Travels with CC and Dixie: Roswell, New Mexico: A Myth that Lures the Tourist

July 8, 1947, a crash of a weather balloon outside Roswell began a series of stories that continue today. William Brazel, a local farmer noticed foil and debris strewn across his land and picked some up. Without a phone, he was unable to report his findings but did so a week later. The U.S.Air Force folks came out and collected most of the debris and the story died.

More than thirty years later, UFO researchers interviewed hundreds of people who had remembered the incident 1947 and concluded that at least one UFO had crashed near Roswell and alien bodies had been removed for research and covered up by the U.S. Military.

The sensational accounts, unfounded stories and hearsay-recounted incidents were all reported in newspaper and magazine articles that are framed in the UFO museum. As well, there are a few sceptic’s statements, many photos and badly created UFO and Alien art works. Be careful if you visit because there are many folks who believe in UFO’s and especially the Conspiracy Theory around Roswell and they flock to the little town in New Mexico like Christians pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Roswell before the UFO arrived.

Awww, too bad they were out of our size……Not!

Walking and driving around Roswell is like being in a 3D comic book without the superheroes. It was quite fun to see how entrepreneurs have creatively named their businesses although the presentation is cheap and tacky. It is amusing for the tourist but I do not know how the locals live with it day to day.

Dioramas in a store window.

The Town and Country RV Campground is actually quite nice, well groomed and spacious. In the seasonal area we saw a funky Bluebird Bus and one of the earliest Allegro Motorhomes (that is what we drive) likely to come off the line at Tiffin. We snagged some top drawer bar-b-que from Black Betty’s Food Truck to enjoy back in CC.

Alien-free sights around Roswell:

Geesh, how does one decide which tacos to buy?

So many Tequila choices!

Fun labels

This music store specialized in 45’s and LP’s!

Better get a gun, just in case the aliens return!

Treat of the Town: Roswell Museum of Art and Culture

Part of the Museum is dedicated to Indigenous cultures of the region past and present, the cowboy lifestyle and military history and artefacts. The display collections are thorough and exquisite.

A temporary exhibit showed the workshop, tools and some inventions of the engineer Dr. Robert Goddard known as the Father of Modern Rocket Propulsion. A number of other displays showed aspects of the history of space flight in America.

An interesting contemporary artist, David Emitt Adams, is an Arizona based photographer who has captured the essence of the oil industry’s legacy. He uses the historical photographic process of wet plate collodion tintype but prints on scrap metal, in this case, oil can lids.

A gem in the permanent collection of the gallery is a series of lithographs, paintings and drawings by Peter Hurd and paintings by his wife Henrietta Wyeth, the famous N.C Wyeth’s eldest daughter.