Our Spring 2023 Adventure to Springfield, Missouri, began on March 13, 2023, with a one-night stay in Tehachapi, California, followed by one-night stays in Barstow, California, and Kingman and Holbrook in Arizona. We enjoyed mustard fields and green hills on I-5 through the central valley of California, and flashes of yellow and purple wildflowers and gum drop-shaped pinon pines nestled atop yellow grass as we drove along I-40 in Arizona. Clearly, evidence of the bountiful rain this winter in the southwest.

What we didn’t enjoy was the teeth-rattling, pothole-strewn pavement we had to drive on. Calling it a freeway was an insult to all other freeways in the country. It was easy to see three or four layers of the roadbed in the potholes, some spanning nearly 12 inches in diameter. And trying to dodge the smaller ones was an impossible task because there were so many of them clustered together.

The Troubles

On our fifth day, we left Holbrook, Arizona, toward Albuquerque, New Mexico, on I-40. Finally, the New Mexico welcome sign was in sight, followed by the Manuelito Welcome Center and rest area. It was a good place to stop, eat lunch, and release stress.

Jon did his usual cursory check of the trailer, and we were back on the road. I took the wheel and headed toward Albuquerque with only two and a half hours to go. My mouth watered for the dinner I’d have at El Pinto, one of our favorites in Albuquerque. A half-hour later a woman in the neighboring lane rolled down her window and waved to tell us, “Your tire is on fire.”

A tire on fire. How could that be? The side mirror revealed nothing. Was she playing a joke on us? I pulled into a Gallup, New Mexico, Maverick Gas Station and parked in the back, making sure the truckers could maneuver around us in their big rigs. We stood dumbfounded as smoke poured out of the trailer’s left rear wheel hub—its plastic cap melted and red-hot metal visible on the axle.

After spewing a string of choice words not fit to print, Jon said. “This will either be a quick fix or a very expensive one.” I hoped for the quick fix, although the pit of my stomach worried our bank account would take a beating.

Time slipped by as Jon talked with the insurance company’s road service and made arrangements with the tow truck driver. After a five-hour wait for someone to arrive to help us, my dinner at El Pinto disappeared with the sinking sun.

Dennis, the tow truck driver, assured us he could help by removing the axle and reinstalling it if we drove to Albuquerque to either get it fixed or buy a new one. And when he removed the axle, he found the cause of our issue: the right rear leaf spring had broken, causing the weight to shift, putting too much pressure on the left bearing, resulted in disintegrating the bearing and ruining the axle. It’s possible I-40 through Arizona was also a contributing factor. We left the fifth wheel on jack stands in the Maverick parking lot, spent the night in the motel next door, and drove in a snowstorm to Albuquerque and back.

We didn’t return to Gallup until 5:30 pm. Dennis came and finished installing the new axle (new axle including new leaf springs and brakes and drums $1,159) at 11:00 pm (Dennis’s rate $844). We extended our one-night stay in Albuquerque to four since all the RV service and tire stores were closed by the time we arrived on Saturday, March 18.

With a new rear axle, packed bearings, and brakes, we felt it necessary to have the front axle bearings packed and brakes replaced, all 4 tires replaced, and both axles aligned. New tires were the easy part ($1,054). The axle alignment ($1,054) required us to grovel to get it done on the day they promised it, and after waiting all day for the brake work ($569), we learned they couldn’t look at until the next day. We brought it back at eight in the morning and they promised it by noon. It was three until we left Albuquerque, putting us in our Amarillo, Texas, site at ten. We hate driving and setting up in the dark. Unfortunately, when you’re depending on others to do what they promised, you are at their mercy.

National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, a Smithsonian Affiliate

While we waited for the brake work, the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, established in 1969, promised us a respite from our troubles and helped to keep our anxiety in check.

Through its displays and exhibits, the museum traces the timeline of nuclear science from its infancy, the development of the WWII bombs, the cold war, and current and future uses. Outside is a nine-acre exhibit that includes various planes and rockets and missiles.

For several minutes, I stood in front of the Critical Assembly, the Secrets of Los Alamos 1944: An Installation by American Sculptor Jim Sanborn.

All the objects on display amazed me. Many of the items are actual instruments, hardware, furniture, and tools used by the Los Alamos National Laboratory during the 1940s. Sanborn fabricated any items he could not locate.

Curated by The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, the Bob Hope exhibit brought to mind memories of watching him entertain the troops on television. This exhibit closed on April 30, 2023.

The Delorean is part of the Atomic and Pop Cultures exhibit. Remember the Flux Capasitor from the movie Back to the Future? It’s what made time travel possible.

I found the nuclear waste exhibit interesting. I knew about the Livermore and Berkeley Labs and Vallecitos Nuclear Center when we moved to the San Francisco Bay Area nearly 30 years ago, but seeing the cluster of orange circles on the map gave me pause. I also liked learning about the communication and transportation precautions taken when waste materials are moved. I’ll be on the lookout in the future for anything that looks like the cargo truck below.

The museum continues outside in Heritage Park, a nine-acre outdoor space. The exhibits include planes, rockets, missiles, various missiles, an F-16 fighting Falcon, and an F-104 Thunder Chief.

The black object with the number 645 in the photo below is the sail from the USS James K. Polk nuclear submarine. Powered by a pressurized-water nuclear reactor she served from 1965 to 1999.

This is a replica of the Trinity Tower from which the first atomic device (plutonium bomb) was tested. It is similar in design to the Fat Man bomb used to attack Nagasaki. Near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the Gadget was raised to the top the hundred-foot steel tower, and detonated on July 16, 1945. The bomb vaporized the tower, transforming the asphalt and sand into green glass, justifying the US military’s use of plutonium for an atomic bomb.

The B-52B Stratofortress began its Air Force career in 1955. Its mission was to drop atomic bombs during testing. Restored in 2016 at a cost of $120,000. It is the only remaining B-52 that dropped an atomic bomb during testing.

I’m glad we took the time to visit the museum, although it raised mixed feelings. It reminded us of the negative aspects and devastating potential of the use of nuclear energy for good and evil. And we learned of the many positive uses. It also reminded me that the Livermore Lab recently opened its Discovery Center, so I’ve added it to my Things To Do list.

Next stops: One night stays in Amarillo, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and then Springfield, Missouri for a couple of weeks.

Safe Travels