Well, this has been a long week. I am currently in Deadwood, SD, but on July 4th I was in Roswell, NM. It was a normal 4th of July weekend, full of fireworks and snow cones and aliens. I love fireworks, but I am not a fan of 'patriotic' country music. I say this because that is what they blasted during the fireworks display. Still, it was a pleasant evening. After the fireworks a band called Ufoetry played.
They were strange but fun. All their songs were themed around the Alien lore that surrounds Roswell. We were not able to make it in time for the big costume contest, so it was nice to see some weird alien related stuff. I suppose the lesson of the trip is 'Do your research', because not only did we miss the big costume day, which was only on Friday, but we also missed Saint Thomas' very own Julian Sands! Apparently he was one of the guest celebrities for the UFO Festival. Unfortunately he left 2 hours before we got to Roswell, oh well. Someone at church will have to ask him what I missed.
Anyway, we left Roswell on Monday (after touring the UFO Museum, of course) and headed up to Las Vegas, NM; another example of why you should always do research before going somewhere. Doc Holliday was said to have been in a noted gunfight there before following Wyatt Earp to Tombstone. The problem is, while Las Vegas, NM tries to promote its historical points in brochures, it does very little to actually preserve its historical sections of town.
So we moved on. We went to Chimayo which is a place that is known for its sacred dirt. There is a shrine run by Roman Catholic friars.
The picture to the left is outside the church; no picture taking is allowed inside the chapel. In it is a room filled with children's shoes, crutches and walkers; all left there by people who were cured by the earth found in that region. Next to the chapel there is a well, of sorts, filled with the earth. From there we went to see the Anasazi cliff dwellings,
which were pretty amazing. Then, in conjunction with our Wild West theme, we stopped by the St. James Hotel. Now we are in Deadwood and had dinner at the #10 Saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed. It is not the original #10, that one burned down a couple of years after Hickok was killed, but they had this cheesy reenenactment of Bill's murder and it was all Saloon themed, it was fun.
This morning we leave to go to Devil's Tower, Mt. Rushmore and other monuments.
You seem to be having a great trip Shireen!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a good book now called "Appetite for America" and it's about how fine restaurants at train depots helped "settle" the old west. There is a big chunk about the Montezuma Hotel in Las Vegas, NM. Was one of the first tourist-luxury attractions of its kind (built by the hot springs for "medical healing"). Did you find any information on it?
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