Wed - Apr 25/12

We were up and out of the Walmart parking lot before 8 am. We crossed under I-40 to fill up at the Pilot Truck Stop. A few Pilot truck stops, like this one, have an RV lane.

Once filled we were back on I-40 eastbound to visit the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, TN. We arrived about two hours later at 10 am. The museum tells the story of energy, in particular, atomic energy. It gives the history of the Oak Ridge, the "Secret City" where Y-12 was created. Y-12 was the World War II code name for the electromagnetic isotope separation plant that was secretly developed to produce enriched uranium as part of the "Manhattan Project".

Construction began in February 1943 and by the early summer of 1945 enough uranium 235 was obtained for "Little Boy" which was dropped on Horishima, Japan by the "Enola Gay" (Superfortress Bomber).

Imagine keeping the construction of an immense facility a secret! Amazingly, it was so secret, only a few knew the real reason for it's existence other than it was for "The War Effort". Those few did not even include the Vice-President of the United States. Harry S. Truman was only told of this facility when he became automatically assumed the Presidency upon the death of FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt).

Initially the plan called for a population of 13,000. It soon blossomed to 75,000 requiring  thousand upon thousands of  "Flat Top" pre-fab houses be brought to the area for the workforce in the new community. All this was constructed in just a few years. An authentic house of that era is on display at the museum.

Y-12, in it's modern version, still exists here. Visitors still require special clearance that may take up to 18 months to be approved. Workers, besides their scientific expertise, also require an extensive background check that may take even longer to process. Today the facility has over 550 security personal - Wow!

This was a very worthwhile and interesting stop and reasonably priced (Senior - $4) as well.

We returned to I-40 after the museum visit and continued eastbound to connect with I-81. We were now northbound. Our final destination for today was the KOA (Kampgrounds of America) Bristol / Kingsport RV Park where we arrived shortly after 5 pm.

As a treat we ordered a Pizza, Wings and Mozzarella Sticks for supper from the park restaurant. Like Domino's - they delivered to the site! It arrived just after we were all set up and settled down.

We still haven't decided on our next destination. We will have to do that by tomorrow - check-out is at 11 am.