O.C. we would have gone south. We will pass by here again later. A couple of exits north gets us to Socorro NM and US60, another road we have used often.
Socorro much bigger town. It has gas , fast foods, and fair & rodeo grounds
McDonalds for lunch. The adjecent street provided parking for Clyde & the Roost. Rob has a quarter pounder with cheese & medium fries. Deryl has a quarter pounder w green chili & cheese & 6 piece nuggets.
We take US60 west out of town toward Magdalena and observe train tracks as we head up out of the valley. The tracks follow the the road loosely till they end at a washed out trestle bridge on the valley leading to Magdalena.
The VLA is amazingly large. Much larger than we expected. We were unable to enter the VLA visitor center as it was closed to the public due to Covid. Turning the truck and trailer around was a challenge but Rob said it was easier than backing up half a mile. Even though, parked at the VLA tracks about halfway down an arm, we could barely make out the dishes in the distance.
While we were there, the whole array pivoted 90 degrees to look at something else. WOW!
Back thru Magdlena and Socorro where we stopped to get $40 of diesel for Clyde.
US 25 south to TOC. We travel through a wide valley for the mid branch of the Rio Grande river. The sky was cloud covered, but you could still see for miles and miles. We are still getting used to seeing long distances.
T.O.C. is small city. We find the resort easily. Rob gets to practice his parking skills getting the Roost into our site, #5. The resort has 6 sites total, nice neighbors. While we are here, a couple of sites change occupants pretty much each day so we get new folk to meet.
After setting up, Deryl proceeds to make a Chili Relajos bake. This version of relajos has meat chili under the slices of roasted Pabalono peppers, and covered in cheese. (Traditional Chili Relajos are Pabalono peppers filled with cheese, then covered in a light dough, and deep fried.) Deryl made the chili with ground Turkey as the store was out of ground chicken. Then tomatillos, diced tomatoes, onions and spices. Deryl’s dish is baked till the cheese is bubbly and has some browning.
After dinner we studied the maps for the area, go for a short walk down to the park at the end of the street and admire the lights on the Rio Grand. When we return to the trailer, we head to bed. It has been a long day and tomorrow is to be filled with fun!