Aliens, Cadillacs, Canyons, and an Eclipse
April 10, 2024
April Fool’s Day found us in Roswell, New Mexico. 👽
Yes, really.
We anticipated Roswell being a touristy little dirt roadside stop that we would practically drive through, but instead, we found ourselves in a busy, mid-size town. On the way into town, we stopped to get a classic photo (look closely on the left, and you’ll see the crop duster that conveniently photobombed us) and then took a 2-hour driving tour with Roswell UFO Tour.
It is always fun to watch crop dusters doing aerial acrobatics
The tour visited many sites in town while linking eyewitness accounts of events at each location, stepping back to a country with fresh memories of WW2 and new fears of Cold War enemies that fueled still undeciphered events. It was fascinating to hear the “familiar” story of the alien saucer crash in the town where media, military, government, and locals found themselves trying to do their patriotic duty to avoid hysteria while possibly being prodded by bribery and thinly veiled threats.
The tour started from a Lego Museum that had phenomenal displays!
We then toured the International UFO Museum, which was thought-provoking as well.
Though we came as indifferent travelers, we left as skeptics of the official “weather balloon” narrative 🤔.
We camped that night at the free Randolf Rampy city park in Tatum, New Mexico (how could we not camp somewhere with our truck camper on it?)
and drove 165 miles the next day to Buffalo Lake National Refuge, where we could camp for free with our Senior Park pass (I love that!). The Lake is now primarily wetlands, and we saw neither man nor beast during our afternoon and night there. We will say that the drive there passes feedlots in Hereford and Bovina, so there are some farm smells when the breeze blows from the right direction.
It was a peaceful stop, and the next day, we headed first to Cadillac Ranch with our spray paint to make our mark. We were surprised by how busy it was for early in the morning and how close to the road it was. Pictures we’d seen made it look like the Cadillacs were way out in the middle of some desolate field, but in fact, they were a short walk from a frontage road by busy Interstate 40. We had silly fun, loaned our paint to others, and helped them with their photos before going to our destination, Palo Duro Canyon.
We spent three days at the “Grand Canyon of Texas,” spending each night in a different campground for a variety of reasons. On the day we arrived, we hiked the Goodnight Peak via the CCC Trail, which gave us a panoramic view of the Canyon.
We camped in the Mesquite Loop for the night and left before dawn to start the Lighthouse trail hike just at first light.
The morning started cool at 37 degrees, and as the sun rose, a coyote family serenaded us with their morning song. The birds joined in, one of whom we caught on video, and we were impressed by the range and variety of notes.
We hiked in solitude and were able to scramble up the plateau of the iconic “Lighthouse” for some photos and a snack before other hikers arrived.
On the way back, the sun made it considerably warmer (almost 70 degrees!), and we were glad to have camelbacks full of electrolytes and water to keep us going. The desert has taught us that once you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated, so it’s essential to be proactive, take fluids, and drink often. We camped that night in the Juniper Loop, and the electricity to our site was out, which wasn’t a problem with our solar and batteries. However, one of the workers went out of his way to ensure that our site and the one next to it had power. We chatted about how warm it was for April, and he mentioned that later in the season, they would only have mornings for maintenance and would spend the afternoons doing hiker rescues. He felt the sorriest for children and pets who had issues with the heat because the adults didn’t bring or provide enough water.
On Friday, we hiked to a nearby cave and a loop through the valley before changing campgrounds to the Fortress Cliff Loop.
This wall texture is interesting!
The wind picked up considerably, causing our Jeep Tour to be canceled, so on Saturday, April 6, we drove 260 miles to Lake Arrowhead State Park near Wichita Falls, Texas. The weather went from quite windy to quite stormy, and we arrived at the park in a deluge where you could barely see the road before you. As we backed into our site, the sun shone just long enough to set up camp. The weather the next day was prettier.
On Sunday, we drove to stay with our good friends west of Dallas for the solar eclipse. We mainly wanted to enjoy their company as the forecast called for overcast skies on the eclipse day. Bluebonnets, the Texas State Flower, and Indian Paintbrush carpeted the roadside and fields on our drives to their favorite haunts.
Other friends joined us on Tuesday afternoon, and the weather lifted to bless us with a perfect eclipse view!
It was unbelievable how moths, dragonflies, and even a few mosquitos appeared as the sky grew dark, just as if it were evening, and how the birds sang again after the eclipse as if it were the dawn of a new day. Natural events like an eclipse must be very confusing to the daily order of life!
We and our friends are headed in opposite directions to about as far east and west from each other as you can go on this continent, so we promised to exchange travel stories until we meet again. Certainly one of the best benefits of travel is the wonderful friends you make!
“Time and good friends are two things that become more valuable the older we get.”