Are They Among Us? Roswell Adventure!

Tragically, I have always wanted to go to Roswell, New Mexico to check out the International UFO Museum and explore everything related to past and possibly future alien invasions. Predictably, I am a big fan of science fiction books. I devoured Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles and Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy plus everything else I could get my hands on. I’ve imagined all sorts of possible scenarios over the years and I have a great imagination! As an elementary school student, I was afraid to look up into the night sky for fear I might see an unidentified flying object. Decades ago, I did my senior paper on UFOs using books I found in my small-town school library taking notes on index cards, and for the most part, believing it all. I’ve never watched the film Alien Autopsy, which is supposedly the real footage of an autopsy that was performed in 1947 following the Roswell Crash mainly because of fear. One movie I can still watch over and over is the 1996 Independence Day and I actually saw it in the theatre when it first came out. It’s easy to say that I have a love/hate relationship with everything related to UFOs. My ears always perk up when new information is released in the news as it has been in the last year even though it put a bit of fear in my heart And so it just seems natural that Roswell would draw my attention.

I really wanted to stay in an old missile silo turned AirBnB but it wasn’t available during our vacation dates but it’s still on my bucket list for the future. Instead, we stayed in a mostly plain hotel after driving seven hours from Dallas where my daughters’ live. The drive was slightly hilly desert with cacti, yucca, sage, and mesquite. It was honestly, not much different than western Nebraska; a little dryer with less grass and more cacti. It seemed familiar to me. There was very little traffic, very little cell phone coverage, and some cattle grazing on whatever they could find. Roswell is really a tourist town filled with little green aliens, souvenir shops, t-shirts, and a Dunkin Donuts with a gigantic green alien greeting sign. There’s even a flying saucer-shaped McDonald’s. Roswell has embraced everything UFO most likely for the money tourists bring into the community.

The International UFO Museum is the crowning jewel of this experience and honestly, I was surprised by how well it was put together. Exhibits consist of newspaper articles from 1947, video interviews with people who were actually present during the 1947 Roswell UFO incident, photos from the alleged crash site, government documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, and of course, a bunch of hokey alien displays I really enjoyed! In addition, there are displays of Roswell in popular culture including the X-Files, Roswell (the television series), and Unsolved Mysteries. Admission prices are $7 for adults, $4 for kids, and $5 for seniors over 65. There’s even a small theatre with a documentary on Roswell included in the museum and a research library.

I’m too far into my belief or disbelief of aliens and UFOs to be

I darted into the museum gift shop looking for a miniature alien or flying saucer for my miniature collection and found them to be very over-priced. Following the rule that the farther a souvenir store is from the actual tourist attraction, the cheaper things will be, I found a cute little plastic alien for 50 cents across the street and down the block from the parking lot! A perfect addition to my shelf! We made our way out of Roswell and headed to

Santa Fe for our next adventure, the Meow Wolf immersive art exhibit which I will detail in my next blog post! It was great fun and amazing!