We Like Roswell, NM

This was no April Fool's Day joke. Again, we spent a thoroughly pleasant day enjoying some of the sights of Roswell. Having been here before, we had no interest in visiting the UFO storefronts again...however, there was something we did want to see again. But first...

Chisum, the 1970 movie starring John Wayne, was based on the life of John Chisum who owned an enormous cattle ranch in this area in the late 1800s and built his home near Roswell. This bronze statue of him and his lead steer, Ruidoso, sits across the street from the historic Chaves County Courthouse on Main Street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a drive through town to reacquaint ourselves, we drove a few miles out of town to the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The Visitor Center is closed on Sunday and we only saw one other vehicle the entire time we were there driving around the area which straddles the Pecos River. Whenever we stopped and shut off the car, we would immediately take note of the total silence. That's not something we often experience.

This shot was taken from the deck at the rear of the Visitor Center, high above the lakes.

Note the red rock canyon walls on the other side of the refuge.

I'm going to share photos of the many species of fowl we were fortunate enough to see, not only for their beauty but to again share with pride what even an amateur like I can capture with my Canon SX40. Most of these were cropped to some degree but it is the incredible 35x optical zoom that makes these shots possible from such a distance. And no, I get nothing for raving about the wonders of this camera.

Heron

Egret taking flight.

An American Bittern

A pair of Eared Grebes

A pair of Spoonbill Ducks

Just look at how cleverly the American Bittern can hide in the reeds.

This wetlands area lies where the Chihuahuan Desert meets the Southern Plains.

It is so refreshing and surprising to see this in the desert Southwest.

Talk about timing...moments after I took a few shots of this pair of Cinnamon Teal sharing a log in the water with two turtles, the turtles swam away.

American Coots

A pair of Mallards...it seemed every couple in the refuge was taking a leisurely Sunday swim together!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while may remember that the first time we were in Roswell we stumbled upon the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art and have raved about it ever since. Yes, that is what we wanted to see again. Here are just a few of our favorites this time...some new, some repeats.

The painting below is one of many displayed in one of the museum's galleries by the artist, Don Anderson. He is the oil entrepreneur who began this museum and for whom it is named.

This full-sized bar is perhaps my favorite piece...you know how I love installation art. Aw c'mon, you know what to do. Have you found us yet?

And Rich's favorite is perhaps the golf bag shark, any one of them. This time there were only three on display.

The museum is everything we remembered and more so we will continue to recommend a stop there. This town is so quiet on Sunday; several of the restaurants were even closed. Lucky for us the Rib Crib was open because we had a wonderful dinner there. Please take time to check out Roswell if you are traveling in that area. It's so much more than just UFO stories.

Lovin' Life ~~ On a Peaceful Sunday