Our Impressions of Roswell
Geographically Roswell is in the southeastern area of New Mexico. It is at the convergence of three rivers: the Pecos, the Hondo and the Spring. Population wise, it is the 5th largest city in New Mexico.
We had no idea what to expect. We thought maybe Roswell with its connection to the 1947 “alien incident” would be rather touristy and kitschy. Yes, there was some of this. But we absolutely loved our stay!!
There were two parts of Roswell, the older more residential section and the newer more commercial section. The downtown area is a thriving, vibrant area with many stores, restaurants and museums. Plenty of free parking. It was never so busy we could not find a parking space near where we wanted to go.
The Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge was a surprise to us, and certainly a place to visit. It is only about 15 minutes from downtown, but it is one of the quietest places we have ever been. Except for the birds, it was complete and total silence. On the day we were there the only other person on the 24,563 acre NWR was the park ranger.
Please don’t pass by Roswell just thinking it is “an alien experience”. Roswell is so much more than that. It is definitely a place to return to!
Roswell Attractions
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge: One of the top biological wetlands in Southeastern New Mexico. The refuge was created in the 1930s to protect migrating sandhill cranes and other waterfowl. It has the Chihuahua Desert on one side, the prairies on a second side and the Pecos River on the third side. One of the quietest places we have ever been. It was mesmerizing. There are multiple hiking trails and a 6-mile driving loop. Bitter Lake was named for its distasteful alkaline water that is high in mineral salts, so much so that the lake can often have salinity levels that exceed that of saltwater! A must visit.
Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins Alien: Across the street from McDonald’s there is a 22-foot-tall “Alien” that weighs 2,000 pounds!!
McDonald’s is McDonald’s. But what makes this McDonald’s different is that it is the only McDonald’s in the world that has a unique spaceship design! It is just one of those must-see places!
POW/MIA Memorial, AKA The Iron Cross Park: During World War II, about 4,800 German prisoners of war were held in a camp just outside of Roswell. It opened November 26, 1942 with about 250 prisoners. While most prisoners worked on farms, a group of men worked in the city on a flood control project, paving the banks of the Spring River with stone. During construction a group of prisoners arranged rocks of different sizes to form the outline of the Iron Cross. Upon discovering the symbol, many Roswell citizens were incensed and subsequently covered the image with cement. However, after many years of erosion, the cross reemerged and can be seen once again.
UFO Museum: This museum has a very comprehensive group of memorabilia from the 1947 “incident”. There are actual documents and memorials from individuals about how “the incident” was handled by the local, state, and federal government. Locals were told to be quiet about what had happened or they or their families would be harmed. There is a claim that the original spaceship and the aliens were immediately whisked away by the Air Force to a base in Dayton, Ohio. It was interesting to see how such an event was covered 75 years ago. It made a believer out of us!
Downtown Roswell
It is a very visitor friendly town with lots and lots of FREE parking. Did I mention FREE PARKING? Meters are such a pet peeve of mine. Meters discourage our visiting downtown stores and restaurants.
There are lots of stores, businesses, museums, and restaurants to choose from. Main Street runs for miles. The actual downtown is at Main and 2nd Street. If you take Main north of the city, you will be on the commercial section of town with many local and chain restaurants and big box stores (Walmart, Home Depot, etc.). If you take Main south of downtown, you will be on the older area of town with mostly locally owned small businesses and restaurants and bakeries.
Food
Antiqua Cocina Mexicana: This was an excellent locally owned Mexican restaurant located on North Main. The atmosphere was bright and cheerful. The food was flavorful and plentiful. The waitstaff was attentive. A very nice experience.
Cattle Baron Steak and Seafood: Surprising to us was that Cattle Baron is part of a seven-restaurant chain in SW Texas SW New Mexico. We are usually looking for a unique experience as opposed to dining at chain restaurants where everything is the same in one location and 500 miles away. Cattle Baron was recommended by a local and we were not disappointed. The atmosphere was great; the food was excellent. The wait staff was attentive. We would also recommend Cattle Baron!
Roswell Bakery: The Roswell Bakery is on the south side of town. We had the cookies. They were soft and moist. They were excellent!
Home Base: The Campground
For us, a campground is not our destination. Our RV is self-contained. Except for water, electric and sewer rarely do we use campground services or amenities. We are explorers, not campground reviewers!
We stayed on site 11 at the Trailer Village RV Park in Roswell. It is a very nice quiet campground. There was no road noise. 30 and 50 amp service were available. The campground was very clean and well maintained. The staff was friendly. Our full hook up (water-sewer-electric) site was on level hardpacked pea stone. Our pull through site was long enough to have both vehicles easily off the road. There was good cell phone coverage (Verizon) and a good open southern sky for our satellite.
Fun Facts
Roswell Seed Company is the oldest, continuously family-owned business in New Mexico.
It opened in 1898 before New Mexico was even a state and has been passed down from generation to generation.
Leprino Foods, located just south of Roswell, is the world’s largest mozzarella producer in the country. They process 6 MILLION pounds of milk a day or about a third of the milk in New Mexico!!
Population: 48,081
Elevation: 3,573
Founded: 1869. However, the Mescalero Apache and Comanche tribes are known to have lived in the area from at least the 1400s.
Average income for a single person: $23,124
Average price of housing: $220,000
Median age of the population: 35
https://roswell-nm.gov/1248/City-of-Roswell
Summary
We were impressed with Roswell and all it had to offer! It was an amazing place that we look forward to going back to.
Since beginning our full-time journey to discover the country, we have found something to appreciate in every city and town we have passed through. We hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we have enjoyed discovering them!
| No person, business or attraction has paid us for an endorsement. AI has not been used to create any of the content in this blog or website. All of the photos in this blog and website were taken by Dave or Kathryn Harrington. |
Your partners in travel,
Kathryn, Dave and Lucky
RVing Nomads
It’s a lifestyle
Thank you so much for reading this blog. If you enjoyed the content, please check out other blogs at:
https://rvingnomads.com
https://relationshipsrelearned.com
To be notified of future posts, please enter your email address and click on the Subscribe button.
If you haven’t checked out our Special Places & Recommendations page, please do so. If you are in these areas, you may find these places as enjoyable and rewarding as we did!