I have the admittedly weird hobby of scanning Google Earth for oddities that I then go explore. One example of this would be when I found a place labeled “UFO Alien Crash Communion Wall” on Google Maps, near the ghost town of Arabela. So I drove out there to investigate.
First, we drove to Ruidoso, then through Ruidoso Downs. We then took 70 through the Hondo River Valley, turning off onto Hwy 368 near Tinnie. This little highway led us all the way back to Arabela, where it dead ends with a private gated ranch.
Arabela is only 23 miles from Capitan, but you cannot reach it by any public access roads from there. The way we went from Ruidoso is the only highway leading out there.
Turns out, the UFO Alien Crash Communion Wall is probably a joke by local ranchers. But the trip was not in vain.
The UFO Alien Crash Communion Wall is a circular depression of dirt just outside a posted gate. There were no aliens or UFOs in it, though the photos on Google Maps reviews were pretty hilarious.
The view of the Capitan Mountains were unrivaled. I had seen the mountains from afar countless times, but Arabela is practically in their shadow. You can see how rugged the mountains are.
The quiet out here is intense. The wind sounds like the ocean as it whispers through the pigmy forest and the tall rabbit’s foot grass. I didn’t even see a cow for miles. Check out some incredible photos at this cabin where you can stay in Arabela.
Arabela itself is a ghost town. There are a few historic buildings and one or two occupied houses. Most of the area is now ranchland.
Back in the day, however, Arabela was a place of tawdry fun. It was established in 1901.
In the late 1870s, three families settled nearby and called their community “Las Tablas.” The ruins of this town are a well-kept secret on the Block Ranch.
Sometime in the late 1800s/early 1900s, Andy Richardson moved nearby and opened a general store about 20 miles from Las Tablas. When he was made postmaster, he decided to name his little settlement Arabela after his paramour, Arabela Barela. Arabela and her two sisters, Damiana Barela and Carolina “Caro” Romero, were Apache. They were involved in sex work and operated brothels all over the area. Supposedly Arabela was a place where men came to enjoy the services of one of these brothels.
In 1928, the post office closed. The town is now considered an unincorporated community. There is not much information out there about this little ghost town, but apparently the oldest person to have ever lived, a Navajo cowboy named Francisco Sais, settled in this area and is buried in the Arabela Cemetery. Legend has it that he lived to be 137!
And, also, an alien UFO crashed here. Though you can’t find it on Google Maps anymore…those who know, know. 😉
https://ghosttowns.com/states/nm/arabella-lastablas.html
https://nmarchives.unm.edu/repositories/17/archival_objects/353477
https://genealogytrails.com/newmex/lincoln/sais_oldestcitizen.html