Our Journey date: 2020-10-30

Back before masks was a word most people thought of once a day, we went on a trip to Lincoln county, NM. To make the trip more interesting, Char charged me with finding a place to go visit that she's never been. Easier said than done, honestly. But the alien geek within always wanted to go to Roswell and Ruidoso is only an hour and 20 minutes away! 

My alien meter got charged up before we even hit New Mexico on this particular trip. When we were first heading out, we stayed a night in Alpine, AZ. I woke up early and found the sci-fi channel. They were playing the first episode of season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I had not seen this particular episode in adult memory and oh boy was that an experience. But it definitely had me in the sci-fi mood. Roswell was definitely the place I wanted to go after that!

Most people hear Roswell and immediately conjure up an image of a crashed saucer and a grey alien. Personally, I wanted to go more because of the mysticism of the lore than the actual information of the conspiracy myself. I also was mentally firm on day time. No night visits for this paranoid gal. 

The mental image I'm sure you have 😃

I won't bore you on details about the Roswell incident specifically as there are a ton of details, but basically everyone got hyped up on some military balloons I mean uh crashed flying saucers! It was 1947; the war had been over for two years and it would have been more comforting to grab onto panic à la The War of the Worlds than military anything. (Side note - Happy Anniversary to The War of the Worlds broadcast! It's been 82 years 😉)

The mural outside the UFO Musuem

So, since Roswell was alien country, we hit up the UFO Museum. Char, bless her, went along with it for my benefit. I found it far more entertaining than I had any right to. The museum would be endlessly fascinating if the Roswell incident was of particular interest to you. I found more enjoyment on the discussion of aliens and sightings in general which was the second half of the exhibits. Suspending my disbelief made the experience highly enertaining. Everything gave me a lot of an original series Star Trek energy. I was reminded of Forbidden Planet while I was there as well. Very campy but in the loving way. I personally gravitated towards the area that discussed science fiction in general. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is my favorite "this always freaks you out but you love it" movie and there was a little section talking about that movie. 

There I am with the aliens!

My favorite part of the museum was the gift shop. I know that sounds ridiculous but there was so much fun stuff! I'm pretty sure I said the same thing about the Sunspot Observatory when I went there so at least I'm consistent. But who doesn't want a fun mug with stars and planets on them? I did! I got it, too!
 

We ended the mini adventure with a quick stop to a fabulous mexican food place called El Toro Bravo across the street. If I had the time, I would go back to Roswell just for that place. Their food was fantastic! 

So delicious!

Now if you're a huge Trekkie (specifically DS9) like I am, you know the truth about Roswell, obviously. "Little Green Men", anyone? 😉 And that's where I'll end this fun little retelling. Below are some pictures from the trip, a blend of things taken with our camera and me obsessively taking pictures on my phone. I think it's only fitting as I sip out of my Mr. Spock mug to say: live long and prosper! 

~Lynn, your friendly neighborhood mapper