11-25-2023
It was not a fun day of driving. We left Dodge City in the dark and snow at 6AM. It was not snowing at 4:45AM, but there was an inch or so on the ground by 6AM. The temperature was about 22F and it never got above freezing until we were west of Hereford, TX.
After that temps steadily rose until we got to Roswell. We were slated to spend tonight at the Amarillo KOA but we decided to keep rolling since it was only about 11 AM when we hit Amarillo and we were only about 4 hours from Roswell. We decided we’d rather have a full day in Roswell on Sunday than waste a day in crappy weather in Amarillo, TX.
We got to Roswell and checked in at the Red Barn RV Park. It is a small park with only about 15 sites and there are very few amenities but it is a nice place. There is a laundry facility available, clean restrooms and showers as well as some areas to walk the dogs. Lee Fudge is the host and owner.
We went to the Black Cock Brewery for drinks and dinner. This is currently the only microbrewery in town, and they don’t even have a beer that they brew. They do make a couple of hard seltzers and ciders. They have about 10-12 tap handles and some wine and hard alcohol. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but it is cozy inside and the walls are covered with eclectic art. Their patio features a full half pipe for skateboarders and they have a dedicated food truck, Los Tres Hermanos. We ordered Asado Verde (Pork Green Chili Burritos) and they were outstanding. They were also only $5.50. We tried to order more to go but they were out of them so we ordered Pork Red Chili burritos which we ate cold the next morning. They were good, but not quite as good as the green chili, which had the perfect amount of heat. Black Cock also has a bar food menu, but we didn’t try anything from it. This is a dog-friendly establishment and you’re welcome to sit inside with the dog if it is well behaved.
https://www.blackcockbrewery.com/
11-26-2023
We’d seen about all there was to see in Roswell by 1:30PM today. We went to the International UFO Museum and Research Museum. They have lots of interesting displays and exhibits, but it is not an all day adventure. Up to a couple of hours are all that are needed. There are two different pressed penny machines inside, one in the museum and another in the gift shop. Each has four unique designs. The gift shop is OK, but there are lots of other places on Main Street to look around for T-shirts, mugs, patches, bumper stickers, trinkets, alien glassware, books, and whatever you seek.
Then we also went to the Spacewalk. The entire blacklight exhibit at the Spacewalk takes about 5 minutes to walk through and maybe 10 minutes if you really take your time. For $5 per person, you can go through as many times as you’d like in a day and it is worth it. Try to figure out which movies and TV shows all the aliens are from. Also see if you can find Santa and his sleigh flying around in there someplace.
https://www.facebook.com/roswellufospacewalk/
We didn’t do Bricktown, but I wish we had had. It is basically a Lego installation with virtual reality activities. We had the dog so we didn’t do the tour, but it seemed interesting.
Don’t forget to check out the alien streetlights, the McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts along Main Street.
We checked out a bunch of shops and went by the Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds to take pictures. We ended up going back to Black Cock today because we really couldn’t figure out anywhere else to go. I ordered goat tacos and they were excellent. The name of the food truck out front is.
11-27-2023
In the early afternoon we stopped work and drove from Red Barn RV Park to Bottomless Lakes SP. It is about a 20 minute drive. It costs $5 per day per vehicle for day use. They also have an RV campground at Lea Lake. It appears to only be $10 per night and they have full hookups and internet, as well as bathrooms. Lea Lake itself looks like it would be nice in the warm months as it has a nice swim beach and facilities to support it. Today, it was very slow. We parked at Lea Lake and then hiked the Bluffs Trail (1 mile each way) to several cenotes that can also be accessed from the road near the visitor center. Several of the cenotes were dry and the Lazy Lagoon at the park entrance was very low. Because of this, nothing appeared “bottomless.”
On the way back into Roswell we stopped at the “Welcome to Roswell” entrance sign and took some photos. We ate leftovers in the RV today and didn’t go into Roswell.
We know now that 1-2 nights in Roswell is plenty. It feels like a missed opportunity for Roswell to not have a craft brewery that is alien-themed, or quaint cafes and coffee shops downtown. What could a good city planner do for Roswell?