Adventure 374: Rosewell, New Mexico

Nobody here but us aliens.

News flash! The government engages in cover ups. A case in point is what happened in 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico. A device (Shaped like an aluminum disc) suspended from a weather balloon designed to monitor nuclear fall out crashed some miles outside of Roswell. The debris was discovered by a rancher in the area, who thought the whole thing strange. The air force decided to claim that it was just a weather balloon that crashed, but as it goes in such lies the truth began to drip out. Nevertheless, the story lay dormant for thirty years until a plethora of conspiracy theories began to swirl like lobbyists around an influenceable senator. Today, every other shop in Roswell, New Mexico makes its living selling figurines of little bug eyed space men and blow up balloons of flying saucers. Other than that claim to fame, Roswell, the fifth largest city in New Mexico at 50,000 is a town that relies on its agriculture and petroleum. It isn't as quaint as Artesia, and it spirals in all four directions around two major highways. Sadly, it isn't on our list of potential "move to" sites. We did have an excellent lunch at Big D's Downtown Dive, and our walk around town wasn't unpleasant. We're staying at a small family owned RV park about three miles outside of town. We have a lovely site, and the woman who co-owns the place is as sweet as Southern tea. Tomorrow, we're heading into the mountains to a little fast growing ski town called Ruidoso. It will be nice to see some mountains to counter balance the steady diet of sand, mesquite, and cactus we've experienced in West Texas. By the end of the week, God willing, we'll be in Arizona where we'll make the final determination as to our route home. Finally, I must tell you as a poor loser without his own twitter account: The Cager is being aided by the Russians! What else can explain her current win streak. This morning she skunked me. Then on a replay, she soundly beat me again. My response was to throw the deck of cards we were using into the trash. They were clearly bugged! My only hope is to obfuscate the entire process, divert her attention from the game, and perform a few completely gentlemanly maneuvers. In this way,  I'll make myself GREAT again, and then life will be good, especially on the day it happens in my own mind. Until then, let absurdity reign.

 Would you know an alien if you saw one?

 Downtown Roswell. Main street is also the main North/South highway through town.

 This item, clearly an alien instrument, remains a mystery in the flatlands of Roswell.

 Very cool official building.

 It's not often you see the Ten Commandments posted outside a public works building.

 The busiest diner in town (For good reason).

 We shared a Tomahawk burger smothered in avacodo, jalapeño, lettuce, a tasty hot  red sauce on a bed of Indian Fry bread. We also had a side of fries.

 The view out our bedroom window.

 We have a nice little picnic table just outside. Quite  a pleasingly pleasant space.

The White Mansion, a Roswell landmark that houses the local museum.