I am going to call day 5 of the road trip the “impromptu day” because other than heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico to see the state Capitol, there was nothing else planned. Going to Los Alamos was not part of the plan and it didn’t enter my brain until the night before.

“Why don’t we visit Los Alamos?” I suggested.

“Los Alamos?” It took my mom a minute to register what I was saying. She knew about Los Alamos. After all, we both are lovers of history and for anyone who loves history or has seen the movie, “Oppenheimer,” Los Alamos, New Mexico is a must-visit spot.

Los Alamos is located about 45 minutes from Santa Fe. We began the day from Alamogordo, New Mexico, about 15 minutes from White Sands National Park. Plus restroom breaks, it was about a 4-and-a-half hour drive or about 250 miles.

My mom was still not feeling well, so I was still the driver. She felt bad for making me drive. That’s just shows how little she knows me. I love to drive. No big deal.

The road to Los Alamos was interesting, not to mention exciting. The so-called “Secret City” as people knew it back then, was built on top of 4 mesas or flat top mountains. I didn’t know this until I saw the satellite image on both Google Maps and Wikipedia.

The road was constructed on the side of the cliff. I didn’t really notice the steepness going up but going down, I felt it. It was as though the moment my foot left the brake, we’d go plunging down the mountain. There were also sharp turns, not exactly a road for someone with the fear of heights or inexperienced driving on mountain roads.

My mom, for one, was glad that it was me who drove that road. “Thank goodness it’s you driving this road,” she said and for once, I felt appreciated.

After touring the museum, the town of Los Alamos, and satiated our stomachs on supermarket sushi, we headed back down to Santa Fe to see its state capitol. New Mexico’s state capitol is unique in that it doesn’t contain an actual dome like all the other state capitols. Instead, it has a flat dome as opposed of a raised dome.

Inside, there’s an art gallery feature all kinds of paintings and sculptures. I’m not into art. So I won’t even try to dissect the meaning of the art pieces.

It was about a 90-minute drive to our accommodations in Los Lunas. Still full on sushi, we opted to skip dinner and almost went straight bed. The next day would be another long day since we would be heading back to Utah.