Post 74: Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell, New Mexico

Nov 15, 2017

Today we had to get some repair work done on the exhaust system on our truck. The exhaust manifold was leaking a bit because several bolts that had broken. Although it was not too bad, we thought it would be prudent to get it taken care of before we hit the mountain passes. Roswell, New Mexico seemed the best place to do this.

Roswell is a fairly large town and we inquired at an Auto Zone store if they knew of a good garage in town that could fix the exhaust. Right away they referred us to a garage called Wilson Header Manufacturing on South Atkinson Blvd. We drove there and spoke with a really nice fellow, I believe his name was Mark. Mark owned the business. Mark came out and listened to the engine, looked at it and said we had 3 broken bolts, thus the leak. He was surprised at the rust and asked where we were from: Ontario Canada Bill responded. Right away Mark understood (all the salt that is used on our roads).

Mark said “Well since your are passing through, be here at 8:00 tomorrow and we will take care of it.” Mark estimated between $150 to $200. Bill was a bit surprised at how quick he could fit us in and the price. The three broken bolts would need to have nuts welded onto the ends and then extracted. We were pleased at the $200, but we still expected it would be a lot more.

Discovering Roswell on foot

On Wednesday, Bill dropped the truck off and had to kill 4 or 5 hours. He decided to walk to Main Street in Roswell and walk up and down it to see what was there. The walk to Main street was a bit longer than expected maybe 1 or 1.5 miles. Bill then headed north and was fascinated by the style of the buildings.

In some regards modern, but in many other aspects, very true to the early years. Everyone that Bill passed on the sidewalks either nodded their head in a “Hello” motion or said “Morning.” Such a friendly and polite town!

International UFO Museum and Research Center

Maybe a mile up Main street, Bill stumbled on the International UFO Museum and Research Center. We had heard so much about Roswell and UFO’s. Since Bill had a bit of time to kill, he decided to take a look.

The museum opened at 9:00 am and it was exactly 9:00 am. Surprisingly, there were people already waiting to get into the museum. Entrance fee was very reasonable ($5.00).  According to the museum, 150,000 people visit the museum every year!

The museum focuses on a July 8, 1947 incident. Lt. Walter G. Haut, a bombardier navigator for Roswell Army Air Field, was serving as the Public Relations Officer for the  base. Under direct orders from Base Commander, Col. William H. Blanchard Haut wrote and distributed the now famous July 8, 1947 artical that appeared in the Roswell Daily Record, as well as on radio stations and news papers around the world. The next morning, the artical given to the media from Gen. Roger Ramey stated the “saucer” was really a weather balloon. This was the start of the best known and most documented UFO cover-up. Also included in the museum is information about other UFO sightings, Crop Circles, Ancient Cultures and abductions.

All in all, it is worth the $5.00 entrance fee!

Further explorations of Roswell

After exiting the museum, Bill headed north for a few more blocks, fascinated with the building structures and architectures.

Since it was 10:30, Bill decided to head back to the garage. He arrived there about 11:15 or so. Mark (the owner, who was also the mechanic) informed Bill it would be another 1 to 1.5 hours.

This confirmed our fears, it was going to be more than $200 lol. Bill then headed out and walked up Atkinson Blvd. To explore what it had to offer.

The Cowboy Cafe

After passing by a few blocks of businesses, it turned into a semi residential area. Arriving at 2nd St, Bill turned west because there seemed to be a few stores and other commercial businesses. Since Bill had been walking all morning he had worked up quite an appetite. He saw a restaurant that was visually appealing and the parking lot was full, he couldn’t resist! The Cowboy Cafe . What a fabulous restaurant. Bill had a burger and fries (he only ate 6 or 8 fries he claims!). The food was excellent, the service fantastic and the atmosphere was great. He loved this place!

Wilson Headers

After lunch,Bill headed back to Wilson Headers  for the bad news (so he thought). The truck was outside, that was good! Bill entered the office and spoke to Mark. He said it was stubborn, but it is done. The invoice was $200 plus tax! What a great surprise!

Bill had a nice chat with the fellow and learned a bit about his business had how it had changed over the years. Highly recommend Wilson Header Manufacturing!