Sometime the places I decide to visit aren’t of great historical, cultural, or natural significance.  I go there just because…. well, because why not?  And that’s how I ended up in Roswell, New Mexico at the “International UFO Museum Research Center.”  Yep.  Why not?

My expectations were low, and walking in to this display didn’t raise them.  On the other hand, every 15 minutes or so it played creepy UFO music (you know what I mean… oooooooEEEEEEEooooooo…), fog came out of the flying saucer above, and their heads turned.  If you looked closely, they were also breathing very slowly.  The kids there loved it, and I caught myself smiling too!

I was rather surprised at the amount of evidence the museum had collected, including statements of witnesses as to what happened in Roswell in 1947.  This included signed affidavits.  None held all of the story, but put together they clearly indicated that something unusual happened there.

There was even some alleged physical evidence of the aliens, and the materials that their craft was made of.

I had almost as much fun watching the other visitors as I did looking at the displays.  The kids were clearly seeing it as just another theme park, and most adults seemed mildly intrigued, but healthily skeptical.  But there were others that were clearly… enthusiasts.

There were sections about photos taken, about abduction claims, and about hoaxes… like this flying hubcap.

Less understandable to me was the section on crop circles.  I guess they’re supposed to be caused by aliens… or something.

And this unnecessarily elaborate theory is one I hadn’t heard before.   Probably for the reason that it makes no sense at all.

There are a lot of theories out there about what happened at Roswell, but to me, this map kind of answers all the questions.  The areas outlined in blue are US military operating zones, and those outlined in red are restricted air space.  The green arrow in the middle points to Roswell.  Enough said??

So anyway, there you have it.  It was a fun, weird exploration of what may or may not have happened at Roswell, with some random stuff thrown in.  There was just enough vagueness about all of it to confirm you in whatever opinion you walked in with, and just enough novelty to actually be entertaining.  Well, it’s best to keep an open mind… or so said the alien sitting astride my rear view mirror as I drove away.