US Odyssey Part 6: Roswell / Albuquerque
One of the few places I HAD to go on this odyssey was Roswell. Having seen far too many X-Files, it would’ve been a waste not to go there! Right? Right?!
First off, we hauled our asses all the way from Plano just to get there. And for what? We wanted to see the crash site, the themed restaurants, anything alien themed!
When we arrived, it was after 5pm so everything was closed. No museum or other tours for us. Also, the ‘crash site’ is located on private property so we couldn’t even check that out (although nobody else can, as they only allow people there once or twice a year during festivals). In the X-Files, there’s a diner called the Flying Saucer that Mulder visits in Roswell, however, there are no longer any themed eateries at all, as they’ve all gone under. THAT, and the actual Hilltop Cafe where they shot the scene is in fact in Langley, BC. Damn!
We managed to find one trinket store open late, so we got some answers, and a few tacky gifts. I bought myself a really nice polo shirt with Roswell embroidered on the left breast (with a silhouette of a spaceship behind it).
There weren’t really any opportunities for photos either. There was supposed to be a large model flying saucer somewhere near the highway, but nobody seemed to know anything about it. This meant that the only one we found was attached to the closed museum. I did my best to stage my own abduction though!
That night we drove to Albuquerque to sleep, which was also disappointing, not because we had a ton of expectations, but because it was very normal. There are certain mentions of that city that gave us the impression that it must have a lot of character. Not so much.