If there are two things in this world I don’t mess with, it’s ghosts and aliens. Today, we are going to focus on the latter of the two (please don’t haunt me ghosts).
Day 17 of my trip took me to White Sands National Park (we will talk about this at the end) and alien-haven Roswell.
One of my friends grew up in the town best known for its alien encounters, and I knew I had to visit it while I was in New Mexico. It may be a bit of an understatement to say this town is built around aliens. Roswell’s street lights, storefronts, and even its McDonalds are all themed around the extraterrestrial.
Like that is the coolest-looking McDonalds I have ever seen before, and to have the play area inside a UFO should be a national landmark of some sort.
To circle back to my first sentence a bit. I feel like aliens have to exist, and I don’t want to offend them at all by assuming they don’t. Like what am I going to do as a 5’9 (okay 5’8 and a half) tall man against a legion of intergalactic beings?
So I feel my best bet is to befriend these space travelers and switch allegiances to their side (it worked for Kevin Durant going to Golden State).
But in all seriousness, Roswell was a cool little town that I wish I had more time to explore. I left with a cool t-shirt, a little alien plushy, and an appreciation (and fear) of aliens.
White Sands, more like white lies
Let me get this on the record, this park is so cool and I recommend it to anyone who is in New Mexico. With that being said, White Sands prides itself on visitors being able to sled down the sand dunes like they are sledding on snow.
Before I knew this though, I traveled deep into the desert to find the largest hill I could. With my cardboard window cover as a sled, I ran toward the edge. I dove toward the unknown, and then quickly sank into the sand, coming to a standstill.
I tried several different times with different strategies, all to no avail. I saw people who paid $10 at the gift shop for a waxed sled who also couldn’t sled at all.
If there is anything I’ve learned from this trip, the PR departments of these National Parks are truly top-notch. From these hills to the “world’s largest tree” (not even close to the tallest) at Sequoia, we are being played as fools.