Santa Fe

Our time in Santa Fe went much too quickly. Thanks to recommendations from friends and the internet, we ate amazing food and visited unique and creative shops. On our first (late) afternoon, we headed downtown to the Plaza to become acquainted with the area. We wandered into shops and my new obsession with New Mexican retablos was born. Since we'd had a late lunch in Roswell, we took a long late walk, unsuccessfully trying to work up an appetite for the green chili burritos at the Shed (a travesty that we never managed it) and took in all the interesting street art and local characters as we planned for the next day.

Bright and early, I woke up with a massive hangover. I thought that was odd as I'd only shared one beer the night before. I felt so sleepy with a headache that wouldn't quit but it wasn't until a local shopkeeper "diagnosed" me that I realized the answer - altitude sickness! At least it meant I wasn't a total lightweight and by the end of the day, my body was already adjusting to the 7000 extra feet above sea level.

We first visited the New Mexico Museum of Art, touring the Georgia O'Keefe collection and an exhibit on Southwestern art through the years. The standout of the visit, however, was a special exhibition entitled "Sole Mates: Cowboy Boots and the Arts". The large space was filled with intricately designed cowboy boots and examples of how the footwear has been represented in the arts (everything from photography to film to music). The museum is housed in a Pueblo-Revival style building built in 1917 and was worth looking at on its own with the bell tower on top calling back to the Spanish mission churches.


After a wonderful lunch at Cafe Pasquals (I had the green chili and avocado soup!), we headed back to the Plaza to enjoy the beautiful weather and people-watch for a bit. Southwestern friendliness was the order of the day but we were very amused to watch two separate dirty-looking met approach the girl in the bench very near to us. Like in a movie, another bystander (a single guy) swooped in for the "Hey Honey/Pretend Boyfriend" move to save her from the second persistent conversationalist. If this were a movie, they'd fall madly in love and we'd be invited to the wedding. Since it was real life, we left them still chatting (hey, maybe they'll go out) and made our way to the Palace of the Governors.

The adobo building on the Plaza was once the Governor's residence but is now home to the New Mexico History Museum. The original palace was built in 1610 and the structure is evident when you tour through the current museum. A program with local Native American tribes brings vendors to show their beautiful jewlery and other items in front of the palace.

We wrapped up the day with a bit of shopping. I found and purchased my own retablo of Saint Christopher (patron saint of travelers) and worked very hard to restrain myself from filling up our rental car with the amazing pottery and garden items (I don't have a yard but wasn't going to let that stop me). I fell in love with Santa Fe and vowed to come back so I'll have to finish my shopping then...

Roswell, New Mexico

While we overnighted in west Texas, the first real stop on our road trip was an unplanned detour. And if you're going to go off course, why not to Roswell, New Mexico?

It only took us about an hour out of our way and once we calculated that we'd be spending close to 60 hours in the car over the course of this trip, one measly hour didn't seem like much. And it was worth it!


Now, mind you, I wouldn't make any special trips to Roswell unless you have a lot of time on your hand already but it was a kitschy and amusing start to the trip. It's impossible to mistake Roswell for any other town; nearly every shop and restaurant was capitalizing on the UFO phenomenon, including chains like Whattaburger and Walmart. Our main stop was the UFO museum on Main Street. Surrounding by tourist shops and located in a converted theater, the museum absolutely lived up to our expectations.

The first half dealt with the UFO "crash" in Roswell and how the "cover-up" was conducted by the US Air Force. I don't know about you, but just because a piece of paper has "affadavit" written at the top and is signed by a notary doesn't convice me of jack. And the exhibit was mostly paper narratives, many from people who were children at the time. It sure seems like something happened (hey, it was the Cold War) but seriously...little green men? The second half of the exhibit dealt with UFOs in general: how to report them, classification of phenomena (close encounters of the first through third kinds), and previously reported sightings and hoaxes. Learning how they disproved the hoaxes (especially in the days before digital photography) was pretty interesting but the presentation definitely lacked sophistication. I hate to hate on the people who work very hard on this stuff but really, there were literally printed emails pasted onto colored construction paper mounted onto a black poster board and framed. This was the serious stuff, see below. My tenth grade science project looked more professional (ahem, I did win a prize for it too).


Despite the overall ridiculous story and the lack of convincing "evidence" or story, Roswell was an amusing stop and we are glad that we can now say that we've survived our time without any alien abductions.