Day 11: The desert is alive

My second breakfast in a row is neither worse nor better than yesterday's. Eating breakfast alone is not really my thing, so I'm grateful if there's something, but I don't usually need anything. I'd rather eat an apple in the car or bite into a bagel.

Today the journey takes me through the deserts of New Mexico, which of course are not sandy deserts. It goes endlessly over areas with sparse vegetation, interrupted by farms that keep horses or cattle. The roads alone to get out of here are incredible.

After about two and a half hours I arrive at my stopover, the Valley of Fire near Carrizozo. The place is very popular with campers and you can rent a spot here for little money. It is interesting for me because you can enter the desert on a path. Of course I still have respect for the animals here, scorpions and rattlesnakes are commonplace. And there is a warning at this place too.

Entering this unique landscape never ceases to amaze me. How nature manages to create incredible things from very few resources is, for me, one of the wonders of this earth. The almost 38° heat is not my thing, but for this short walk of around 2 km it is still bearable.

Then I return to the care of my air-conditioned car and drive the last two hours to Roswell. Most people will know the place because it is said that the aliens that the Americans are hiding from us have landed here. My hotel is cheap but offers enough luxury. Wobbly fittings included. And I can park in front of the door again.

After a short break, I go into town, but I quickly find that I don't like it there. The whole town is decorated with alien souvenir junk and even the McDonald's is shaped like a UFO. Totally crazy. And everything is completely overpriced. I decide to skip the museum that I wanted to see tomorrow and instead give nature more of a chance.