We're going to Rachel!

[SpunGirl]

So Jake and I are driving to Rachel, Nevada in about thirty minutes. It's only got 98 people in it (according to the thing I read, population peaked at 175). It's the closests town to the Area 51 buffer zone where they can shoot you if you cross the line, and site of all sorts of wacky happenings.

We're going to poke around the old ghost towns and mines in the area and then go watch the people who watch for spaceships every night. They even have some big UFO convention there every year, but we decided to go on an off weekend (that seven room hotel tends to fill up fast!)

So if I don't return, it means I got kidnapped by an Alien.

-K

[Artha]

Watch out for probes.

[Kitsun]

Yeah, go down fighting! Never let them get those anal probes near you!

[SpunGirl]

I will not be probed.

-K

[TheEschaton]

You do not realize how hard I am fighting to not make any comments on that "I will not be probed" bit.


-TheE-

[SpunGirl]

By Aliens! By ALIENS, DAMMIT!

-K

[HarmNone]

Hmm. You might want to withhold comment until you actually see an alien, Spun. Who knows? To be probed, or not to be probed, might depend on the alien doing the probing, eh?:O

HarmNone, who has not met an alien.....yet

[Hulkein]

I've met an alien.



His name was Pablo and he was mowing lawns.

[SpunGirl]

Originally posted by HarmNone
Hmm. You might want to withhold comment until you actually see an alien, Spun. Who knows? To be probed, or not to be probed, might depend on the alien doing the probing, eh?:O

HarmNone, who has not met an alien.....yet

That's a good point, HN! I'll keep it in mind.

-K

[DianaBanana]

What if the alien looked just like Brad Pitt?

[Sean]

Once again, not jealous.

[Weedmage Princess]

I'm jealous! I love stuff like that!!!

Make sure you dish all the dirt when you get back!

[Souzy]

Originally posted by Hulkein
I've met an alien.



His name was Pablo and he was mowing lawns.

LOL. That was cute.

[FinisWolf]

Have a blast Spun!

Finiswolf

[SpunGirl]

Hee! Ok, here are the details about the epic trip to Rachel.

It's about a two hour drive through some really desolate areas, but I was surprised at some of the stops on the highway. Specifically, towns like Alamo, where there's a LOT of greenery, a big lake, and some farms. Before we actually got to Rachel, we stopped at the "Black Mailbox," which is actually white now (it used to be black). It's the mailbox for the Medlin family, which owns a huge ranch just 15 miles outside Area 51 with lots of cows. It's open range, too, so you have to watch for them on the road.

We stopped at the Black Mailbox because apparently lots of people see lots of weird things there. It was only about 2pm, so nothing weird. We drove into Rachel and checked in to our "room" at the Little Ale'Inn, the only motel in town. "Motel" is kind of loose, it's actually a souvenier-store-slash-cafe with a collection of about six trailers behind it. Our room was in one of those trailers, which was furnished with old but clean furniture and had a guy named Joe staying at the other end of it.

We put our stuff away and drove around the town, which took about 15 minutes driving REALLY slow. Then we took a dirt road out to the "back gate" of Area 51. There's a guardshack there but there didn't appear to be anyone in it. There were double-arm gates like you see at a railroad crossing and plenty of No Trespassing signs. We saw a few security cameras mounted on light poles. We didn't take any pictures, because there were a few signs that said "Photography of this area is prohibited."

We poked around town a little longer before we had dinner at the cafe and then watched the X-files movie in our trailer-room. (No TV there, but they had a video library). After it got dark we drove back to the Black Mailbox and sat out on lawn chairs for a few hours, waiting to see something. We saw... nothing. A few satellites and some shooting stars, but no weird orbs or even planes flying overhead. I read that there's a black hawk helicopter that patrols the perimeter of Area 51 that I wanted to see, but we didn't even see that.

Driving back was eerie, as was sitting out there for so long in the dark and complete silence. Not exactly a feeling you get very often in Las Vegas.

This morning we had breakfast at the cafe and talked to a few of the local residents who were there. There was this cool guy with long blonde hair and crazy unabomber-ish sunglasses. He told us a bunch of stuff about how when they're doing flights of weird spacecraft, they'll fly regular planes in the opposite direction to attract attention there. He also introduced us to another guy who was telling us about the agreement the aliens have with the US government. They both seemed totally normal, and we weren't there to scoff at these people - they were cool to talk to. I have no idea how they know this stuff, but they're clearly invested in their beliefs.

On our way out this morning we took Groom Lake Road (which is by the mailbox) all the way to another entrance to Area 51. These are all dirt roads. This road, unlike the back gate, had no physical gate on it, but plenty of No Trespassing signs. We stopped and pulled off the road about 10 feet from the gate and looked around. It was in the middle of a tiny valley with about 50-foot hills on either side. On the left side was a security camera pointed at the road. On the right side, we noticed a pewter-colored Chevy pickup sitting on top of the hill - definitely on the Area 51 side. We watched the guy watching us through our binoculars and his. After a few minutes a white Jeep Cherokee pulled up and appeared to relieve him - the truck left and the Cherokee was still there when we finally left. According to the sunglasses guy back in Rachel, there are sensors along Groom Lake Road that warn them when someone passes a certain point. They then drive to the top of that hill and wait until you go away. We waved, but they didn't wave back.

It was way fun! I'm lucky to have someone who indulges my desire for weird adventures.

A few interesting things I learned this weekend:

-Area 51 has two runways on base, one of which is over five miles long. This is twice as much space as is necessary to land the space shuttle.

-There WERE two peaks on public land that afforded a decent view of the base. A guy named Chuck Clark used to take a lot of pictures through telescopic lenses from that vantage point (that's how he knows about the runways, et cetera). Those peaks have been annexed since he published a bunch of those pictures, and you're no longer allowed to hike to them.

-Some people believe there are motion sensors all along the protected perimeter of the base (off the roads, it's still well marked). These sensors can also tell the difference between the amount of ammonia in a human's sweat versus an animal's sweat, so they don't get all into a frenzy over a bunny or a cow crossing the line.

-The Area 51 air traffic control tower identifies itself as "Dreamland" when communicating with aircraft in the area.

-The government has never officially acknowledged that Area 51 exists. Many people assume it's an Air Force base, but according to the people we spoke to it could also be a Naval base.

-K

(Edited for some spelling and re-wording. I don't write well when I'm tired).

[Edited on 5-16-2004 by SpunGirl]

[Weedmage Princess]

No photographs, eh? Hmm.

[TheEschaton]

A Naval base in the middle of the desert?


-TheE-

[Trinitis]

-The Area 51 air traffic control tower identifies itself as "Dreamland" when communicating with aircraft in the area.

Well, this answered something I've always wondered. Never did know why Art Bell called his weekend show "Dreamland with Art Bell". Answers that question.

For those that don't know. Art Bell is a late night talkshow host who used to do a 6 hour show for freaks and weirdos. All about aliens and ghosts an stuff. He is still on during the weekends, but he's basicly step down and let another guy run the show. He is getting pretty old now days. :(

Edit to add : Almost forgot, Art broadcasts from a building in his yard, which is suposed to be about 50 feet from the Area 51 "border"

[Edited on 5-16-2004 by LordAdredrin]

[SpunGirl]

Originally posted by TheEschaton
A Naval base in the middle of the desert?


-TheE-

The rationalization the sunglasses guy used was that the very first UFO crash, in the forties off the coast by San Diego, was handled by the Navy. Therefore, they've had their hands in it since the beginning, according to him.

He said it might also be a "hybrid" base, with personnel from both Air Force and Navy.

-K

[i remember halloween]

it's called tonopah

another cool fact:

the call sign of the 393rd bomb squadron (b-2s) is "death"

[Edited on 5-17-2004 by i remember halloween]

[SpunGirl]

Tonopah is the town that's like an hour from Rachel. It's also the location of a bomb test site, but that's not the same thing as the Area 51 base.

-K