The truth is out there ... or maybe just in Roswell, New Mexico.

We leave our Santa Fe hotel at about 8:30 am and are on the road heading for Roswell, New Mexico, location of one of the most famous UFO crash sites in the world.

We are apprehensive - what will we find in Roswell. Will there be UFO sightings nightly? What about probing. We are not so sure we are into that.

The drive is long and we reach Roswell at about 2pm. Our hotel is gracious enough to let us check in early - we have picked a run of the mill chain hotel because it is only a quick, one night stay.

After moving our stuff to our room we jump back in the car and head out for a late lunch. We go to a Mexican cantina recommended in Lonely Planet. As we enter this little hole in the wall restaurant our expectations are wavering. It is a very real, local experience but there is also a very real ‘meat vibe’ here as well.

We sit in a booth and look at our menus. Meat, cheese, meat, cream and meat. Our waitress is very helpful and helps us order a meat free burrito. We have had amazing Mexican food so far on our trip and we are excited to get stuck in to our late lunch. As seems to be a common theme in America, we get the free corn chips and salsa to munch on while we wait for our meal. The chips are fresh and the salsa spicy and delicious.

After a short wait our burritos arrive. At least we think the burritos are in there somewhere. What comes out on our plates is a pool of  something that resembles what we think is cream and melted, artificially coloured yellow cheese. After sticking our forks in the pool, we fish around and manage to find the burrito. It is full of old looking refried beans. This is not going to be a pleasant food experience. Marty manages to eat half of his meal. I take a bite, regret it and move my food around so it looks like I have eaten some.

We ‘finish’ our meal, pay and get out of there quickly.

We make a bee-line for the International UFO Museum and Research Centre. This is what we have come to Roswell to see. We pay our entry fee, Marty makes a joke about seeing UFOs, the lady at the desk gives us a death stare, we nervously grab our collars and then stroll in to the museum.

The set up of the museum is a bit confusing, but we are more or less led through the history of UFO sightings and crash site discoveries in Roswell. We see newspaper clippings of the famous crashed UFO that the government claimed to be a weather balloon.

We read testimonials, see recreated UFO materials, learn the difference between a real UFO photo and a fake one - turns out there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference.

We see a recreated ‘actual’ alien and learn how to spot one. The museum contains hundreds of UFO related materials and seems to twist and turn between proving and disproving their existence.

By the time we get to the gift shop we are thoroughly confused about the intention of the research centre. Whether they are or aren’t out there, it has been fun to wonder and to see the believers’ proof of ‘life out there’ and accusations of government conspiracies.

The town of Roswell, New Mexico has done well in recognising that they are a dairy farming community in the middle of nowhere, but that they have a very unique marketing point - aliens.

Every shop in town has either a picture of an alien or a blow up plastic alien in the window, drawing unsuspecting tourists in. Marty and I see a shop like this and go in expecting to be able to purchase some kitschy alien souvenirs. We open the doors that have giant aliens painted on them and enter the shop, only to discover that it is in fact a scrap booking supply shop. Well played Roswell, New Mexico, well played.

UFO interest satisfied, we head back to the hotel. The temperature is somewhere in the 100s. It is hot. We have gone from wearing jackets in Santa Fe to melting in the sweltering heat of Roswell. We escape the heat and retreat in to our air-conditioned room. We have seen the ‘sight’ in Roswell and are happy to rest in preparation for our long drive tomorrow.

After settling in our room for a few hours, a deafening alarm goes off. Marty is nearly left paralysed on the floor, the sound is so loud. We scramble out of our room and down the emergency exit stairs. We get outside and see hundreds of other guests all standing out in the car park with the same look as us - confused and in varying stages of undress, having just run out of their rooms in a panic. No one knows what is going on. It is about 5pm and still very hot. We sit outside waiting for a staff member to let us know what is going on, or at least to turn off that deafening alarm.

Eventually the fire fighters arrive. Marty and I look at each other with a bit of panic in our eyes as we mentally assess what possessions we left in the room. Marty tells me he has our passports, his wallet and the car keys. I have my phone. If the hotel burns down we will be ok.

After being inside for about 20 minutes the fire fighters eventually come out, hop in their truck and leave. Hotel guest whisperings tell us that someone accidentally turned on the fire alarm in the elevator. We are all allowed to go back in to our rooms. Crisis over.

Roswell has been an interesting place. But we will both be glad to leave tomorrow.

Dedicating our ashtanga practice ...

We have been learning about the importance of dedicating your actions, and that without dedication, there is no purpose.

I guess we should get out of the casita ...

Today we decide that we should have a better look around Santa Fe.

We decide to start the day with a delicious energy kick and head to Annapurna. Delicious as always, we finish up breakfast and, before the site seeing begins, get some boring traveller chores done. Well, I thought it was boring, but Marty ended up having a great time ...

We had to do our washing. It was getting dire. We were both down to our last pair of underwear! We found a laundromat that was conveniently located across the road from Annapurna.

It was pretty well equipped to help people waste the hour or so it took to get the laundry done. As Marty enjoyed his laundry party, I surfed on the free wifi and booked our next two hotels.

Washing done, Marty in his happy place, me feeling productive, we head off to our first site-to-see.

The Museum of International Folk Art was amazing! It was a massive collection of toys, old paper theatre sets, beautiful religious art and an awesome gift shop.

The first exhibit we stumbled across was unbelievable. A massive collection of miniature theatre sets were on display. I hadn’t even known they existed but they were exactly what I always picture when wanting to create a collage. It seems all of my design ideas start with the miniature theatre setting in mind - and I didn’t even realise!

I snapped as quickly and sneakily as I could. I was in love and wanted to take each one home with me.

The next exhibit was folk art toys from around the world. Again, amazing. I wanted to take everything home with me. Marty and I both resolved that when we have kids we will make them a bunch of awesome, hand-painted toys. Someone please remind me when the time comes.

I was in folk art overload. This was the best museum I had ever visited. I was so glad we stopped in. I was so very glad that we decided to come to Santa Fe!

After a torturous hour in the gift shop (torturous because I wanted to buy everything), I emerged with two amazing books, some magnets and gifts. What a day.

After we had had our folk art fill, we headed back to the plaza. A few days ago I had noticed a poster promoting a Frida Kahlo exhibit the featured portrait photography of the artist. The promotional poster had a massive print of my favourite Frida picture.

The exhibit was showing at a small gallery that was located above a Mexican restaurant.

We wander upstairs and find it empty of people except for two guys eating lunch in an office. They yell out “Are you here to see Frida?”, I reply “Absolutely”, they respond “Go ahead and have a look, we are just finishing our Peruvian lunch”, and I say “Thanks!”. What an odd thing to add to our conversation.

After wandering through a few rooms in search of my favourite photo, we fail to find it. It may have been purchased already. Other prints in the collection are just as amazing though. There are photos where she is posed just like her paintings, and others that capture  her in more natural moments.

We then decide to treat ourselves to some icecream and sit in the plaza watching the world of Santa Fe go by. There are Mexican food carts scattered through the plaza, a Mexican band starts playing, there is a group of homeless people catching up with each other, some young men are playing hacki-sack and are soon moved along by a police officer. It is quite warm in the sun and there is a hot breeze blowing dust through the plaza.

We decide we have had a nice day out and that it is now time to go back to our casita and return to our holiday from the holiday.

Nothin’ doin’

Holiday within a holiday. Today we have a full day of never leaving the casita.

I start on the album artwork for Cloudy and Gian’s collaboration, Free Genie.

We both do a bit of reading. We enjoy a full yoga practice.

And then relax.

Day over.

... actually, we also discover a new HBO series called Game of Thrones. In true HBO style it is violent, saucy and full of intrigue. Very fun :)

Do you know the way to ... Santa Fe?

We wake up a little worried about the ‘special breakfast’ that is being prepared for us. We have explained to the B&B hosts that we are strict vegetarian and that means no eggs. I was going to continue to explain that I don’t eat dairy either but am not vegan ... but this usually just confuses people way too much.

So we look at each other, both bracing for what the meal is going to be and walk out to the dining room.

Our hosts are madly preparing something in the kitchen. Mr Host has his apron on and is running about the kitchen in a frenzy. He looks stressed out. We feel bad that he is going to so much trouble for us. We are ready to praise his dish no matter what. Mrs Host greets us and sits us down. She brings over a fresh fruit salad for each of us and pours us a hot cup of coffee. Mr Host is clanging pots and pans in the kitchen, working himself into a fluster. He is really trying hard for us. After some pleasant conversation, Mrs Host withdraws to the kitchen and soon comes back out, following Mr Host, who is nervously holding two plates. He walks over and cautiously places the plates in front of us. He has prepared baked polenta with scrambled tofu and green chill (a New Mexico specialty). He appologises in advance for the meal. We and Mrs Host assure him that it looks delicious and will surely taste delicious. We are so greatful that he has gone to so much effort for us. We get stuck in and are happy to confirm to him that the meal is delicious. I particularly enjoy the mix of textures and the subtle spiciness of the chilli. The scrambled tofu completes the dish. Thank you so much Mr and Mrs Host :)

After breakfast we have a few hours until checkout so we decide to have a wander through Old Town - this is the historic and touristy part of town and we happen to be staying right on the edge of it.

The architecture in old town is very Mexican meets Native American meets USA settlers.

Apart from a beautiful old church - that we spend some time in, wandering through the gardens - Old Town is mainly souvenir and ‘old time sweets’ shops. We pick up a few souvenirs to commemorate our Route 66 adventure so far and then head back to the hotel.

We check out and head off to Santa Fe. The drive is pure bliss mainly because it takes us only one hour to get there. After the last few trips where we have been driving for up to eight hours, this short trip is pure bliss.

We head straight to the Santa Fe branch of Annapurna for lunch. We get into a conversation with what turns out to be the owner of the restaurants and discover that he lived in Byron Bay for about 20 years before moving to Albuquerque to start his restaurant. We tell him that he is desperately needed back in Australia!

After a delightful lunch we are still too early for check in to our next hotel so we drive into the historic part of Santa Fe and have a wander. Take away coffees in hand, we walk up and down streets ‘paved with gold’ ... shopping gold.

Santa Fe is a tourist paradise. There are souvenir shops selling Native American products, there are hundreds of galleries featuring beautiful pieces and there are cafes everywhere.

We wander through the plaza and stop to watch the commotion caused by a film crew. We can’t work out what they are filming though, they just seem to be hanging about, yelling at each other. We walk through the plaza and into ‘The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi’. The old church is beautiful and peaceful. We learn from an old man (not sure if he was a priest or church volunteer) that the church has stood on these grounds in some form or another for more than 500 years.

He tells us about its history and the wars fought around it. When we tell him that we are amazed at the fusion of cultures that seem to be everywhere in New Mexico he tell us that some of the first immigrants to set up residence in Santa Fe were actually Greek and that some of the best Mexican food in town is made by a Greek family-owned restaurant.

After walking back to the car, and having our photo taken with a burro, we head out to our hotel. We specifically picked Sunrise Springs Inn and Resort because it is out of town and  seemed to be a bit of a rural retreat. We have gotten to that point in the trip where we need a holiday from the holiday.

We are a bit apprehensive about the place because of the reviews it has received on TripAdvisor. Most of the reviews were in agreement that it had the potential to be a really great place to stay. One other review called it an experience similar to The Shining. Both opinions turn out to be true.

We check in and then drive to our casita. There doesn’t appear to be anyone else staying here at all. But, the room/casita is huge and clean and peaceful. It is exactly what we are looking for.

After a bit of a chat with the hotel staff we find out that the GFC really took its toll on America. We have seen snippets of this all over the country. We have driven through Ghost Towns, where houses and businesses have just been abandoned. We have seen major parts of city left empty because no one had the money to spend to support business.

We are sad for the way things went in America but after talking to quite a few people about it, it seems that the general attitude was, rather than stick it out until things recover, to just drop and run. This seemed to have been the attitude that then left hundreds if not thousands of over-valued houses to banks to deal with in an economy that wasn’t buying. The chain effect was that everyone lost a lot because no one wanted to see it through. This is probably a very general view of what happened, but it was interesting talking to Americans about it and hearing their opinions.

Shining aside, we are happy in our little retreat and prepare to settle in for a couple of days holidaying from the holiday.

Touring the town

After a lovely sleep in we go in search of breakfast. We didn’t bother telling our hosts about our dietary requirements, thinking it would all be in the ‘too hard basket’. So on our first night, it is a bed only, not breakfast (our hosts are horrified that we didn’t tell them though and are now planning an elaborate vegetarian feast for tomorrow).

I have made a list of a few places where we can try and find food. The first place we stop is advertised as a vegan diner. It is exactly that, featuring classic breakfast items such as bagels with (vegan) cream cheese. Looks good, but we are hankering for something extra delicious - we have been spoilt in Flagstaff and have high expectations. Unfortunately we wander around the university area of Albuquerque for about an hour looking for the perfect vegetarian/vegan meal but fail to find anything. Hungry and in need of a coffee we stop in at the local ‘starbucks-like’ chain, Satellite Coffee.

After a morning of chilling out at the popular student hangout, we decide to wander around this part of town. I have read that there are cool shops and galleries near by.

There is a real Mexican mixed with Native American presence about Albuquerque. The culture seems to be a total mish-mash, resulting in a very colourful, creative and energetic scene.

We wander through galleries, shops, cafes and diners. The streets are full of art and creativity. I get a bit snap happy, shooting a texture here, a sign there etc.

And then it happens. We stumble into the greatest shop ever. It is a Mexican folk art superstore! Masks y Mas had skeletons celebrating the day of the dead, it had lucha libre masks (watch this present space brother-in-laws!); there were Frida Kahlo posters, magnets, shirts, dioramas; Mexican folk art pieces were hanging on every wall; this shop was paradise.

After circle the store about four times, I had picked up a few pieces - well aware of having to somehow get this stuff home. I think I was pretty reserved - I know I could have easily gone nuts and bought EVERYTHING!!!! BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE IT FOREVER etc. I settled on two beautiful folk art pieces, one was a gorgeous wooden cross covered in tokens/charms that asked for good luck, and a metal heart topped with a cross. I left the shop glowing. Marty left shaking his head.

After taking a few more texture/object photos we head back to our hotel room - not before being given a 'we will cut you' death stare by what looked like a gang of bikies having a meeting. I was in a snapping frenzy and took a photo of a sign that featured cool typography, not realising that just below the sign the gang was having what looked like an annual 'get together and decide whose turf is whose' meeting. After innocently clicking away, the death stares started. We noticed the anger and quickly got out of there. Massive note on this: For the record I did not photograph anyone! The universe must have been looking after us though, because a few metres up the road we bumped into a Hare Krishna devotee who was giving away books - we had a lovely chat, told him where we were from and walked the rest of the way to our car with a smile on our face. Freaked out crisis averted.

Once safely back in the comfortable retreat of our B&B, we settled in to an afternoon of yoga - full practice :)

Feeling rather proud of ourselves, we went in search of a vegetarian restaurant I had found online a few days earlier. It sounded very promising - the menu was mainly created using ayurvedic principles.

Annapurna delivered. The restaurant was so inviting. The smell of incense and ghee floated lightly inside the air-conditioned, cool cave. The staff were so welcoming and the food was delicious. We had kitcharee and a lassi, followed by a vegan pecan pie. Marty is still dreaming about this pie (6 weeks on!).

Our bellies full, we head back to the B&B and relax into the rest of our evening.

How do you spell ... Albuquerque?

We are up early, bags packed, have had breakfast at the delightful Macy’s, checked out - $5 key deposit given back, $20 remote control deposit in our pocket - and on the road. We are on our way to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Driving through the desert, we come across a sign advertising a meteor crash site up ahead. We see a petrol station on the exit and decide we can stop, get petrol and check out the crash site - and of course enjoy the all important toilet break, which are few and far between.

We make a right, veering off the highway, dodging massive semi-trailers, weaving our way to the exit.

We make our stop at the petrol station, buy snacks, enjoy the rest stop, and then keep heading up the road towards the meteor museum/crash site. We drive along the straightest road, passing massive fields of dead grass and hungry cows. We drive over cattle grates, past splitting dirt roads that veer off to nowhere.

Finally we see a building on the hill ahead of us. It is a concrete block, built in to the side of what looks like a hill, but what we soon discover is the massive crater left in the ground by the force of the falling meteor.

We park the car and get out. We are nearly swept sideways by the powerful winds. After paying our admission and being sold on the “really exciting and fascinating movie that is going to start really soon, so you better get a move on up into the cinema, otherwise you will miss it!!”, we rush into the museum, practically running up the stairs, so fearful that we will miss the greatest show on earth. We reach the cinema doors. We have 10 minutes until it starts. We take our seats and wait in utter anticipation for the movie to start.

After a tough, popcorn free wait, it starts. What follows is a very EDUCATIONAL 15 minutes about meteors. The gist of it is that we are all going to die some day by a falling meteor shower. THE END.

A bit depressed about the earth's impending and inevitable future, we leave the movie, glance around the tiny museum and then head for the actual crash site. We climb a set of stairs leading out the museum. As we reach the top, we are greeted by a massive dent in the earth. It is an actual meteor site. As we stand at the top of the crater and look down at the dent, we can actually imagine the meteor falling to earth and as it is landing, pushing the surface it lands on out like it was just soft clay.

After being amazed, awed and scared by the reminder of our insignificance in comparison to the greater universe, we head back to the car and continue on our way to Albuquerque - not before Marty walks on the moon of course :)

After a very long drive, we have spent nearly eight hours on the road. The road has been long, straight stretches of highways, thundering trucks, the occasional and therefore very exciting rest stop and dry desert.

We finally make it to Albuquerque.

As we drive over a slight rise, we see the city of Albuquerque nestled in to a valley surrounded by mountains (we think they are the tail end of the Rockies) and thinning out to desert. The city is a green oasis.

We follow Sally’s directions - our sat nav - towards the B&B we have booked. She is confused and leads us all over the place, changing routes and directions every 20 seconds. After a very long and unnecessary detour, we find the hotel, park the car and check in.

We are staying in an old house that has been converted into a Bed and Breakfast. The Bottger Mansion of Old Town is beautiful. Inside the property's walls, there is a little garden that has classic American reclining garden chairs and is full of birds. The grass is soft and green and the garden smells fresh and in bloom.

After checking in and meeting the ‘Inn Keeper’, we make a cup of coffee in the complimentary guest kitchen, grab a book, and settle down in a chair in the garden to unwind after our long driving day. We are in New Mexico.

As we relax, in a flash this strange looking bird darts across the lawn and stops dead right in front of us. We have never seen anything like it. It is a bird but also looks like a lizard. It sees us and then darts up the closest tree. We watch it for a while, trying to work out what the hell it is. We are later told by our hosts that it is a road runner. It doesn’t look a thing like the cartoon.

As the sun starts to go down, we decide it is dinner. We program in the address of a restaurant called Thai Vegan. After another confusing drive with Sally, we are out in an industrial area of Albuquerque. We are losing confidence in our sat nav’s ability when we round the final corner and end up right in front of the restaurant. We are unsure of what to expect. The location seems strange and from the outside we are not quite sure whether the restaurant is actually a restaurant. But, the minute we walk through the door, we enter a little oasis. There is peaceful music playing, with nature sounds softly echoing over the top, there is a water feature bubbling somewhere in the background, and the delicious smells of dinner are wafting from the kitchen. We grab a seat, stare excitedly at the menu - WE CAN ORDER ANYTHING!!! - and after long deliberation, settle on our meals and order. Dinner is fantastic. The food is fresh, nutritious and so tasty.

We thank the staff profusely for an amazing meal, jump back in the car and drive back to our B&B for some much needed sleep.

We ask for your forgiveness ...

We are so sorry for the LONG delay between posts.

You see, we have been so busy doing a lot of this ...

... and this ...

... and ...






... this ...

So to make up for the long delay between posts, here is a photo of us looking very glamorous - enjoy :)

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