Santa Rosa and Route 66

 

 

When I left Roswell and Bottomless Lakes State Park, I drove north out of the desert and into the high plains area. The terrain changed along the way, the brown of the desert gave way to rolling hills covered in different shades of green grasses and clumps of short green trees. There were tiny little wildflowers scattered along the way.

My first stop was Lake Sumner State Park about 15 miles north of Fort Sumner. When I pulled in, I was the only one in the campground. They have pay stations in these state parks, so there was no one in the visitor center. It felt a little strange being the only camper. Of course, it was early morning and a few other people came in throughout the day. And they left the next morning. One other couple and I were the only ones who stayed more than just overnight.

My next stop was Santa Rosa and the Santa Rosa State Park. It seems like most of these parks are situated around lakes and somewhere along the line, the Corps of Engineers was involved in their development. These last two parks both had dams.

I visited the town of Santa Rosa, built along Route 66, which has been replaced by Route 40, although old sections of the road remain. There are a few remnants from Route 66, some signs that haven’t been taken down, and there’s a Route 66 diner that’s still in business.

I had to stop at the Route 66 Auto Museum, where they had a collection of very nice antique cars, mostly from the 1960s, although some were older and some newer. They had an Auburn from the early 1930s in very nice shape (I had never heard of it before) and a LaSalle, also nicely kept. Others included Mustangs, a Thunderbird, Road Runner, Cadillac, Edsels, a Camaro and a Woody wagon. There were all sorts of signs and other memorabilia on the walls, as well as an old gas pump and air pump. It’s definitely worth a stop if you’re in the neighborhood.



Next stop is Tucumcari, which has more Route 66 sights and memorabilia. They have refurbished some of the landmarks and maintained others.

By the way, the gas station with the above sign was not open - I sure was disappointed!

Roswell's Alien Fixation

 

Roswell, New Mexico is such a cool town.  They really are into their legend of the UFO crash way back in the 1940s.  You’d think the emphasis would fade after a few decades.  But, they’ve kept it going all this time and I think it’s fun, so I wanted to share some photos. 

Stores sell T Shirts and other items with the alien/UFO theme, some of their storefronts are shown below.  The tattoo parlor is next door and I bet they will do tattoos of aliens, although I didn’t confirm that.

 

   

 It’s been hot here and I had to buy a bottle of water the other day, the label states “UFO H2O, Preferred by Aliens in all Galaxies”.  A sign in a storefront for loans doesn’t say anything about lending to aliens, but they do have a little green alien face on the window.  And Arby’s welcomes aliens, it says so right on their sign.

 

 So for an otherwise ordinary town, these people have embraced and nurtured their legacy from another world.  Meanwhile, I’m still looking for friendly green aliens.

 

Aliens?

 

Roswell, New Mexico is famous for a UFO crash that supposedly happened in 1947.  Something happened and, unfortunately, any evidence was quickly snatched by the government.  Anyone who had happened to see anything was threatened with deadly consequences.  Of course, the government told everyone it was a “weather balloon” crash.

I visited the UFO Museum today.  There was a large collection of affidavits from witnesses who finally were persuaded in the 1990s to state what they knew about the situation.  Numerous newspaper articles addressed both sides of the situation, of course emphasizing the government’s position. 

There was a 3 page list of UFO activity tracked by radar in the 1950s and 1960s, none of which had an explanation.  Numerous photos were posted, only some of them were declared to be setups.  Quotes were posted from previous presidents of this country and others, scientists and other famous people have declared to believe in them, or had personally seen them.

Also on display, loaned for a short time, is a hand carved replica of a lid to a tomb from a temple of the Mayan people in Mexico.  This is about 8 feet tall and about 5 feet wide.  The carving is done in typical Mayan style, very ornate and complicated.  This carving depicts a Palenque Astronaut estimated about 400-500 AD and shows symbols representing extraterrestrials, symbols for many of the planets and symbols for parts of the spaceship.

In the mid-1990s the movie Roswell was released, which I have not seen, but will be looking for it at book exchanges, used book shops or thrift shops. 

The town is full of shops specializing in alien items and one fast food restaurant had a sign out front – Aliens Welcome!  Certainly something happened way back then, since the government stepped in so quickly and squelched things.  And this community has been living with it all this time.

If you believe in them or not, it certainly is interesting to think that there are other beings in other galaxies.  I think after I leave here, I’ll be headed over to a nearby state park where it’s far from city lights.  It will be almost full moon by then, and I think I’ll sit outside and stare at the night sky, willing the aliens to show themselves.