Roswell and Santa Fe

Thursday and Friday were super busy....we got lots accomplished and yet have so many more questions....We went to the newspaper in Roswell, the Chamber of Commerce, the public library where we left a book, the UFO museum, and the Historical Museum of SE NM! The highlight of my stay in Roswell was getting to talk to a man named Morgan Nelson....he was an elderly gentleman who happened to come into the museum--bringing his great-grandson Ben....He had an apple orchard before the "big freeze" in 1938...he told us lots of stories about the early days of Roswell. He had an interesting career---farmer, military, and legislator.....he was so informative and interesting...we were able to record lots of what he said...Thank you, Mr. Nelson....unfortunately we had to leave, but we needed to arrive in Santa Fe! So away we went...we stopped at Wal-Mart for some food before heading across the desert...they had a picture of a UFO on the side of the store...of course we took our picture there...but inside I asked the clerk if she gets tired of the UFO stuff, and she said, YES! I thought that people might.... It is 200 miles between Roswell and Santa Fe....there are two places that look like they have people...Vaughn and Clines Corner...and Clines Corner is just a truck stop!!! So not much to look at except the desert....Matt and I did see some pronghorn.... They are interesting creatures...I didn't get to take a picture because they were too far away....
We arrived in Santa Fe around 6:30 local time...there was enough daylight left to go explore around the plaza.....there is so much beauty, history, and art in Santa Fe that even if you were a local, I don't think you would ever see it all..... The plaza is the old part of Santa Fe...lots of one way streets and little tiny shops....all of the buildings are adobe...just beautiful..Matt managed go capture some pictures of one of the church buildings in the plaza just as the sun is setting...The sun casts such a beautiful golden glow on the buildings....
Friday morning we went to the state capitol....Unfortunately, Gov. Richardson is traveling around Europe. However, Connie Weston was super to us. I don't know her exact title, but she showed us around Gov. Richardson's office and talked about her career of working for different governors. You could tell she enjoyed her job very much! Thank you for taking your time to talk with us. We also met Kate Nelson in the Lt. Gov. office. Thanks so much for all the information and conversation....The people in this office gave us recommendations for food! We ended up eating at the Plaza Restaurant.........I don't think I have had this good of Mexican food since Bobo's!!! I had the flat blue corn enchiladas with green chile..........Wow! They were fantastic...The reason we settled on this restaurant is that it has been a restaurant in the same location since 1905....we don't know if the boys would have gone there, but they could have! We saw lots of exquisite pieces of art that local vendors sell just sitting around the plaza...what an interesting site....the artists are all friendly and enjoy talking about their crafts. We met one lady who creates wind chimes out of glass and horseshoes or antlers....BEAUTIFUL.... We also went to the Loretto Chapel to see the miraculous staircase that was built in the 1800s....The chapel and the staircase are absolutely breathtaking....if you ever go to Santa Fe you must see it... We also saw the world's largest turquoise nugget....191 pounds...super to see....
After lunch we went to the state archives...we didn't find anything about the boys, but we did find a few articles of interest about Teddy Roosevelt and just things about the mansion....Although we were disappointed, it was still a great day...The archivists and assistants were super friendly and helpful...I am sure we will pose more questions to them at a later time....We headed back to the hotel to do a little laundry and then we went exploring...We went out by the Museum Hill and although the museums were closed they had some enormous sculptures outside....also the flora of the area was beautiful and we took lots of pictures..... The cool evening air of the desert is absolutely wonderful...nice and crisp after a warm day.... Donna wanted to get some ice cream before we headed to the hotel....she had spied a baskin robbins earlier.... One of the workers was so friendly....she was originally from Washington State...she misses the rain...says she will go to college out there.... She is proof of what we are doing...every person has a story, if you will just listen...
We are headed to Las Vegas NM today....then Amarillo...will be home soon...Thanks everyone for reading the blog!!! We are having a great time...