We're going to Vegas! I'm so excited about this trip not only because it's Vegas,
but also because we're driving there
We're going all the way from Austin, Texas, here, to Las Vegas, Nevada
If we were doing that straight it would be a total of 19 hours, but of course we're not!
We're stopping in several cities along the way. So we're planning to drive for 2 days
Maybe stay on the road for 12 to 13 hours a day, and we're leaving tomorrow
We're going to sleep in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and I can't wait for this road trip
It's 6 in the morning, we left home at about a quarter or 20 to 6am
It's going to be a long trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico
I expect about 11 hours
We're not using the main interstate highways, we chose some alternative routes
because here there are no tolls,
roads are really good, and you end up basically at the same speed
We're here now getting to know San Angelo, which is one of the main cities in the west of Texas
The old town is really well preserved, really charming, and I love the artwork
Interesting contradiction here in West Texas... The landscape is covered with oil rigs
and at the same time, windmills
Unique to the United States, property owners also own the rights
to what's underneath the surface
So all these farmers are probably millionaires
Welcome to New Mexico! Back there in Texas it was 1:30 in the afternoon
Now here, 12:30 pm! New time zone,
we just gained another hour
Next stop: Rosswell
You may have heard of Rosswell
This is a city with a different kind of history
In 1947, rumor has it that a UFO landed in a farm nearby
The government of course denies. They explained it was surveillance balloon
But people never believed.
Over the decades the story just grew
There was a conspiracy theory in the 70s
People believe some ET's survived and they were taken to Area 51 in Nevada, and so on
Well, the city lives off of this myth
I'll now go check out this museum. It tells the story about the UFO's
Well, they really believe a flying saucer with some ET's fell down in this area here
and they do everything they can in the museum to prove it
People here guaranteed they saw the ET's but the military claims that
they were wrong and in fact that what they saw where these dummies
Local people here later said that the military went to them and said that they
saw something they shouldn't have seen
This is the prop created for the "Roswell" movie in 1994
In Texas and here in New Mexico there are several cities with this same geography
You have the main square with the courthouse, and several buildings,
historical buildings around it. Here in Roswell it's no different
And this is the only place in the historic downtown with nothing about aliens
I was out taking some pictures and now I totally need a break
It's too hot here! When we left Texas it was 50 something degrees (F)
And now it's over 80 F
When you leave Texas and enter New Mexico it's very interesting how the landscape totally changes
Farms, agriculture and oil are gone
And now, just the desert
There are so many small towns here that look like ghost towns
And if you blink, they're gone
Next stop: Albuquerque, New Mexico
The main city here in New Mexico,
with more than 1 million people in the metropolitan area
And that's where we're going to meet the famous and historical Route 66
But I think it will be only tomorrow. Tonight we're staying in Albuquerque