Hanford Nuclear Site
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[Photo: Philo]
HANFORD NUCLEAR SITE
What could possibly be a more fitting introduction to a geek travel list than a visit to a nuclear power plant? Sandman, anyone? At the Hanford Nuclear Site, a limited number of visitors are invited in each year to tour the decommissioned facility that's in the process of cleaning up 53 million gallons of radioactive waste.
If you are lucky enough to get on one of the 60 public tours being held in 2009 (US citizens only unfortunately) you'll have the once-in-a-lifetime experience of getting up close and personal with all the inner workings of a nuclear production facility including the historic B Reactor, which produced plutonium for the first ever atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert and the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
Applications are being taken now for the Hanford tours on their website, but act now, they traditionally sell out fast.
Jetting There: Located in Richland, Washington on the banks of the Columbia River, the Hanford Nuclear Site is 18.5 short miles from the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco (PSC). We recommend flying in on Alaska Air, who pioneered in-flight entertainment with the introduction of the first portable, hard-drive based audio and video on-demand player called the digEplayer.
Driving There: Your best bet to get out to the site is to rent a fuel efficient hybrid like a Toyota Prius or a Ford Escape. Just punch in 2890 Horn Rapids Road, Richland, Washington 99354 (the location of the Volpentest HAMMER Training and Education Center, where Hanford tours start) into your favorite GPS-enabled device, and you're good to go.
Staying There: Lodging options in the Richland area are pretty run of the mill, but take our advice, and stay as far away from the site as possible, you don't want some stray radiation to float your way.
What To Pack: Download the gag Geiger counter app so you can freak people out by telling them how "high" the radiation levels are around you.
