If you have heard anything ever about UFOs or aliens you have definitely heard about Roswell. If you have been living under a rock since 1947, Roswell is the birthplace of modern UFO culture. Before that I don’t even know if aliens and extraterrestrials were in our collective lexicon. Indigenous tribes like Navajos had star people. But as far as the mainstream, I don’t think anyone thought beyond our planet.
Roswell today has based the entire town’s identity on the incident in 1947. The sign outside town welcoming visitors has a UFO. The Days Inn has an LED board welcoming aliens with little cartoons of small green men. The Dunkin Donuts? They got a big statue of an alien. Pretty much every store or establishment integrates aliens into the business model. And I’m here for it.
The Roswell UFO Museum
The main tourist attraction in town is the Roswell UFO Museum. It was originally a movie theater and converted into the UFO Museum in 1992. Since it opened, over five million guests have visited the museum. Inside is the entire history of the Roswell Incident.
I’ll give the basic rundown of the Roswell Incident. In 1947 a rancher found strange debris on his property like ultra light metal. He reported it to the authorities and the military issued a report saying a flying saucer had been retrieved. The next day the authorities backtracked saying it was just a weather balloon. This sudden change in story made a lot of people suspicious. Over the decades more witnesses came forward detailing what they saw; technology not of this world and alien bodies.
Compelling Evidence of the 1947 Roswell Incident
The museum goes into way more detail and has recordings from witnesses confessing to what they saw. Interestingly a lot of the witnesses were close to their death. There are a lot of claims of harassment from the government to the witnesses. So the witnesses would publicly tell their story when they knew they were close to death.
In the museum there are exhibits of alien autopsies and other significant alien abduction and UFO sighting cases. Check out Betty and Barney Hill and Travis Walton if you want to hear some creepy stories. Even if you don’t believe aliens this museum is super fun and interesting. There’s even a Mayan exhibit that has what is believed to be a man blasting off in a rocket ship. Some of the stories and images are actually pretty creepy. I’m more into the ghost side of the paranormal so some of this stuff freaked me out.
Roswell is all about the Aliens
Surrounding the museum is gift shops selling alien related merch. I grabbed myself a neon alien head sign. Roswell also hosts a festival every July called the UFO Festival. It has a parade, a costume contest, live music and an expert speaker panel. It attracts thousands of people across the world.
So, the town of Roswell and the UFO museum are a must if you are a believer of extraterrestrials. But this blog is about me going to paranormal hot spots and poking around. I do this for you dear reader but also I needed a new hobby. So I stayed the night to look for UFOs and the possibility of being abducted. Because that’s the dedication I’m putting into this blog goddamnit.
Camping outside Roswell
And I couldn’t just stay at a hotel in town, not even the Days Inn with the sign featuring aliens. I went out to the desert to camp. To be able to see any UFO without any light pollution, and to be an easy target for a flying saucer.
The closest place I found to camp by Roswell was Bottomless Lake State Park. It’s about 12 miles east of Roswell. Now I don’t like to talk a lot of smack but I am originally from Colorado. I’m used to pristine camping and outdoor recreation. Camping at Bottomless Lake State Park was, well, how do I put this? I don’t think an offer in monetary terms under seven figures would get me back to Bottomless Lake. No shade New Mexico. The Northwest part of New Mexico is amazing. But southeastern, not so much.
Looking for UFOs
Anyway I get to the campsite mid-afternoon. I set up camp, make dinner and wait for nightfall. There isn’t really anything to do other than swim in the lake. I’m no lake expert but I feel like pond would be a better term. I read a book I have on haunted places in Seattle. As I’m reading and the sun is setting out of the corner of my eye I see some movement. I thought maybe someone’s dog wandered over, but nope it was a raccoon. We both scared each other.
Star Gazing Outside Roswell
It finally gets dark enough for me to look to the sky. I’ve lived in cities my whole life and have so few times seen the Milky Way with my own eyes. It is glorious. After a few hours of looking for UFOs I decide to head to bed.
I did not sleep that whole night because I was being harassed by a bunch of raccoons. All night they were messing with me. I was using a small one person tent that has a low roof. It’s made to be space efficient when packing so it’s not the roomiest tent. At one point a raccoon tried to jump over my tent landing on my legs, absolutely traumatizing me. And all night I heard little sniffs around my tent.
Creatures more Terrifying the Aliens
The next morning as I’m packing up, one of the campers from the campsite next to mine comes over. He asked if the raccoons were messing with me all night as well. Apparently Bottomless Lake State Park is raccoon country and we were the trespassers.
When I think about it now it’s hilarious, but I was so angry that night. So do I recommend you make your way to Roswell? If you have any interest in UFOs or aliens, then yes 100 percent. It’s super interesting to see how that town has based its identity around the 1947 incident. Also learning at the UFO Museum honestly made me question what I believe about UFOs. You don’t need to camp outside of Roswell, I can assure you.
Happy Hunting
Thanks for reading and be sure to check out The Witches Wardrobe for some merch. Your support goes to funding the paranormal adventures of The Forgotten Grimoire.
