Roswell

August 1, 2021

Roswell

I have always had a fascination with the strange, unexplained and occult so it should come as no surprise that I pretty much insisted that our first stop upon departing Clovis, was nearby Roswell, New Mexico, even though it wasn’t exactly in the direction we were ultimately heading. Roswell has been the source of mystery and intrigue ever since 1947 when the Roswell UFO incident occurred.

The Roswell incident is the 1947 crash of a United States Airforce balloon at a  ranch about 75 miles from Roswell and the subsequent conspiracy theories claiming that the crash involved a flying saucer, and that the truth had been covered up by the United States government. On July 8, 1947, Roswell Army Air Force (RAAF) issued a press release stating that they had recovered a "flying disc" from a ranch near Roswell. The Army quickly retracted the statement and said instead that the crashed object was a conventional weather balloon.

The Roswell incident did not surface again until the late 1970s, when a retired lieutenant colonel, in an interview with a researcher of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), alleged that the weather balloon account had been a cover-story. UFOlogists began promoting a variety of increasingly elaborate conspiracy theories, claiming that one or more alien spacecraft had crash-landed and that the alien occupants had been recovered by the military, which then engaged in a cover-up. 

Roswell has developed an entire tourist economy based on the incident and the supposed UFO and its aliens. Of course we had to check it out and after a quick lunch we began our exploration at the official Roswell visitor center then walked the short distance to the International UFO Museum and Research Center.

The museum is focused largely on the 1947 incident and later supposed additional UFO incidents in the United States and elsewhere. It was founded in 1991 as a nonprofit educational organization and is located in a former movie theater from the 1930s. The museum contains an extensive library and exhibits all focused on the history of UFO encounters. Additionally, it has an extensive library collection of UFO material and meeting room. It functions as the centerpiece of the annual UFOfest held in Roswell each year.

It is pretty well done all things considered and is only partly an obvious tourist trap type place. In fact it is pretty interesting and while it certainly leans towards the idea that the Roswell incident was a UFO, it leaves the final decision up to the visitor. 

As much as we enjoyed Roswell, we next headed into Texas where our next stop and overnight would be. Kathy had passed through Abilene before and thought it would be a good place to stop. There was a place that she really wanted to visit in downtown, the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature.

They were having a great exhibit of the art of Children’s book illustrator Loren Long and we really enjoyed it. As we were walking around downtown, we happened upon the 12^th Armored Division Museum and took a chance by going in. It was a great decision as the excellent museum dedicated to the US army division and the role it played in World War II.

Created and maintained by the actual members of the division, the museum provides an excellent overview of their role in World War II and incredible insight into what life during the war was actually like. They have an impressive amount of artifacts and provide great displays and descriptions of their days fighting the Nazis. I wish everyone these days would visit such a museum to truly appreciate the sacrifices that our military make and the threat that fascist thinking and blind patriotism truly are.

https://www.roswellufomuseum.com/

https://www.12tharmoreddivisionmuseum.com/

Clovis, NM

July 23, 2021

Clovis, New Mexico

We had a wonderful stay in Colorado, but it was time to start our long road trip back to Key West. We intentionally planned to take our time and meander back towards Florida, stopping along the way at any number of touristy type attractions and make the entire trip into a mini-vacation. Our first destination was at the home of our friends Dakota and Andy in beautiful Clovis, New Mexico.

It had been almost two years since I had seen them, though Kathy had visited more recently and neither of us had yet to meet Norah, the most recent addition to their family. Norah and her sister Sloane are about the closest things to grandchildren that Kathy and I will ever have and we were beyond excited to see them. 

First though we had to make the drive from Colorado Springs to Clovis and that took us right by one of the coolest and strangest roadside attractions that we had ever seen. We could see the collection of art cars and the big sign announcing Art Cartopia as we drove past Trinidad, Colorado and I knew we had to stop.

Now I love quirky roadside attractions and use websites like Roadside America and Atlas Obscura as much as any traditional travel sites but I had not even looked into the route we were on, so it was sheer dumb luck that we saw and stopped at Art Cartopia. Art Cartopia Museum is an art car museum based in Trindad, CO. It came into being due to the unexpected but delightful success of Autocade, Trinidad’s yearly art car parade dedicated to building community through the arts. 

Home to over 25 art cars and serving as a regional center of creativity and shenanigans, Art Cartopia opened its doors in the fall of 2018 and hosts a number of art and education-related workshops and events throughout the year. It was staggeringly cool and fun and the people were so nice, taking the time to give a personal guided tour and explain the creation and history of each of the awesome art cars.

 

It was a fun detour on our way to Clovis. Dakota and her family recently sold their home and moved onto Cannon Air Force base, where Andy is stationed as a pilot so we got to experience life for a few days living on a military base, which was a new experience for Kathy and I but was actually not all that much different from living anywhere else if you don’t count driving past heavily armed guards at the gate and the daily playing of the National Anthem on loudspeakers each evening.

It was so great to get to see Dakota and Andy and to spend some quality time with those adorable girls. We just had the best time whether we were going out to eat at the local brewery in downtown or just hanging around the house playing with the kids or watching movies and just hanging out. 

Clovis is a cool little town that is trying hard to stay relevant and is experiencing a little bit of a revival in recent times. Just since we were last there three breweries have opened taprooms on the main street downtown, they have joined the eclectic antique stores and other small businesses in what is a mini downtown revival. The town has a ton of potential and thankfully for them, the built-in clientele of the military base.

The only downside to the visit is that it went by so fast and it was tough to say goodbye and begin the long drive to Key West. I hope it won’t be another two years before we get to see them again, things change so fast when kids are that young and even though we frequently facetime, it just isn’t the same. 

https://www.artcartopia.com/