the wooden spoon – a travel/photo blog

So, we love visiting anything that has to do with space, and the White Sands Missile Range outside of Las Cruces and in the Tularosa Basin is an active test grounds that also has a museum of actual rockets and launchers. Going back to World War II, Los Alamos, or White Sands as it became known, was the site choice for the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bomb. July 9, 1945 issued in to the world a new reality, the Atomic Age, and soon thereafter the Space Age as captured German scientists led by Werner Van Braun further developed the V2 rocketry system they had been working on in Germany. A weapon of destruction with its bomb payloads the V2 gave way to the Redstone missiles that would launch Alan Shepherd and a new generation of frontiersmen into space. This image from the internet shows a fully restored captured V2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.

Below are images and deceptions of the history of rocketry and launch systems that began with the V2 rockets that are on display at White sands.

The missile that launched the United States into space.

The Corporal and the Sergeant were the first generation of surface to surface missiles…

The Talos was developed to help protect the American fleet…

The first guided missile with capability to “kill” aircraft …

A transport plane for high level scientists and low-level payloads…

These were just a few of the missiles, launchers and tracking devices on display at the White Sands Missile Range, and serve as a testimonial to the prowess of our ability to develop ever increasingly sophisticated systems for defense and space exploration.

BBQ season is approaching and this rub for beef or poultry is excellent. We were at a campground in Florence on the Oregon Coast and met the Van Holts whose son is a chef and developed this delicious rub. Enjoy!

jeff’s rub