But, all good things must come to an end, so we woke up,
packed up and headed back down the
mountain to a scenic drive just
a little further north from where we were.
This drive went directly through an Apache Reservation. We had been learning about the Apache people
our entire trip – their original homeland was in The Bowl on top of the
Guadalupe Mountains. The Apache also made living at the Pinery Butterfield Stage Station interesting. The reservation in
the Sacramento Mountains was beautiful country – wooded and unusually lush for
the middle of a desert.
On the east side of the mountains, we passed by the Ruidoso Downs and Billy the Kid Casino. As we were looking at the spectacle, I told Ross that this area sounded familiar. After talking to my Aunt Jeanice and Uncle Maynard on the phone, I discovered why. Those two had passed this way as well, visiting White Sands and taking in a horse race at the Downs!
After Ruidoso, we ended up in Roswell, NM for lunch at Big D’sDowntown Dive. No religious icons on the
walls at this place, but there were plenty of fun things to look at – including
an entire wall of New Mexico license plates.
Ross’ favorite was a sign behind the register that said, “Unattended
children will be given an espresso and a free kitten.” The boys tried the Good Old Burger and mom
had the famous Salmon Sandwich. According
to the sign outside, Big D is known as a "salmon whisperer" and flies in fresh
salmon for his sandwiches. It was pretty
good.
On the east side of the mountains, we passed by the Ruidoso Downs and Billy the Kid Casino. As we were looking at the spectacle, I told Ross that this area sounded familiar. After talking to my Aunt Jeanice and Uncle Maynard on the phone, I discovered why. Those two had passed this way as well, visiting White Sands and taking in a horse race at the Downs!
After Ruidoso, we ended up in Roswell, NM for lunch at Big D’sDowntown Dive. No religious icons on the
walls at this place, but there were plenty of fun things to look at – including
an entire wall of New Mexico license plates.
Ross’ favorite was a sign behind the register that said, “Unattended
children will be given an espresso and a free kitten.” The boys tried the Good Old Burger and mom
had the famous Salmon Sandwich. According
to the sign outside, Big D is known as a "salmon whisperer" and flies in fresh
salmon for his sandwiches. It was pretty
good.
Following lunch, I cannot confirm or deny that we visited
the Roswell UFO Museum. All I will say
is
this – if we DID visit the museum, we were using cash so do not attempt to
try and trace our presence. And, the
pictures we have with aliens and our boys in them could technically have been
taken anywhere. In addition, there may
or may not be a map on the wall with a pin on the Winfield, KS dot which may or
may not have been there before we arrived if and when we would have ever looked
at it. Other than that, if you are
interested in a fascinating story – you should Google the “Roswell Incident” of
1947…..or, according to official government reports 1957. Or, you could of
course go and check out the
museum. I’ve heard that it has a lot of
information in there that is well presented and makes a good case. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Sometime in the early afternoon, we got back on the road and
drove as far as Amarillo where we had a reservation in a hotel with a
POOL. We approached Amarillo on I-40
from the west where we drove right by Cadillac Ranch. We didn’t stop, but did slow to watch quite a
few people adding their own personal tag to the cars sticking up out of the
ground. Interesting, veeery
interesting. We
finally stayed somewhere that the whirlpool was open and working – so the boys were
eternally happy. I enjoyed a little
quiet time, Ross got in a nap and we all had a lovely, slow evening.
Sometime in the early afternoon, we got back on the road and
drove as far as Amarillo where we had a reservation in a hotel with a
POOL. We approached Amarillo on I-40
from the west where we drove right by Cadillac Ranch. We didn’t stop, but did slow to watch quite a
few people adding their own personal tag to the cars sticking up out of the
ground. Interesting, veeery
interesting. We
finally stayed somewhere that the whirlpool was open and working – so the boys were
eternally happy. I enjoyed a little
quiet time, Ross got in a nap and we all had a lovely, slow evening.