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168 and some shiny new American cars. But the hills and the valleys and the mountains and the dried-up river beds and the scrubby little trees are the same as greeted the pioneers. Once off the well-kept paved roads and onto dirt and gravel, you have no trouble visualizing the enormous cattle drives that once formed the basis for the New Mexico economy and the back- ground for a few hundred Western movies. Visualizing what happened in July 1947 is a lot harder. One of the most important events in history has left no trace on the land, and precious few details in the minds of New Mexicans. The land was scoured of every bit of wreckage of the 1947 crashes, and the memories of most of those who were involved have been effectively contained behind a wall of official se- crecy. The justification is national security, though "national insecurity" may be closer to the truth. The route to the Corona site begins along paved roads where sheep graze just off the shoulder, staring with intense curiosity as strangers motor past and then returning to their never- ending search for nourishment in the sparse grasses. It's then onto rough dirt roads offering fascinating views of the land and an occasional building, but few familiar signs of civilization. Finally a teeth-rattling drive on a crude path that could easily be mistaken for an accident of nature, except that it heads off from the single landmark you've been given. The site itself hardly looks like the place an alien spacecraft once spewed its parts following what must have been a cata- strophic accident. It looks like a thousand other places in cen- tral New Mexico: gently rolling hills dotted with tough little trees and bushes. The grass, thanks to no more than a few inches of rain each year, doesn't look like it could support much life, yet this is cattle country, and cows and sheep do eke out a living from it. In 1947, the scattered trees and bushes and grass were pretty much like they are today. Only they had company. One part of this inhospitable land was peppered with pieces of strange material, another part played host to a craft from another world, and still a third was the almost-final resting place for CRASH AT CORONA