Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Santa Fe was hard to leave. It could be because in my mind all of our future stopping points are one step closer to returning home, or because it is such a lovely place. Before hitting the road, we spent two hours or so at the Museum of International Folk Art. The Museum’s exhibits were unique and quite wonderful. One room featured “Tramp” art which was carved and layered wood made into objects such as jewelry boxes and picture frames. One picture frame contained peach pits that had been carved into delicate patterns. The art form didn’t have much to do with tramps except that many of the pieces exhibited had been created during the Great Depression and were made out of cigar boxes. Another exhibit presented bead work from all over the world. The largest exhibit contained thousands of pieces of hand crafted items many of which were placed in intricate dioramas. It was an amazing place. We both felt that we would want to visit this museum again. Even the gift shop was fascinating, offering a unique assortment of items from all over the world. Before leaving we also enjoyed some gazpacho soup at a cafe on the museum grounds. In the same complex there was also a Native American Arts museum, and botanical gardens.
Heading South toward Carlsbad, NM the land was relatively flat, dry, and scrubby. We stopped for a break at Clines Corners which turned out to be on Route 66 and was filled to the brim with stuff including Minnetonka Moccasins, fudge, fancy knives with inlaid handles, route 66 souvenirs and jewelry. Prices were reasonable so we did a little shopping, filled up with gas and continued on our way. Route 66 shops are great for tourists; they are the original “Stop and Shop” shops.
Because we had spent so much time at the Museum, we almost missed one of our prime objectives–reaching Roswell before the International UFO Museum and Research Center closed. In all honesty, we were more interested in getting to the gift store on time. Roswell is renowned as being the site of an alleged UFO crash in 1947 that is believed by many to have been covered up by the U.S. Government. We arrived fifteen minutes before closing, and the man at the admission booth was kind enough to let us in for free. We raced around trying to take it all in, but much of the information was in the form of lengthy written accounts that we simply didn’t have time to read. I’m happy to report that Dan, who often tells people he is from the Andromeda Galaxy, planet Edo, (both of which do exist, you can look them up) was able to connect with his alien relatives and arrived at the gift store in the knick of time. Mission accomplished. (This does explain a lot.)
It was surprising to us that Roswell did not appear to be taking full advantage of its alien history. Very few signs or businesses featured little green men.
Artesia, New Mexico is an oil town located about 30 miles from Carlsbad and is where we are staying for 2 nights. In fact, the air is pungent with the smell of oil. Just past the downtown area is an oil derrick in full operation. The town also featured some huge cowboy and oil drilling-oriented statues. We’ve noticed that there is an abundance of statuary throughout the West, most of which is oversized. Using YELP, we found a good restaurant called The Adobe Rose Restaurant. A nice guy and his wife we met while waiting for a table told us it was the best place in town. He seemed to be some local government official. We both got salads which were quite good.
Tomorrow we plan to visit Carlsbad Caverns.
BY THE WAY WITH WENDY & DAN 