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Southwest UFO Tours

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Jeff Crowell

Jeff Crowell

Paranormal Annoyance
I'm considering going on a UFO tour in the American southwest. The tour's strictly pop-culture and all that; filled with guided tours of Roswell and many nuclear test sites and such. I was wondering if anybody had done the tour and what your thoughts on it were? The particular tour we're looking at (a buddy of mine since the wife has 0 interest in going herself) seems pretty respectable. I'm not really expecting on 'seeing' anything but being from small-town Indiana think it would be a great trip for someone into UFOs and the American southwest. Any input from someone who's done the tour or been out that way would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, we're set to go in April, and I was wondering the average temperature for that part of the country around that time.
 
The scenery alone should be worth the trip. If you are into the history of rocketry, don't miss the Robert Goddard exhibit in Roswell. And the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff definitely has its own unique 'vibe'.
 
Sandanfire, have you still decided to go on this tour you were considering back in November? April is soon here, and I was just curious. As boomerang noted, the scenery is fabulous. I've explored the Southwest frequently since as a boy being driven across it EVERY year by my dad who would drive the whole family in the summer to visit relatives in Louisiana. Because both my parents were teachers we could do it. And my dad always had us kids in mind and he and my mom would make it fun by stopping at all the great sites and sights. I've since returned the favor with my sons several times over the years, one time flying us to Phoenix, renting a car, and just going at a whim. We stayed in good old Motel 6, cheap and clean. Another time I drove us down the east side of the Sierra Nevada on 395 to Williams, AZ, and we took the steam train to the Grand Canyon. After going (yet again for me!) to the Meteor Crater and into NM for Carlsbad Caverns and, yes, Roswell, back through Arizona. For the trip back home to northern CA we went into Utah and saw Zion, then north until I figured I could head west across NV, new territory at this point for me, but I'd promised the boys I wouldn't retrace the same route back. We ended up going across NV on The Lonliest Highway in the US, or is it in the world, I forget. Anyway, to end all this, I made a very stupid observation: I into NV spotted a mountain range in the VERY far distance. I said, hey guys, look, there's the Sierra Nevadas!!!! Remember we went down the east side of them on our way to Arizona!! Well, hours and hours of driving ensued, UP, UP, UP and DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, and then more. Like an idiot, I realized those couldn't have been the Sierras. I hadn't realized NV had so many mountains!
boomerang said:
The scenery alone should be worth the trip. If you are into the history of rocketry, don't miss the Robert Goddard exhibit in Roswell. And the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff definitely has its own unique 'vibe'.
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Hi Kim232, yup, in just over 2 weeks we're flying out. The tour we're going on doesn't actually go to Roswell so we're flying out 3 days early, renting a car and driving to Roswell. We've set up a private tour with someone who's been on The Paracast!!, and are hitting all the cool locations. Then it's back to Alburquerque for the "official" Top Secret tour.

I've talked to a few people even on the ghost hunting side of the coin and they've heard of the tour and give it great reviews. My family seriously thinks I'm going out there to "see something" but I doubt that'll happen....I tend to repel the paranormal ironically enough.....but just to sink myself in some of the pop culture and see some of the sites more famous, whether or not something really occurred there, is what i'm all about. Plus yes, I'm very much into the American Southwest these days, and hope to see some really beautiful sites. I'm from northern Indiana and all we have around here is corn fields!
 
Gene, I was wondering the same thing, but there's a link in Jeff's original post i just noticed. It does look interesting. Jeff, let us know how your tour went when you get back. I'd be very interested to know any details you'd care to share, pro and con, though I'd guess the pros will heavily predominate. Regarding my post earlier, I hope you don't encounter what my sons and I met with on our return drive on the loneliest highway in the US, highway 50, I think it is. We came upon a LITERAL plague of locusts! It went on for about 25 or so miles, HUGE dark brown/black fellows, most of them crawlers across the highway, though the whole phenomenon was clearly involving a large region. We pulled over several times to see them up close. Many, many of them were still in their nymph stage, just one molt away from their final molt to full winged adulthood. I have a very soft spot for insects, and beekeeping has been my hobby since boyhood, so I was doing these controlled swerves as I was driving along to try to run over as few as possible. It's true that this is one heck of a lonely road. We only very occasionally saw other traffic. Still, I'm talking about tens, no, hundreds of thousands of these guys, Heaven knows how many. Absolutely incredible. Have fun on your trip. Are you doing the nine day one, or taking the extension part too?
 
Sandanfire - wow, you're family has a great tradition in this travelling. I have been lucky enough to have visited many US states and although not actually paranormal, if you want to be made to feel small and insignificant by the majesty of nature I can recommend 'Sequoia National Park',in Southern California - it's at an altitude of about 6000' if memory serves me but anyway, as you drive up to it there are lovely large trees and you think, 'oooh, this is nice..' and then, you suddenly are transported, Alice in Wonderland style, into being a tiny human as the size of the trees suddenly gets ridiculous.
The enormity of some of those trees, the number of them and the amazing rusty red color - it is a sobering sight to behold and for anyone who has turned blase' about nature, it shakes your reality a bit like if you were swimming next to a blue whale.
Of all the places I've been in my life and the really good things I've experienced, this is in the top 3 without a doubt, likely number 1.
This place is almost paranormal in the weirdness and non-normality of these plants. Something you remember vividly for the rest of your life.

I am happy to admit Sandanfire that I am insanely jealous - if I didn't live across the atlantic I would make such a trip myself, money and time permitting. You cannot fail to have a fantastic time! Who needs Acapulco or Orlando, the southwest of the USA is one big theme park of some of the worlds finest natural things. And man-made too!
 
Gene - the Roswell tour is with none-other than Dennis Balthaser. It's about 2 to 3 hours and he drives us around Roswell to all the historical locations throughout the town. When we set it up with the guy from Top Secret Tours he didn't give us the name of the guide but sent us his link and I recognized it. I hit the ceiling when I saw it was Dennis because I always thought he was a really good guest on the program, and several other podcasts I've heard him on.
For the tour we're spending a day in Sedona and I've tried to hit Christopher up to see if he'd be available for a drink and a chat on the paranormal but he's not replied to emails sent through these forums nor on Facebook. I figure he's a busy guy.

Kim232 - We're renting a car and driving from Alburquerque to Roswell and could take one of three routes. Two of them take us on historic Route 66 and one of those would take us near the supposed crash site, but I think we're opting to take the faster, more direct route (still on Route 66). The trip is about 2.5 hours one-way according to Google so that's not too bad along unfamiliar roads in a desert environment I'm sure I'll love. Plenty to keep our attention but, hopefully, no plague of locusts, :) .
We're doing the Tour 2 listed on the website. Tour 1 ran over Easter and my kids' spring break so that was a no-go from the start. There were some really interesting sites on Tour 1 we will miss but Roswell was the one we really wanted to take in, which is why we made special plans to do so. From my understanding there weren't enough people who signed up for Tour 1, this spring, so it was canceled anyway, which is a shame because they had Stanton Friedman lined up to participate as a guest speaker on that tour.

Goggsmackay - We went to California near-10 years ago and I drove up into some mountains and hiked one of the sections of redwood forest. It was stunningly beautiful. My wife and I went on a ghost hunting trip in 2007 (that's how we started in the paranormal, actually) to Estes Park, CO. at the Stanley Hotel. Not only did we meet Rosemary Ellen Guiley (yes, she is as fantastic in person as on The Paracast) but we did get in a little hiking at the base of some of the mountains there. In 2008 I went out to Utah near Salt Lake for a work trip. Unfortunately I didn't have time to take any serious advantage of the scenery but was able to drive to the base of some of the mountains and take a brief look.
In all I've not been to any of the desert states and cannot wait for April to remedy that. By all accounts that I've seen and heard the Southwest is not only a paranormal buffet but awe-inspiring and hauntingly beautiful as well. My wife seems to think that there's nothing out there but dirt and holes in the ground (she terms the Grand Canyon as just a big hole in the ground) but if I can ever get her out there I think she'll have a different perspective.
 
Sandanfire said:
For the tour we're spending a day in Sedona and I've tried to hit Christopher up to see if he'd be available for a drink and a chat on the paranormal but he's not replied to emails sent through these forums nor on Facebook. I figure he's a busy guy.
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I am indeed a busy guy, but I seem to remember responding to your request in the affirmative. Shoot me the dates and I'll figure out my schedule and we'll make it happen.
 
Christopher O'Brien said:
I am indeed a busy guy, but I seem to remember responding to your request in the affirmative. Shoot me the dates and I'll figure out my schedule and we'll make it happen.
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Hi Christopher,

I double-checked my accounts and couldn't find your reply but you know how technology can be! No worries. We're going to be in Sedona on April 16th. Our afternoon is open, after lunch, for sightseeing and such and we're doing a skywatch later that night. Dinners on our own, too, so if you wanted to connect, pending your schedule, any time after lunch just let me know. If you're swamped, no worries! Just let me know and maybe we can network another time. Thanks Christopher.

Peace.

J.
 
I see you are heading out on your southwest tour in about a week. If you take along your computer ( no doubt you will), please think of the forum here. I for one would ravenously enjoy hearing updates, perceptions, feelings, anything you would like to tell us. I envy you your trip but at least I'd like to experience it vicariously. As i've told you, I've done extensive traveling in the southwest, so will be able to enjoy your trip in an armchair fashion. Have fun.
 
Kim323 said:
I see you are heading out on your southwest tour in about a week. If you take along your computer ( no doubt you will), please think of the forum here. I for one would ravenously enjoy hearing updates, perceptions, feelings, anything you would like to tell us. I envy you your trip but at least I'd like to experience it vicariously. As i've told you, I've done extensive traveling in the southwest, so will be able to enjoy your trip in an armchair fashion. Have fun.
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Hi Kim323,

Indeed, we fly out on Tuesday (going out early), so just a few days. I plan on bringing my tablet and brand, new Droid Razr Maxx, using Skype, Picasa, and Blogspot to document my trip and communicate with my family. The hard part will be making regular updates while lost in the excitement of the trip, but I will do my best, even if it's short little bursts.

Still, part of the tour is an online photo album put on the tour's website during the tour's progression. Go to UFO Tours - From Roswell to Area 51, click on Photos, then 2012 SWUFO Tour I and you can see the pictures of the phase I tour that's happening now! Pictures of my particular tour will be under the phase II tour in the same location. I highly recommend checking them out!

J.
 
desidragonfly said:
Too bad you did not have time to hit the SLV of Southern Colorado. Many crazy vibes there. Ask Chris about that when you see him.
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I will desidragonfly, if we're able to connect. I've read up a bit on the SLV. Unfortunately I won't have time to get out there while I'm there. Our days' are mapped out by the hour, pretty much. Our free time is so-so. Hopefully another time, though.
 
I had the opportunity last year to do a 2500 mile car trip with my hubby and 2 kids under 3 years old at that time. This journey started with a flight from FL to Vegas then a car rental on a majestic tour of Utah (Zion) down to the four corners, then to the Mesa Verde ruins (where the ancestral Puebloens, aka Anasazi, lived) to a yurt we stayed in at Crestone Colorado in the SLValley (for a few days to explore the Sand Dunes, my dreams and such) then to Taos and Sante Fe and across to Sedona then back to Vegas to catch our flight.

The whole trip took a few weeks and much was explored and enjoyed. I would have to say that the SLV was our main focus and I would go back in a heartbeat to learn more.

Maybe you can see it on your next trip. Meanwhile buy Chris' book so you can understand more about the area prior to going there. I did not get the book until the end of my trip. I just new about the area through my journeys to Taos and prior dreams.

I would like to go this year but we may plan a trip to down to the temples in Mexico / Guatemala instead.

Have fun on your trip and take lots of photos!
 
Well, I've tried to update my blog, Facebook, and even here but have ran into so many problems it's not worth trying to do. Picassa Tool doesn't work, Android doesn't make nice with the Paracast Forum interface, and the Blogger tool for Android is unreliable and clunky. It's so frustrating that I'm just going to take pictures and upload later.

So far things are going "okay." My friend and I are the youngest on the tour, at 41. The van is WAY too small for our group so that sucks, and we've ht some serious wind and snow. Still, it's better than being at home. BTW, Dennis Balthaser say's "Hi." He's a fantastic tour guide and I highly recommend his Roswell tour. Dennis is friendly and very converstional. He's also ready to come back on the Paracast. I'd recommend talking to him about the pyramids.
 
When it comes to smartphones, the best route is Tapatalk. It really works well, but you need the paid version to post.

We did a pyramid show with Balthaser some years back, and he's always welcome to return.
 
While we are talking about locations of various types, does anyone have any feelings about Bridgeport, CA on Hwy 395? Just checking.....
 
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