Page 233 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

SOUTHERN NE W MEXIC O  231

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST f Roswell
Road map F4. * 48,300.
Practical Information n 912 N. Main St. (575) 624-7704.
Road map F5. 3225 National Open 8am–5pm Mon–Fri.
Parks Hwy, Carlsbad. Tel (575) ∑ roswellnm.com
785-2232; (877) 444-6777 (tour
reservations). Open late May– Once a small ranching town,
early Sep: 8am–7pm daily; early Roswell is now a byword for
Sep–late May: 8am–5pm (Natural aliens and UFOs, due to the
Entrance); call for last entry times. Roswell Incident. The Inter­
Closed Dec 25. & 7 partial.
8 ∑ nps.gov/cave national UFO Museum and
Research Center is devoted
Transport to the investigation of visitors
k to Carlsbad. @ to White’s City. from outer space and features
an extensive collection
of newspaper clippings,
Butterfly and lobelia flowers, Living Desert photographs, and maps of
State Park the crash site. A 70-minute
film contains over 400
d Carlsbad interviews with people
Road map: F5. * 28,000. n 302 S. connected to the crash.
Canal St. (575) 887- 6516.  Roswell’s highly respected
∑ carlsbadchamber.com Museum and Art Center
houses a collection of 2,000
Bat Cave The town of Carlsbad artifacts on the history of
Most summer evenings is located just 20 miles the American West. The
at dusk, clouds of free- (32 km) northeast of fascinating Robert H.
tailed bats emerge from Carlsbad Caverns Goddard Collection
the bat cave to cross the National Park. It has a details 11 years of his
desert in search of food. relaxed, small-town experiments (see p191).
atmosphere, and there
Doll’s are plenty of hotels as Roswell’s Alien E International UFO
Theater well as opportunities Zone symbol Museum and
for outdoor activities. Research Center
The Pecos River winds through 114 N. Main St. Tel (575) 625-9495.
town, there are three lakes, Open 9am–5pm daily. 7 &
and fishing, boating, and water- ∑ roswellufomuseum.com
skiing are popular pastimes. E Roswell Museum and
At the northern edge of town, Art Center
the Living Desert State Park 100 W. 11th St. Tel (575) 624-6744.
has exhibits focusing on the Open 9am–5pm Tue–Sun (from 1pm
ecology of the Chihuahuan Sun). Closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving,
Desert (see p24). Dec 25. 7 ∑ roswellmuseum.org

The Roswell Incident
Near midnight on July 4, 1947 an unidentified airborne object crash-
landed during a storm in the Capitan Mountains, 75 miles (120 km)
northwest of town. Jim Ragsdale was camping nearby and claims to
have seen a flash and a craft, 20 ft (6 m) in
diameter, hurtling through the trees and the
Painted bodies of four “little people,” with skin like
Grotto snakeskin. However, Ragsdale did not tell his
story until 1995.
The US Air Force issued a statement that a
0 meters 100 flying saucer had been recovered, and the
story spread around the world. By July 9,
0 yards 100
however, they said it was just a weather
balloon. Witnesses were allegedly sworn to
Tours
secrecy, fueling rumors of a cover-up and
Big Room route alien conspiracy theories to this day.
Natural Entrance route
King’s Palace tour
(Ranger-guided only) Officers examine “alien” material

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