Roswell is best known for the possible landing of an alien spacecraft in the 1940s. During our visit to this famous New Mexico town, we discovered there was more in the area than little green men.
UFO Museum
Our first stop in Roswell was the International UFO Museum and Research Center on Main Street. Like many of the alien-related attractions in Roswell, the front and sides of the building have pictures of spaceships and green aliens.
The museum features newspaper articles from July 1947, when local rancher Mac Brazel discovered debris on his property from an unknown source.
There are numerous affidavits by family members and neighbors detailing their memories of the event. There are also affidavits by several members of the military sharing their knowledge. This section of the museum is the place to learn about the ‘sighting’.
The museum also has fun displays for those wanting to see aliens. And an area devoted to alien-themed movies and books.
There is also a museum section dedicated to ancient cultures and extraterrestrials. There are some interesting articles and photos in this section.
We took our time and enjoyed looking at all the displays in the UFO Museum.
Gallery Main Street Arts
We left the UFO Museum and walked north on Main Street. Our next stop was Gallery Main Street Arts. Sponsored by the Roswell Fine Arts League, the gallery displays the work of local artists. One of these artists showed us around the gallery, providing information about the artists and the art on display.
The Gallery features photography, watercolors, sculptures, and jewelry. The artists are very talented, and we enjoyed learning about their pieces. Out of respect for the artists, we didn’t take any photos. You can check their Facebook page for a sampling, The Gallery Roswell.
Historical Center Museum
Our next stop was the Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico Museum on North Lea Street. The museum is located in a house on the National Register of Historic Places. The home was constructed in 1912 in the Schooner design developed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Originally home to the James Phelps White family, the museum contains exact replicas of parlors and kitchens from the turn of the century. The second-floor rooms feature galleries exhibiting toys, western, and military items from the early 1900s.
Big D’s Downtown Dive
It was after 2:00 pm, and we were getting hungry. Based on the recommendations of our campground host and the artist at The Gallery, we checked out Big D’s Downtown Dive. Our burgers looked so good we had to take pictures! We ate every bite, as well as an order of sweet potato fries.
*UPDATE* Big D’s Dive is no longer open. A new restaurant moved into that location.
After our late lunch, we made a quick stop at the Chaves County Magistrates Courthouse and the Roswell Veteran’s Memorial.
Roswell Art Center
There were two more places in the downtown area on our list – The Roswell Museum & Art Center and Robert H. Goddard Planetarium.
After finding them on our map, we headed north on Main Street and turned west on 11th. It seemed a bit odd that the parking lot was almost empty, but we parked anyway and headed towards the entrance.
We visited on a Monday, and, to our disappointment, the museum was closed on Mondays. So, we just walked around the building, and Andy took a few photos.
Back in the car, we viewed the Roswell attraction map to find another place of interest. The Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge looked like a great outdoor place for us.
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
We entered the wildlife address into our Garmin and started driving. Caution – follow the map provided by the city if you are trying to find an out-of-the-way place.
After a couple of navigational mishaps, we arrived at the Joseph R. Skeen Visitor Center.
It just wasn’t our day! The center was closed. We assumed it was due to the Federal Government shutdown. Happily, the rest of the refuge was open.
Spotting the entrance for the Wildlife Drive Loop near the parking lot, we turned our car onto the loop and started our tour.
The loop is eight miles long, with several overlooks where visitors can stop to watch the wildlife. Unfortunately, during our visit in late January, we didn’t see a great variety of wildlife. Just a small number of mallards and American coots swimming in some of the small oxbows.
The scenery made up for the lack of wildlife. We stopped several times on our journey through the refuge to explore the paths adjacent to the loop.
As the sun moved closer to the horizon, we finished our drive around the loop, stopping several times for a few final pictures while enjoying the spectacular views.
Driving back to the campground, we discussed either visiting the Art Center and Planetarium in the morning or driving to our next destination.
Later that evening, we learned that the government shutdown was ending. Carlsbad Caverns would be open Tuesday morning! We quickly extended our reservation by one night and drove to Carlsbad Caverns the following day.
You can read about our visit to Carlsbad Caverns in our post, Exploring Carlsbad Caverns
Peggy Staver, the author of this blog is a freelance content and copywriter specializing in outdoor recreation and hospitality. You can contact her at PSCopywriting.com. The majority of the photos are taken by Photography by Andreas. Visit his portfolio here.