We headed down to Roswell, NM this past weekend. It is where our LDS Stake Conference is held twice a year. It's a couple of hours away. John was singing in a special Men's Chorus for the meeting which included an early morning practice, so we decided to make a weekend of the trip. We had already planned a hotel for Saturday evening, but thought we ought to try a night of camping. The youngest two have never been before. There is a small campsite a short distance from Roswell that is very family friendly called Bottomless Lakes State Park. I have to say that "lake" is used in the LOOSEST sense of the term. It should probably be called Bottomless Puddles. Anyways - we arrived around 6:30pm ( a little toooo close to bedtime) and got set up.
When we arrived, the camp hosts stopped by our site with a big bucket and asked the kids if they wanted to see a rattlesnake! A few days before, a camper had shot one that was trying to get in his tent. There are so many things wrong with that sentence. They hadn't been able to find the snake until that evening when a new camper was setting up camp. I have to say, the snake was the size of one you would see at a zoo. IT WAS HUGE! All in all - the wildlife seen on the trip: lots and lots of dragonflies, mosquitoes (8 bites and counting for me!), antelope, a tarantula, and some sort of humongous porcupine looking beast.
After dinner (in the dark) - we tried to get the youngest to bed. Evan wanted nothing to do with the tent. Anytime you put him in there, he tried his best to get out. John ended up taking him for a short drive (it was 9 pm at this point - 2 hours past his bedtime) to get him zonked out. Once he was asleep - he was ok - at least until 1 am when he woke up screaming. He ended up on the air mattress with John and me, so we didn't get much sleep. Other than that - we really can't complain! The kids did great! It was a chilly morning, so we decided to skip playing at the lake (they have a nice sandy beach and a playground), and headed in to the big metropolis that is Roswell, NM. It's sad - but it really is big compared to Clovis.
Evan escaping through the bottom zipper of the door. He unzipped it himself. Pretty clever little kid!
Roswell is known for the big UFO cover-up that happened back in 1947(?). We went to the International UFO Museum and Research Center and that was disappointing. It was nothing more than a glorified science project. However, it did make me interested in reading more about the "conspiracy". Roswell has fully embraced the aliens. I think it might be a requirement that if you own a business, you must have some sort of large alien sculpture outside your door. Not only that - it must be hideous. "Downtown" Roswell is complete with street lamps the shape of alien heads that glow green with black eyes painted on. This is not a joke.
Zane pretending to be scared of the "alien" in the glass and Lily trying to copy her older brother, but really kind of concerned about what is in there. 
Lily liked the "happy" alien.
Yes, I know, I look thrilled. I really was having fun. I was just squinting at John trying to figure out if he was ever going to take the picture!
We then spent the afternoon swimming at the pool and went out to dinner with extended family. It was quite a nice weekend getaway. Stake Conference was edifying even though we sat in the very back on the hard chairs. Zane played on uncle Dan's iPad the entire time, and Evan slept. Very good. It was really nice to have a fun outing!!
6 comments:
Excellent! My favorite part? "Roswell is known for the big UFO cover-up that happened back in 1947"
Hehehe you call it a cover-up....Love it! :)
Looks like lots of fun! Reminds me a little bit of that campground we went to once or twice...what was it Strawberry somethin?, complete with water slides :)
I believe that was the first I remember Dad telling us the story of the Wendigo! Good times.
Glad you had a nice little trip.
It was Cherry Hills and what the heck is the Wendigo?
This reminds me of the story I heard about a Bishop going out with the Scouts on a camping trip. As they were going to bed, he said to the leader next to him that he had never slept in a sleeping bag before. The other leader was amazed and expressed his amazement to which the Bishop replied, "I've been camping many times but I've never been able to actually get any sleep in a sleeping bag.
You're a brave mom! Luckily, Grandma Joleen always taught us that "we're not outdoor people" and I actually believed her. So all camping has been done by Russ and the girls . . . and that was only once, thanks to Chelsea.
awesome. I would have turned around and gone home right after I saw that rattle snake. Love the pictures...we miss your family!
Amanda, I think it was the Camp Steiner ghost or something like that. All I remember about Cherry Hill was not bringing our swimming suits (on purpose, perhaps, dad??) so we couldn't go on the waterslides!
Sounds like a fun trip, though. Camping with babies/toddlers is rarely fun and should be avoided if possible. But, I am glad to hear you still had a good time! :O)
wv: Caloo: "Caloo, Calay we'll eat today, like cabbages & kings!"
Post a Comment