Aliens and Native American Art

Waking up in the morning was nice and I used up the last of my eggs with another chip/egg/bell pepper/salsa scramble. Pretty soon I was back on the road after what was probably my last night of camping for the trip.

The quick drive up to Roswell resulted in a stop at the International UFO Museum. I've heard the story of the Roswell Incident many times so the idea wasn't new to me. They did have a ton of material there, but most of it was further "he said, she said, he knew someone who said, she heard of someone who knew someone who said..." so there wasn't much that was actually informative for me but it was a fun stop nonetheless. I watched a few minutes of a movie there, checked out the gift shop, and was back on the road for Santa Fe.

 Arriving in the New Mexico capital the scenery started to change. The flat desert faded away and mountains began to rise signaling the beginning of the legendary Rockies. I hadn't seen the Rockies since Montana and they were much different up there but it was still a welcome sight to be back with some trees and vistas. I believe I've shared this quote before but it hit home again and provided some comfort:

"...for going to the mountains is like going home." - John Muir

Santa Fe was everything I expected it to be. Most of the buildings were designed in the pueblo style with adobe and dark exposed beams and the art scene was phenomenal. Along the square were dozens of vendors and the city had a partnership with local Native Americans for them to be able to sit on one of the wide sidewalks and sell their art. I've never seen so much beautiful jewelry in one place! I got a turquoise pendant for Steph since it was nearing a year since we first started dating, and continued to check out the rugs, pottery, and leather works in the shops.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay as long as I would have liked. Being that I was going to Vegas and I had just recently found out about it, I didn't have any clothes that would be appropriate for the club scene. I did some shopping there in Santa Fe and got a few items that would work for the weekend but also that I liked and wear out after as well. After some rushed shopping I was back on the road, eventually cruising through Albuquerque at sunset.

I stopped at a Denny's for a real meal since snacking on carrots and chips and salsa all day was not working so well for my stomach. I downed some coffee and got back on the road, trying to make it a long night so my next day into Vegas would be a little shorter. I took a side road near the Arizona border to try and get a state sign picture but there wasn't one. I did play around with the long exposure a bit more and came up with a couple interesting pics of the night sky with a full moon and the interstate close by. I also succeeded in getting my state sign picture near the Arizona Welcome Center. It's by far the weirdest state sign picture given that it's at night and I decided to wear the Sleep No More mask from NY that Steph and I got. The end of the night, which happened to be after 2 am, found me at a Walmart just inside Arizona where I had a few companions and tried to get some shut-eye before Vegas tomorrow!