Roswell- New Mexico

After leaving El Paso Texas, it was a long drive to Roswell, New Mexico. The gorgeous view above was taken again through a dirty windshield (sorry about that) as we were heading into Apache country on our way to Roswell.  This part of New Mexico must be what gave it the slogan 'Land of Enchantment'. We drove for miles through these gentle mountains full of color.

Not only the evergreens but many trees of gold and red as well. There was even snow still left in a few places from an Autumn snowfall.

You might be asking- Why go to Roswell? Well, the truth is Roswell is a place you hear about quite a bit due to its infamous connection to a possible crash of an Alien as in UFO, as in Flying Saucer, craft back in the 1940's. We were curious. We had heard there was a UFO museum, and other Alien type touristy things so we thought what the heck, we are nearby so why not?

This was our first assumption. For the record, let me just say that no matter what the map appears to show. . .  Roswell is not  NEAR ANYWHERE! The word 'near' can not be used next to the word Roswell. Once we were out of the beautiful Apache lands (literally their Reservation)  this (above) is what we saw miles and miles out of every window in the car. More on this is on my personal Blog located HERE

We went on for a good 80 miles or so. Just when I felt a bit like a sailor in the crows nest searching for signs of land, we finally spotted some old out buildings, then a few rusted out cars frames, then more, followed by a few extremely well lived in old homes when up on the road popped the sign! We had arrived! Legendary Roswell New Mexico!

Obviously we knew we were headed in the right direction. Our stay in Roswell was uneventful despite my daughters insistence that one or more of us might get 'probed by Aliens' in the night. One odd thing is that although we all had signal and service on our cell phones, we were not able to call out. Likely because Aliens watch for out of towners like us and are blocking signal so we can not call for help.

Roswell was a pleasant enough little town. It says it's the Dairy capitol of New Mexico but we did not see or smell any cows nearby. Likely the Aliens has probed them all by then and programmed the inhabitants minds to think that the cows are still there we figured. Most of the action in Roswell takes place on the main drag through town, appropriately named Main St. Aside from perhaps a block on either side of Main St, most everything else is residential.

Sights such as the street lights in Roswell displaying the Alien eyes were fun, and really the only reason that most of us have ever heard of Roswell is the result of the events in 1947.  So to me it makes sense that Roswellians should embrace the whole Alien thing, because it is likely the main thing that brings visitors all the way out here. Of course once here you have to stay overnight since there is nowhere else to go!

This was to be our main stop in Roswell. It is really the main Alien tourist attraction. There is really nothing else 'different' in the town. The Museum was nice. We did not however see anything that we had not already seen over the years on T.V. shows ( or maybe our minds were wiped clean when we left!) Oh, ,  and we did not have to put on any foil hats or anything while there.

For anyone who does not know what happened here in 1947- here is a bit of wikihistory. Whether you believe it or not, the events remain part of this towns history and have become part of a larger question. . Are we alone?

The Roswell UFO Incident was the alleged recovery of extra-terrestrial debris, including alien corpses, from an object which crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, USA, on or about July 8, 1947. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and the subject of conspiracy theories as to the true nature of the object which crashed. The United States military maintains that what was actually recovered was debris from an experimental high-altitude surveillance balloon belonging to a classified program named "Mogul"; however, many UFO proponents maintain that in fact a crashed alien craft and bodies were recovered, and that the military then engaged in a cover-up.

The incident has turned into a widely known pop culture phenomenon, making the name Roswell synonymous with UFOs. It ranks as one of the most publicized and controversial alleged UFO incidents.

On July 9, 1947, Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) issued a press release stating that personnel from the field's 509th Bomb Group had recovered a crashed "flying disc" from a ranch near Roswell, sparking intense media interest. Later the same day, the Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force stated that, in fact, a weather balloon had been recovered by the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) personnel, rather than a "flying saucer." A subsequent press conference was called, featuring debris from the crashed object that confirmed the weather balloon description.

The case was quickly forgotten and almost completely ignored, even by UFO researchers, for more than 30 years. Then, in 1978, ufologist Stanton T. Friedman interviewed Major Jesse Marcel who was involved with the original recovery of the debris in 1947. Marcel expressed his belief that the military had covered up the recovery of an alien spacecraft. His story spread through UFO circles, being featured in some UFO documentaries at the time. In February 1980, The National Enquirer ran its own interview with Marcel, garnering national and worldwide attention for the Roswell incident.

Additional witnesses and reports emerged over the following years. They added significant new details, including claims of a huge military operation dedicated to recovering alien craft and aliens themselves, at as many as 11 crash sites, and alleged witness intimidation. In 1989, former mortician Glenn Dennis put forth a detailed personal account, wherein he claimed that alien autopsies were carried out at the Roswell base.

In response to these reports, and after congressional inquiries, the General Accounting Office launched an inquiry and directed the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force to conduct an internal investigation. The result was summarized in two reports. The first, released in 1995, concluded that the reported recovered material in 1947 was likely debris from a secret government program called Project Mogul, which involved high altitude balloons meant to detect sound waves generated by Soviet atomic bomb tests and ballistic missiles.

The second report, released in 1997, concluded that reports of recovered alien bodies were likely a combination of: innocently transformed memories of military accidents involving injured or killed personnel; innocently transformed memories of the recovery of anthropomorphic dummies in military programs like Project High Dive conducted in the 1950s; and hoaxes perpetrated by various witnesses and UFO proponents. The psychological effects of time compression and confusion about when events occurred explained the discrepancy with the years in question.

These reports were dismissed by UFO proponents as being either disinformation or simply implausible. However, significant numbers of UFO researchers discount the probability that the incident had anything to do with aliens.

OK this was one exhibit that I had never seen before.  The Roswell UFO Horse

 It is one part of a collection of replicas of Wild Horses, each done in some original art form to celebrate the wild horses of New Mexico.

On the 14th of June 1947 William "Mac" Brazel noticed some strange clusters of debris while working on the Foster homestead, where he was foreman, some 30 miles (50 km) north of Roswell. This exact date (or "about three weeks" before July 8) is a point of contention but is repeated in several initial accounts, in particular the stories that quote Brazel and in a telex sent a few hours after the story broke quoting Sheriff George Wilcox (whom Brazel first contacted). However, the initial press release from the Roswell Army Air Field said the find was "sometime last week," suggesting Brazel found the debris in early July. Brazel told the Roswell Daily Record that he and his son saw a "large area of bright wreckage made up of rubber strips, tinfoil, a rather tough paper and sticks." He paid little attention to it but returned on July 4 with his son, wife and daughter to gather up the material.

 Some accounts have described Brazel as having gathered some of the material earlier, rolling it together and stashing it under some brush. The next day, Brazel heard reports about "flying discs" and wondered if that was what he had picked up. On July 7, Brazel saw Sheriff Wilcox and "whispered kinda confidential like" that he may have found a flying disc. Another account quotes Wilcox as saying that Brazel reported the object on July 6.

Sheriff Wilcox called Roswell Army Air Field. Major Jesse Marcel and a "man in plainclothes" accompanied Brazel back to the ranch where more pieces were picked up. "[We] spent a couple of hours Monday afternoon [July 7] looking for any more parts of the weather device", said Marcel. "We found a few more patches of tinfoil and rubber." They then attempted to reassemble the object, but Brazel said they could not. Marcel took the debris to Roswell Army Air Field the next morning.

Good ol' Wal-Mart, they really participate in the Alien theme with a green store and the windows painted with happy, helpful Aliens to serve you!

We left Roswell the next morning. Leaving is not easy. You have to be ready. Eat and use the privy because it will be a long way until you get to anything else! I went a little more into our drive away on my personal blog HERE

Next up- Mount Calvary Cemetery in Albuquerque