Dale, not fully understanding why Roswell, was a little taken aback by the UFO thing...I believe her words were “Are you for real?”
Yup folks...how can you not want to check out a place that might have been the epicentre of an alien crash, so many years ago. Even if just to say that you have been to Roswell. Of course, there are the spin off sights to see, the Alien Information Museum, and they also have an art museum...but who cares about that...just kidding Dale.
Driving in through the Main Street of the town, while stopped at a set of lights, a woman in the car next to us rolled down her window and called over to us with a beaming smile and “Welcome, hope you have a great time here!” How friendly is that?
It is quickly clear that Roswell has fully embraced the UFO marketing. There are saucers, aliens, and all sorts of associated images to be found everywhere. If there is an out of world slant to put on something, they have found a way.
We arrived at Bottomless Lakes S.P., just outside of Roswell. The Park is at an elevation of 3617 feet. The unique lakes are actually sinkholes, ranging from 17 to 90 feet deep. The visitor centre has a great interactive display where you ‘pull up’ resin form of each lake, and it shows you what the underwater shape of the sinkhole looks like. Pretty clever. The Park Ranger that we were talking to was super nice, very helpful and really knows his stuff..
The sites are spacious and well laid out, many with electric and water. Sun shades and picnic tables are pretty standard as well.
With the cold front still coming through New Mexico, the outside daytime high temperature was in the 50F/10C range, but dropped to a low of 21F/-6C at night. We again put up our insulating liners and it made the sleeping area, with heaters, much more comfortable. The forecast is for more of the same the next couple of days.
The next day we went into Roswell to check out the museums, both worldly and out of worldly. The Anderson Museum Of Contemporary Art is a privately run museum that opened in 1994. Don Anderson, an artist and businessman, the founder and main benefactor of the gallery, decided to share his own original works, as well as those in his private collection. He also established a generous grant program. RAiR, Roswell Artist in Residence program, each year offers 6 artists the opportunity of a year long sustained retreat, where they can focus intensely on their work. Many pieces resulting from their work are on display in the collection.
The gallery is in a former industrial building, all 22,000 sq.ft., that houses a diverse and eclectic collection, featuring the work of more than 240 artists. It is a salon-style gallery, which gives it a very comfortable vibe, with casual seating in most areas, allowing visitors to kick back and enjoy a collection in front of them. Don Anderson the artist, creates landscape works of the SouthWest that are rich in pastels and shapes. At first glance, his work reminded us of Lauren Harris, one of the Group of Seven. If ever in Roswell, definitely take a nice stroll through this interesting gallery.
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| great relaxed vibe in all the spaces |
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| very Alex Colville feeling |
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| yup...jigsaw pieces |
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| Don Anderson, founder and benefactor of the gallery |
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| sitting at a creation of Michael Beitz |
While Dale wandered the Main St., I went into The UFO Museum and Research Centre. Not quite certain of what to expect, I found it was a mix of serious belief, and campy alien visualization. The woman I spoke to, and who started me out on the self guided tour, was definitely a believer. She knew the details of the event, and alleged cover up quite well, and spoke with a determined passion.
They have collected a ton of historical information, from newspaper clippings, photos, and first person testimonials, to recordings of news broadcasts and interviews. This is all laid out in a timeline of events, starting from the very day of the crash. If one ignores the campy little green aliens scattered about, they do present a pretty reasonable case. Certainly food for thought.
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| serious research going on here |
That pretty much filled the day. We head back to camp to brace ourselves for another chilly evening.
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