By Don Laine
Several months ago we announced that RMOWP’s 2020 conference was planned for early October in Alamogordo, New Mexico, home to White Sands National Monument. Leave it to our federal government to make a liar of me.
Several weeks ago President Donald Trump signed a bill that included a provision that changes White Sands’ status from national monument to national park, making it America’s 62nd designated national park (see nps.gov/whsa). The measure also includes a land swap with adjacent White Sands Missile Range that is intended to end the practice of occasionally shutting down the road into the park while the military shoots off missiles.
The main part of the conference runs from Monday evening through Thursday evening (10/5-8), but a day-and-a-half photography workshop is planned Sunday and Monday morning (10/4 and 5). Click here for more information.
For those who want to see where the world’s first atomic bomb was exploded there is a tour to nearby Trinity Site on Saturday (10/3). Trinity Site is open to the public only two days a year – the first Saturday of April and October, and you’ll be taking it on your own with a caravan organized by the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce.
Headquarters for the conference will be the Holiday Inn Express in Alamogordo, with a group rate of $135 per night plus tax, which includes a hot breakfast. Information on other conference activities and a registration form will be in future newsletters and on the website.