Exploring Roswell, NM, Saturday

We took it really, really slow this morning.  I got up early and enjoyed coffee time with my laptop, letting the dogs take my place in the warm, cozy bed next to Ken.

The pups and I then took a walk before fixing papa some pancakes and sausage for breakfast.

Since Ken was not having one of his better days we decided to just do the UFO Museum and then see how things went from there. 

That was a good choice since they had a constant run of videos playing describing various aspects of the Roswell Incident and we could pop in and out of that theater to sit periodically.

When it comes to the idea of other forms of life in the universe, Ken and I both think its a bit arrogant for we humans to think that we are the highest intelligence to exist in this huge cosmos.  But, at the same time it is pretty wild all of the things that some like to attribute to aliens.

The Roswell UFO crash seems plausible when you look at the number of witnesses who seem to be very reliable folk with reputable backgrounds.  I found the discussion about why aliens would select Roswell interesting – the idea that with our nuclear testing and beginning use of radar at that time this would be the area of our planet most likely to produce interest from a higher form of intelligence that might be watching our activities.  What still doesn’t make sense to me after hours in this museum is why after 60 years the government would still be hiding such a thing—none of the explanations they give for that seem to make sense this many years later.   But whether we believe these little beings crashed here in 1947 or not,  it’s still really interesting to follow the story. 

There’s also a lot of interesting tidbits you pick up, like – Did you know that in 1968 it was made illegal for Americans to be in contact with aliens?

Then in 1991 that law was rescinded with the statement that  it had ‘served its purpose’.    Huh??

The museum is definitely in need of a facelift and to some extent it gives that 40’s/50’s retro feel – because I don’t think anything has been updated since then!

We learned a lot of details we hadn’t heard before which makes the story more plausible. 

 

Well, there’s no doubt, that regardless of the authenticity of the Roswell UFO crash story, it has certainly had a significant impact on the community.

This is what the streetlights look like still dress up for the Christmas holiday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are lots of stores packed with little green men.  Which is rather perplexing since the little aliens were certainly not green.

 

 

 

Apparently one of these little green guys ask Ken if he could come home with us and keep our Sailor Jerry’s girl company in the jeep.

 

 

 

Since it was already well passed noon, we decided to take local recommendation at stop at Martin’s Capitol Cafe lunch.  This place has good Mexican food and very friendly service. 

It was mid-afternoon by the time we finished lunch and we went back to the rig to nap and walk the dogs. 

Still intrigued by the sand cranes, Ken decided he wanted to take another shot at seeing them come in for roosting at sunset.  We weren’t disappointed. 

The ridges over Bitter Lake simply glow in the sunset.

There were literally thousands of sand hill cranes in formations of usually about 40-50 at a time.

We agreed that photographs just couldn’t capture the experience, especially since the light was quickly fading and so we put the camera away and just took it all in.  There’s nothing quite like the sound of thousands of cranes greeting each other—it’s really beautiful.

One crane apparently was pretty upset with his formation as he came dashing in later on his own, noisily reprimanding his friends for leaving him behind.

We drove back in to Roswell planning to spend a little time at the Pecos Flavors Winery which I’d read was a great stop.  Unfortunately when we pulled up they had a sign out that said ‘Closed for Inventory’ --- arghhh!!

 

To drown our disappointment, we drove down the Main St. a bit farther north to the Cattle Baron, recommended by the RV park owner, where we shared a bottle of Melbac.  We both had their salad bar and Ken enjoyed a very nicely cooked New York Strip steak.

 

 

 

Since I hadn’t exercised in the morning, and had eaten out twice, when we got back to the rig, I pulled out the Nordic Track and watched True Grit on the front TV while Ken and the pups watched on the back TV while researching our upcoming route.  There’s something extra special about watching these classic old westerns while sitting in this part of the country!

We leave you tonight with a picture of sunset over Roswell.

Hugs, C