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Friday, September 18, 2026

Crashes Make Some Fascinating Stops! Check Out This Week's Fast Five!

 I went to Greenville, Maine several years ago looking for a moose sighting.  I got that, but I also found one of the strangest things I ever saw.  A B-52 Bomber crashed there, and it had become a tourist attraction.  Such was the beginning of some pretty strange things that I've seen on trips.  Check it out!  I found five of them!  I've been to three!




































1.    The B-52 Bomber crash of 1963, Elephant Mountain, Maine.  It happened.  It was January and there was no road up to that area at that time.  Today, it's just a dirt road, not much more than a path through the trees.  When I first visited this area many years ago, I was driving down Lily Bay Road and started to see the yellow signs with the plane on them and B-52.  They didn't say site back in the day.  I love to explore and followed the signs thinking that they could only be talking about the giant plane.  



It's still there, or what's left.  This was at the height of the cold war and there were secret things on the plane, so after the initial rescue, the government came and removed what they had to and left the rest there.  It's still an interesting site when you can get to it.  The intrusive new timber company has all but shut off the road.  How rude.  And don't think about taking a souvenir plane piece away either.  That's a crime.



https://visitmaine.com/articles/b52-crash-site/   



https://www.mainetrailfinder.com/trails/trail/b-52-crash-site-trail   



https://themainehighlands.com/b-52-crash-site/   



https://lodgeatmooseheadlake.com/blog/2021/05/b-52-crash-site-elephant-mountain/   



https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/b52-crash-site   


































2.    The B-25 Bomber crash of 1948 at Round Top Mountain, Arkansas.  This plane was unarmed, unlike the Maine incident, but also, all five crew members died.  They were on a routine flight from Wright Patterson AFB to Little Rock in inclement weather, including fog and they just crashed.  Honestly, I think the military should be better at cleaning up their messes, but that's just me.



This one is a hike.  It's on the Round Top Mountain Trail and it will take you a while to walk it.  It's roughly 3.5 miles round trip to see this one, but on the other hand, there's nice views from the top of the mountain.  It's located at Round Top Mountain, which is close to Fayetteville in the Boston Mountains of the Northwest part of the state.



https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/b25-bomber-crash-of-1948-18524/   



https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-register/round-top-mountain-crash-site   



https://www.buffaloriver.com/hiking/roundtop-mountain/  



https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/arkansas/ar-plane-wreck-hike   



https://www.magnoliareporter.com/news_and_business/regional_news/article_17fd31ca-03e3-4d1f-8bab-e2797d636d33.html   


































3.    The very strange incident in Roswell, New Mexico, 1947.  This is the king of them all.  I love Roswell.  To this day the legend continues that on the night of July 7th, 1947 a UFO carrying aliens crashed on a ranch outside Roswell.  The government investigated and declared that it was a weather balloon.  That is what was said.



Out of this incident has come such folklore and legend that I don't think anyone could have imagined.  The entire town is famous and embraces the legend of the crash.  There's a UFO Museum and Research Center in the middle of town.  Everything is about the aliens in Roswell right down to the one that holds up a giant donut at the Dunkin Donuts.  I've never visited anyplace quite like Roswell, and I'm sure there's only one.  If you're ever anywhere near there, you need to visit Roswell, NM.




https://seeroswell.com/the-1947-roswell-incident/   



https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/roswell-ufo-incident   



https://www.history.com/articles/roswell   



https://www.roswellufomuseum.com/   



https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g47182-d17834836-Reviews-Dunkin-Roswell_New_Mexico.html   












































4.    The Crash of the Douglas C-47B in Gustavus, Alaska.  This happened back in 1957.  This military flight was on its way to refuel at Annette Island and that didn't work out because of the weather.  Surprise; it was southern Alaska, not far from Juneau.  They diverted toward Gustavus, and weather was bad, winds were bad, they had to try three times to land and on the third time, it clipped a tree and crashed.  The good news is that not the whole crew perished.  Seven out of eleven people lived.



If you'd like to investigate this site, that's fine.  It's off of Mountain View Road on your way from Gustavus to the Glacier Bay Lodge.  There's a marker along the road and the walk to the crash site is only about a quarter mile.  









 












 

















































5.    The Lynrd Skynrd Memorial Site, Magnolia, Mississippi.  This one is a lot less hike to it and a lot more tourist stop.  In 1977 several members were killed in the crash that happened on a farm outside of Magnolia.  The band to this day is wildly popular and therefore, the site of their deaths has become a memorial site visited by thousands of people from all over the world.  To this day, around the anniversary date of the crash in October, about 3,000 people visit this little out of the way memorial.  



The memorial is beautiful, made of mostly black granite, and is open daily.  It's a roadside attraction so it's free.  They don't have a good way to count visitors, but they do say that the people who take care of the memorial can say for sure that people have visited from at least 60 countries.




























And that's all I have to say about that.  As you can see, the government isn't real good at cleaning up the mess they make.  But all the unfortunate circumstances lead to some tiny towns having a little something to go and see that you won't see just anywhere.  I've encountered such things in a few places and they are fascinating.  I just ran across the Mars Bluff Crater in Florence, South Carolina recently.  It's just part of my theory that you shouldn't only visit the big attractions.  I've learned a lot about the people who live in the crash area from exploring the crash site.  It's unique and worth the time.



If you'd like to see what I'm currently up to, check out my YouTube Channel, "Adventures for Anyone with Terri Dixon."  That's me!!






I'm off to look at some early foliage and should have some great stuff soon!  Thanks for reading!  Follow for more little ideas!  Join me on YouTube for better visual aids!  Enjoy!
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