Cross-Country Road Trip! Day 10, Mile 2229: To Roswell and...Beyond!

The museum at the Very Large Array near Socorro was temporarily closed, but luckily the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell was open.

The famous supposed UFO crash took place a few miles north of Roswell in July,1947--75 years ago! 

If you don't quite remember the story, here's Britannica spoiling all the fun.

So, of course, we had to check it out.

The museum combines a pretty accurate account and timeline of the incident and the fallout afterward with some magnificently cheesy exhibits of a crashed saucer and alien visitors.

These two could really use a ride home.

I guess this is the rescue party that came too late.

There was also memorabilia from many of the movies and stories about alien visitors.

"Gort, Klaatu barada nikto!"

I especially liked this illustration from the original serialization of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds showing a Martian tripod attacking a British dreadnought.

Of course there was an alien autopsy diorama.

Complete with a Man in Black carrying a tray of UFO parts.

There were several exhibits covering various other famous UFO sightings, encounters with aliens, and alien abductions. They didn't have anything on one that I remember well from a childhood steeped in UFO lore: the 1951 sighting known as the Lubbock lights. Click the link for a short, but interesting History Channel video. Since we were on our way to Lubbock, I was disappointed.

We wanted one last hit of New Mexican food before crossing into Texas, so we found a little cafe on our way out of town.

Excellent green chile stew.

Good chile rellenos.

And because sometimes you just need a fluffy piece (or two) of fried dough--sopapillas with honey.

If the aliens return for their 75th anniversary this July, they'll find way better food than on their last visit.

We found this wonderful Latin American tapas restaurant in Lubbock. Not terribly prepossessing from the outside.

But look at this menu:

The aquatic theme (sirena means mermaid) is continued inside.

O had a blood orange margarita with hibiscus syrup, while I sipped a smoky pechuga mezcal. We shared the pork belly empanadas and short rib posole. Both were stellar, as was the bourbon/orange flan we had for dessert.

The quality and diversity of restaurants available even in smaller towns these days is remarkable. When I traveled cross country in 1978 the food culture that makes restaurants like this possible simply didn't exist. Now places like this are everywhere. And they're packed.

We live in interesting times.

P.