Very Large Array
NEW MEXICO
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34 04 24.636N 107 37 20.640W
The VLA is located 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico and two hours drive from Albuquerque.
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There’s plenty of parking inside the facility, large enough to accomodate an RV.
If you’re just interested in taking some pics, there’s a pull-off on the south side of Hwy 60 where you can park.
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Admission is $10 for adults
$8 for seniors
Children under 12 are free.
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Totally awesome to see in person!
Facility closes at 4pm so if you want to do sunset pics, you'll have to access off the highway
The truth is I had no idea what the Very Large Array was the first time I saw it, and I’m still not entirely sure. All I knew was that the VLA was a bunch of really big satellites in the middle of nowhere New Mexico I had added it to my enormous lists of pins, but I never expected to find myself so far out in the wilderness so any type of research fell behind my really tight beer drinking schedule. But if you follow the blog, you know if nothing else, my plans always seem to land ass up and one night in the middle of a summer storm, I found myself enjoying one of the most magical sunsets I’d ever seen over a horizon of huge white dishes.
Before You Go
Know that this is really more of an all day situation. Because unless you live in Socorro, you’re going to be traveling quite a distance, at least two hours each way. There is basically nowhere to pick up food and very few gas options so I’d bring a full day’s lunch (unless you’re making you’re way through Pie Town) and definitely gas up before you go. For reference, at the time of this post, diesel was $3.29 on average but the gas station in Magdalena was charging $5.11 so be prepared.
Getting There
The VLA is a huge property that straddles US Hwy 60 through the middle of New Mexico 50 miles west of Socorro. If you’re driving, it is two hours from Albuquerque or a little over five hours from Phoenix. Not only is it far from any major cities, you’ll find yourself driving through desert and wilderness for long stretches in 100° plus degree weather so be honest with yourself about whether that ‘92 Hyundai Santa Fe is going to make the trek. I say that as a woman who can change a tire, but just fucking won’t.
The Satellites
There are a total of 27 of these behemoth things organized on a Y-axis across the desert floor. They look large in pictures but nothing can do them justice until you see them with your own eyes. The first time I laid eyes on them was from a hilltop 12 miles away! Each dish is 82 feet across and weighs over 230 tons. The most incredible part to me, though, was that these satellites are not stationary. The observatory moves them around on a railroad track system, even carting them into a hanger for maintenance. I happened to cross the tracks while I was visiting the San Mateo Mountains to the east, and I was immediately obsessed. The VLA uses over 80 miles of repurposed rail lines from all across the US to configure the antennas. I don’t know that much about science or astronomy, but I do know that each antenna works cohesively to map out areas of the sky over 22 miles using light waves. For more technical information, check out the National Radio Astronomy Observatory website.
The Tour
The VLA offers a self-guided tour around the compound with a chance to walk up to the base of one of the satellites. Unfortunately, the VLA closes down at 4 in the afternoon so we missed that chance. However, right off Hwy 60 is a paved lot with a sign that says “Tourist Parking”. If you’re just interested in checking the satellites out, this is a great option. The highway intersects a portion of the grid so you can get pretty close to the satellites and get some great shots with the railroad tracks. My focus on this day was photographing the satellites with the big storm during sunset so we missed the tour but would more than likely check it out on our next pass through. It’s only $10 and I’ve heard the video they show you is actually pretty cool.
xoxo, The Bitter Bitch
A peak into pueblo life 1000 years in the making