From New Mexico to Nevada

No rest for the weary, we are up bright and early in time to make it to the International UFO Museum & Research Center at 9:00 when the doors open. Roswell’s main claim to fame is the crash landing of the UFO and the town really embraces the legend. The majority of buildings near the UFO museum have murals dedicated to their extraterrestrial visitors, really adding to the conspiracy & mystery shrouding the event. The museum is dedicated to the intergalactic government conspiracy theory making for an interesting stop on our venture and at only $5 a person it was definitely worth it.

In 1947 a UFO supposedly crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico. However, despite various accounts from locals who claim to have seen the UFO and the three aliens within it, the government played the incident off as a downed weather balloon. The museum appears to operate on a relatively small budget and would likely be more convincing with a better layout and protected original documents as opposed to photocopies.  Despite, the overall presentation, the museum was incredibly interesting and although I was tempted to believe the extraterrestrial tale, the lack of physical evidence available overruled my secret desire to have proof of alien life.

Despite Roswell’s intriguing history, it was only a short stop on our adventure, and the town was in the rear-view by 10am. From Roswell to Albuquerque we drove through barren plains towards massive storm clouds boasting walls of rain.  Other than the occasional slight undulation of the plains the only things blocking your view were the tumbleweeds that were gradually replaced by bushes as we approached the Sandia Mountains.

After lunch in Albuquerque we piled back in the truck and continued towards Flagstaff, Arizona. Such a pretty stretch of road! Surrounded by mountains and plateaus we drove through Indian reservations and tiny towns under a veil of spotty rain from unpredictable clouds. As we drove through the rain into the sun, a double rainbow appeared behind us and suddenly the rain disappeared to be replaced by the blue skies before us dotted with fluffy and wispy white clouds leading the way towards the mountains in the distance.

As Red Mountain appears ahead of us, the plain that had been surrounding us begins to become populated by ever growing trees and as we emerge in Flagstaff we find ourselves looking out onto a forest of pine tree with the mountain standing in all its grandeur just behind. Driving through Flagstaff surrounded by the pines it is hard to believe we are still in Arizona. Yet, we eventually emerge out of the forest and find ourselves once again driving in open plains. However, this time the vast expanse before us rolls its way towards the mountains and hills surrounding it making for a stunning view to take us into Nevada.

Driving past the glowing lights of the Hoover Dam in darkness, the only other visible light came from the stars twinkling in the sky.  Until suddenly, you reach the crest of a hill and find yourself facing the vibrant city of Las Vegas. Casino lights guide you in to the Las Vegas Strip and an overwhelming sense of excitement and good luck rushes over you.

Now that we have settled down into our rooms we are ready for our night out in Sin City. So I will leave you here until tomorrow.

Four Explorers, One Black Truck, 1500 Miles

And we are off! Finally! That adventure I have been in such desperate need of has begun! There is nothing so relaxing as driving with an open road before you, a friendly face beside you and endless possibilities of what you may experience. Sure you have a general destination in mind but anything between point A and point B is fair game.

Our dear friends Pixel and Shazam are heading to Campo, California to embark on their honeymoon adventure hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (Click here to follow them on their adventure!), a 2700 mile stretch that will take them from Mexico through California and into Canada. We are going to miss them while they are gone so we figured what would make a better send off than to drive them to the starting point in time for Kick-Off!

Leaving from Houston on I-10 we embarked upon phase one of our road trip, an 11 hour drive to Roswell, New Mexico. I-10 is an American highway stretching through the Southern states going from the East coast to the West coast. Texas is deceptively large, look at Texas on a map and it doesn't look that much larger than the states surrounding it but at 773 miles wide it dwarfs them. (Considering the US is approximately 3000 miles wide that makes Texas almost a third of its width!)

One of the many fabulous things about driving through Texas in the spring is the wildflowers. Courtesy of Lady Bird Johnson the major highways of Texas were beautified with wildflowers, so now when you drive through Texas in the spring the highways are surrounded by an ocean of red & blue wildflowers. Driving West from Houston (other than the hill country) the land is remarkably flat. You can look out of your window and literally watch the land disappear over the edge of the earth. There is a certain beauty in this that is enhanced by the wildflowers, large ranches and old windmills scattered along the way. As you pass the ranches complete with Texas Longhorns, there is no doubt that you are in Texas!

Houston, San Antonio, Junction. The sea of blue, red and green disappears into the distance with the setting sun and we find ourselves driving into a pitch black sky adorned with shimmering lights. From Junction through Fort Stockton and on to Roswell we drove under a blanket of stars behind spotty clouds as the man in the moon poked his head through a cloud to watch us make our merry way. The lights of far-off cities glowing in the distance, only bright enough to sparkle, look remarkably like the cat-eyes running down the center of the road. Yet, the most brilliant lights come from the drilling rigs scattered throughout the distance. Like bugs to a flame, the lights from the drilling rigs draw you in and you get lost in their beauty. I find myself desperate to drive up and explore one, yet with two oil men in the car happy to be home from the rigs, we were not about to try to get any closer for a better peek.

Finally arriving in Roswell after 13 hours on the road, we are tired and relieved to have made it to our first destination. As we get ready for bed we hope no aliens decide to reappear in hopes of an abduction so we are able to continue on our adventure in the morning.