Socorro was more than 400 years old, most likely making it the oldest city I stayed in on my trip (however, the town was abandoned from 1680 to 1816, so it wasn't continuously populated).

The Very Large Array radio telescope system was on my list to visit in the next few days.

Yes, I think I did take a picture of every sign on the square.

This mural downtown celebrated the Camino Real, which once ran through Socorro.

From the nearby state historical marker: " This is a fragment from Jumbo, a huge steel vessel designed to contain the explosion of the first nuclear device at the Trinity Site some 35 miles southeast of here on July 16, 1945. Jumbo was 25 feet long, 12 feet in diameter, and weighed 214 tons. Its steel walls were 14 inches thick. Although Jumbo was not used in the tests, it was 800 feet from ground zero at the time and escaped without damage except for a steel superstructure around it which was crumpled by the blast. Jumbo was used in later experiments which resulted in the ends being blown out. This piece of Jumbo is a souvenir of the worlds (sic) first nuclear explosion. --Dr. Marvin Wilkening, an observer in 1945"

The Socorro Fire Department was located in this distinctively Southwestern building.

Whose bright idea was it to plop those gaudy soft drink vending machines right in front?