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.
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