…Traveling through New Mexico

The road from Dallas took us west over some of the most deserted land I’ve seen for a while.  The distances are so huge that you have to be reasonably careful about planning your route – a “short” detour here to see something half cool can add several hundred miles to the journey.

Coincidentally (honest guv’nor), our route took us through Roswell, home of the first of the mainstream UFO / government cover up incidents back in the 1940s.  I kind of wanted to see this anyway, expecting a town full of slightly bad taste alien paraphernalia.  Alas, it was all actually pretty restrained, with only the occasional alien lamp-post and Coke machine (sorry Tekla) to remind us what we were here for.  There’s an enthusiastic museum which certainly leaves the impression that something was covered up, though who knows what.  The truth is out there….

Next stop Santa Fe, a very beautiful town consisting almost entirely of unpainted, earth toned adobe houses that reminded me a little of….well, Mexico.  Funny that.  It’s also home to the Georgia O’Keefe museum (she painted almost entirely in New Mexico in her later life), which gave us a much needed burst of culture before we headed off for some New Mexican cuisine – gotta love staying in a town where tacos are actually an authentic part of the cuisine and culture!