We are not alone...

I randomly saw a news blurb that Friday, July 8th was the 64th anniversary of the alien crash landing in Roswell, New Mexico. It immediately brought me back to a trip I took with my friend Carol almost 10 years ago now to New Mexico. I've been in Roswell, been to the UFO Museum there that documents the crash and Carol and I even tried to find the crash site ala a xeroxed, hand drawn map of the site we got from the Museum. Even better Carol and I talked to an elderly gentleman who was one of the military men assigned to move the alien bodies. I have pictures somewhere of Carol and I with him, pre-digital, but did scan this one a few years ago of us standing in front of a re-enactment to the alien autopsy. Let the mocking begin! But in all seriousness, I've always believed there is other life out there in the Universe. To paraphrase the movie "Contact"... it's an awful waste of space if we are the only ones out here.

The trip started in Albuquerque and we drove as far South as Las Cruces and then finished in northern NM in Sante Fe. What sticks out most about this trip was we had a BLAST. There was really no itinerary, each day we decided how far we felt like driving and what we wanted to see along the way. We didn't have reservations, just figured out where to stay based on where we ended up or when we got tired. This worked out really well overall though I do remember one night it was getting darker and darker and the area was pretty remote. There were no "Motel 6's" or "Super 8's" off the road for us to get to and we started to suspect we might have to sleep in the car. Finally we saw a sign for a place and though it was higher than our price range it was better than the car. It turned out to be a spot where hunters stayed, and while my memory is hazy I think we were in Capitan, NM. I just remember the road was really, really dark. Though the best part of that place was waking up in the morning and having breakfast at the diner attached. It was only then that we realized we were in a hunting area and the individuals surrounding us were of the woodsy hunting types. Two city girls in our jeans and pressed shirts kind of stood out.


I wish now that I could recreate that trip, with my current camera and photography knowledge. I love that part of the country, particularly White Sands, NM where there is a beautiful National Park. White sand made from the wind that comes down off the mountains and across a lake, the wind deposits a residue that I believe is calcium which then as it dries leaves behind a huge white beach sand like area. The most amazing thing is driving through these mini mountains of white sand that is cool to the touch. Now that I've remembered this trip I'm on a mission to find the pictures and scan them. I think I might have been using a throw away camera at the time.


There are so many places to go, so many places to see both in this country and beyond. This memory makes me realize I need to plan my next trip. Where oh where to go...