December 22, 2022 – December 25, 2022 – Roswell
it is minus 3 C when we get up and we go and warm up at the Leisure Centre… We stay there for a while then decide to leave and make our way to Roswell, 73 miles away. We have to be there before 2 pm as the Airbnb owner is going away for a few days over Christmas.
We get there around lunchtime. The town is renowned as the site of an alleged 1947 UFO crash and every shop around town has some display connected to that event. Even the street lights are following that theme!
We make our way to our lodgings for the next few days. We are pleasantly surprised. This is more like a one bedroom house, well appointed with plenty of space…. and warm! It is connected to the main house via a shared laundry room. We settle in and enjoy the rest of the day in comfort.
December 23, 2022 – Roswell
Did some grocery shopping and bought a nice piece of beef for Christmas dinner.
In the afternoon, visited the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. This is a very interesting museum, founded in 1994 to showcase works of art produced by former fellows of the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program. Its unique collection of photographs, paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture provides a snapshot of the evolving issues in art over the last 45 years. The Museum is free and is also a favored community venue since its inception.
[click on the picture to open the gallery]
December 24, 2022 – Roswell
We spend the morning in town and visit the International UFO Museum. The Museum exhibits include information on the Roswell Incident, crop circles, UFO sightings, Area 51, ancient astronauts and abductions. The exhibits are designed not to convince anyone to believe one way or another about their subjects. Visitors are encouraged to ask questions. It shows written and video records of witnesses, civil and military about the famous 1947 incident. It is credible but not sure it has convinced us!
It surely has put Roswell on the map and the town benefits from tourists attracted by all UFO related incidents or simply curious.
[click on the picture to open the gallery]
December 25, 2022 – Roswell
We are on the edge of the cold front which is currently hitting the USA and it is cold here too. It went to minus 12 C yesterday and we are sure glad we have a warm place to stay!
Today is a bit warmer and we go for a walk to Bitter Lake Nature Reserve, just outside of town. The lake is completely frozen!
We have our Christmas dinner at home – our first roast dinner since we left England !!
December 26, 2022 – Alamagordo
We leave for Lincoln, a historic site which includes 17 structures and outbuildings dating back to the 1870’s and 1880’s. Lincoln is a town made famous by one of the most violent periods in New Mexico history: the Lincoln County War. In 1873, L.G. Murphy established a store in Lincoln known as “The House” because of it’s monopoly over commerce in the county. When an enterprising young Englishman named John Tunstall arrived in Lincoln and opened a rival store and a bank, the autocracy of The House was threatened.
On February 18, 1878, John Tunstall was shot dead whilst moving some cattle to his ranch by a posse of men led by Sheriff William J.Brady( who was supposedly under the control of a local business man and attorney with interest in eliminating Tunstall) . Numerous small ranchers and cowboys formed a group called “the Regulators” to fight back. William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid or Henry McCarty, would become the best known, mostly because news accounts attached his name to everything the Regulators did. Sheriff Brady is killed in a shootout on April 1, 1878. various incidents ensued with men shot on both sides. Ultimately, the Lincoln County War accomplished little other than to foment distrust and animosity in the area and to make fugitives out of the surviving Regulators, most notably Billy the Kid.
We carry on to Ruidoso on a scenic route and see snow on the peaks of the Sierra Blanca.
We get to Alomogordo. The present settlement was established in 1898 to support the construction of the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad. The town is known for its connection with the 1945 Trinity test, which was the first ever explosion of an atomic bomb. During the 1950s–60s, Alamogordo was an unofficial center for research on pilot safety and the developing United States’ space program. Today there is still an important air base nearby (Holloman Air Base). Tourism became an important economic factor with the creation of White Sands National Monument in 1933 which is still one of the main attractions of the city today.
It is early afternoon so we decide to go to White Sands National Park (renamed from Monument to Park), 16 miles away. It is very busy there, as families come to enjoy the park during their Christmas break. ( one of the attractions is to use a plastic flat disk as a sled and dive down on it from the top of dunes). We have to queue to get in but we just have to show our America the Beautiful pass. This Pass is definitely a good investment, each National Park entrance fee is at least $20 or more per vehicle so we have already got our money back!
There is one loop road giving access to the Dunes and other points of interest. it is tarmac initially then on compacted sand which looks just like snow! Dunes Drive Map
We stop in a few places on the way. We do not have much time as it is getting dark. The snow is turning pink with some purple undertone. We stop briefly at a picnic area before it is completely dark. It is rather cold. The park closes at 5:30 pm and a Ranger comes around with a loudspeaker telling people to leave!
[click on the picture to open the gallery]
We drive on to Dog Canyon Dispersed Campground about 40 mn away. There are no facilities ( i.e just a few places where you can camp for the night but no water or toilet) but it is free. We have a quiet night.
