Reach Your Outer Limits – A day in Roswell, NM

Last Updated on September 12, 2023 by

There isn’t a whole lot going on in the downtown itself, but they really sell the UFO thing to the max. It’s actually a very small and easily walkable downtown with the standard curiosity and antique shops, but every single building pays at least the smallest nod to their fame as the UFO center of the universe. I dig it.

Or sometimes, it’s a very large nod….

And sometimes it’s just in good fun….

If you’re just starting your day, I highly recommend a stop in to Stellar Coffee. Excellent coffee and very naturally they have a pecan blend. They also have sandwiches and wraps.

Roswell, of course, gained notoriety in 1947 for the debris field discovered in a sheep pasture alleged to be an extraterrestrial flying saucer. What I did not know was the actual crash site is over 70 miles away and today is barely recognizable as anything more than an indent in the middle of a field. Unless you are a hardcore extraterrestrial fan, I suggest you take a pass on the trip out there.

Roswell architecture is also influenced by its long roots as a ranching community. In the mid-1800’s John Chisom’s Jingle-Bob Ranch was the largest in the country.

Something else I did not know about Roswell is that it is a huge pecan producer, and a key contributor to making New Mexico the largest pecan producer in the country (overtaking Georgia in 2020 due to severe storms). Roswell also produces other nuts, fruits, cattle, and alfalfa, making Roswell a fairly prosperous area – it just doesn’t manifest itself on Main Street. Presumably there is a secret pecan tycoon club nearby hidden from the hoi polloi.

Downtown should take you an hour or two to satisfy your alien invasion curiosity. When you’ve finished, head out of town to the Bottomless Lakes State Park for some sightseeing or a swim.