Day 27: Alamosa, CO - Roswell, NM

I ought to like New Mexico too.  Based on the bits I've seen on other trips.  Except Los Alamos, which was shut (it was a Sunday).  However the unrequited dulkness of today's trip takes some beating, especially considering that there were only a couple of miles on I-25 out of the whole 330 covered today.  Also it rained.

A measure of the route can be given from the edited highlights:

• The northern terminus of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

Loco #487 having a good steam, Antonito, CO

• Some roadworks at Clines Corners
• The never-ending traffic lights in the 'burbs of Santa Fe
• A 1957 Chrysler 300C
• El Jefe

El Jefe - a public artwork to enliven the tedium of US-285

With temperatures struggling to reach twenty degrees and rain after Santa Fe today was the first of the trip on which the roof stayed up all day.  By the time it was warm enough to put the thing down it was:

• Only ten miles to Roswell, and
• Raining again.  Properly this time.

Given that it's downhill practically all the way from Alamosa I was rather hoping for a dramatic change in elevation like you get between, say, Flagstaff and Phoenix over there (points as arrows scramble Blogger's little brane). Instead you get gently undulating and generally downward-trending grassland, with scarcely any Beefs. On it.

Remove signposts for true representation of scenic glories of this part of NM

Roswell, as any fule kno, is mostly famous for the 1947 Roswell Incident.  Which initial happenings took place "near" Roswell¹.  X-Philes, UFO buffs and conspiracy theorists have since put the place on the map, to the extent that there is a UFO Museum here.  I shall be visiting it tomorrow as it only costs five Earth dollars to get in.  I do not know whether one can pay with Altairian dollars, Flanian Pobble Beads or Ningis.  I suspect not, especially the latter.  The Mudstang's "trunk" is not large enough to hold a triangular rubber coin six thousand eight hundred miles along each side.  In fact, it will only just accommodate The Luggage, and that with a fair bit of pushing and shoving.

Edit: I just came across this story.  Even by the standards of the Forgers' Gazette (for which I can only apologise) that's tenuous.  But "Pissed and possibly concussed blokes wander around for a bit before having a nice lie-down" doesn't really have the same ring to it.

On Aliens, and why they tend to crash around here: The obvious reason why alien spacecraft have been involved a Several of high-profile accidents around here is due to all the SCIENCE conducted in New Mexico during the Second Great Unpleasantness.  Much research into atomic weaponry took place at Los Alamos, while the first Bomb was tested at Alamogordo.  Both practically next door by local standards.  The real reason, however, is simply that they fell asleep at the wheel while navigating by following US-285.

1. FSVO "near" - 30 miles as the crow flies and more than 80 by road if you can get there at all.  I don't think I'll bother.