UFO'S, AND BILLY THE KID

(MARCH 30, 2018) Today was a longer day than I anticipated. I knew it was going to be a long day mileage wise with only a few well planned stops along the way. It was not as well planned as I thought.

I left the Hotel in Las Cruces at 8:30 (Mountain Time) and head back across St. Augustine Pass on U. S. Route 70.  I again passed the White Sands National Park on my way to Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Using my Gas Buddy App I found a Shell Station in Alamogordo that had gas for $2.43, which is about 15 cents below any of the stations in Las Cruces. So once I filled up with gas and grabbed a cup of coffee it was off to Roswell, about 170 miles away.

The trip from Alamogordo took about 3-hours and  during which time I transitioned from mountain to the flat plains. The scenery was beautiful and made the drive enjoyable.

In Roswell, I stopped at the Alien Museum, which capitalizes on an incident that occurred in July of 1947.  Initial reports from locals fueled the belief that a alien space craft has crash near Roswell and that four aliens were on board. One of which was reported the survived.  For years local residents insisted that the government who had taken control of the crash debris and the alien bodied were involved in an cover up that reached to the highest level.

Interest in the events of 1947 remained high, but in 1990 the U. S. Military published reports stating that the crash was part of Project Mogul, which dealt with a high level nuclear test surveillance balloon. Never the less, the town of Roswell continues to embrace the UFO/Alien Events of 1947. The UFO Museum is dedicated to the "suspicious" events that occurred in 1947.

I paid $4.00 senior admission and spent about an hour walking through the museum, which is largely copies of newspaper clipping, affidavits from local residents and statement from military personnel.  It was interesting reading the the exhibits and if you are into UFO's and Aliens it would be worth a stop.

After finishing in Roswell it was off to Fort Sumner, about 90-miles north. It took me about an hour and a half to make the trip. This was probably the most boring part of the trip, as it was made up of ranch land, and more ranch land.

The village of Fort Sumner is home to "The Billy the Kid Museum." I drove past not intending to stop, but said what the heck and turned around and paid my $4.00 admission.  The owner, Don Sweet was on hand and offered some very amusing stories relating not only to Billy The Kid, but also about the history of Fort Sumner and the Bosque Redondo.


For $4.00 a stop at the Billy the Kid Museum is an worth a stop providing Don Sweet is there to answer questions and interact with visitors.


After my visit to the museum, I made a quick stop at the grave of Billy the Kid, and his two friends Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdre. The three are buried in the old post cemetery near the original site of Fort Sumner.  Billy's grave stone was stolen and recovered twice.  Today the stone is encased with steel bars to prevent future thefts.

It was late afternoon by the time I had finished in Fort Sumner and it was time to head toward Amarillo where I am spending the night. It took me a little over 3-hours to make the 170 mile drive to Amarillo.  Just east of Clovis, New Mexico, I crossed back over into Texas and again entered the Central Time Zone.

After stopping briefly at the Hotel to Check in, it was off to the Big Texan for Supper.  No trip to Amarillo would be complete without a visit to The Big Texan, home of the world famous 72-oz steak challenge.

The last time I was here was in December 1984, when my dad and I were traveling cross county to spend Christmas with my Sister and Mom. We both enjoyed our visit then and tonight was no different. My steak was perfect. Nobody tried the 72-oz challenge while I was there but the place was still crowded with folks who just wanted a great steak.

It was 10 o"clock by the time I made the 7-mile drive back to my motel. The end of a very long day. Tomorrow I have not real plans except to travel from Amarillo to Oklahoma City. I want to travel at least part of the way on Old Route 66.

TODAY'S MILES:  469
TOTAL MILES:     4729