Daylight Saves Time

The next day was to prove a lot less scary and a whole lot more fruitful. From the road Northwest of Rachel we could make out installations of some kind on the mountain tops. We scanned the terrain and saw no sensors in the ground, or anything else that said "go away." So we decided, with the previous night still fresh in our minds, to try this angle. From the road it was a fairly straight drive overland towards the range. Midge and the rest of our friends decided that maybe visiting the supply gate wasn't such a bad idea after all and they headed that way before we even got up that morning.

We got closer, and still nothing happened. No white unmarked jeeps or signposts warning death or dismemberment if we ventured too close. In fact it was quite pleasant. The ground here was flat and hard with surprisingly few unpleasant dips. We still kept the speed down to about 30 mph.

We could see that electronic detectors would probably not even be necessary from here. This range on which the installations sat provided an excellent view for miles in every direction. Based on our USGS maps these ranges came before the ranges that came before the base, and there didn't seem to be any way over them without coming close to one of these installations.

We stopped about a mile out, not really sure if we should get any closer. From here we could make out a lot of details about the installations. The one closest to us was a small collection of concrete buildings, at the center of which was a large concrete box topped by a huge white dome. The other buildings sat low and were hard to make out from our angle. The base was dotted with metal framed towers that had two or three dishes attached to them each. Numerous antennae sprouted out of the center buildings. Yet the whole place seemed new. The metal was shiny and freshly painted. The cement block in the center looked new. No discoloration, rust stains or weathering. Clearly the base had not been there that long.

About as close as we ever got was this shot -- taken with a zoom lense -- to any installation. What it was, we don't know. It was built on a hillside only recently purchased by the U.S. Government. Even at this range, you can see the cement structure supporting the white dome is pretty new looking.

We parked and set up the camera, tripod and zoom lense. We got five or six good shots of the facility before finally quitting while we were ahead. Moving South, we came upon a low ridge, but this too was dotted with towers. The ridge was definitely smaller but we could still find no way to easily drive over it. In fact, there was some evidence that the earth had been moved from the bottoms of these hills, making an effective cliff of up to 20 feet in height. This would make it difficult to climb and all but impossible to get a vehicle up. Whoever laid out these arrays did so in a manner that discouraged any kind of travel around or over them. According to the maps we were still just outside the wildlife refuge. It was a heck of a lot of security for a bunch of wild horses.

We had skirted perhaps six miles of this side of the "refuge" when it began to get dark. No way were we going all the way out here and not seeing a light show. We pulled back some from the ridges and waited. About two hours after sunset we saw a few flashing lights easily identifiable as aircraft but nothing more. No balls of light traveling at impossible angles or triangle-shaped craft buzzing us. It was actually very quiet and relaxing. Finally about 9 p.m. we called it a night. We had reservations at a hotel in Tenopah and a nice bed and shower was starting to sound pretty good.

Arrays like these are a fairly common sight in the area. These did not appear to have any personnel attached to them.

I took this one not far from Ash Springs. What the facility was we could not tell, as it was well-away from the base (on the map anyway) but I was more interested in the craft flying above the facility. Whatever it was, it was small and it was fast. You can barely make it out on this photo, just above and to the right of the largest tower.

The Blue Light Special

We once again returned to the E.T. Highway and headed Northeast. I was busy fumbling for my Foo Fighters CD when Troy said that a blue ball was following us. And sure enough we could make out a blinking blue light about a mile from us in the air. Because it flashed on and off it was hard to tell if it was moving any closer or further way from us, but it did seem to be keeping pace with us.

Mike began flashing his lights behind me. I called him on his cell phone and told him that I did indeed see it. He said he didn't like the feeling he was getting from this blue thing and that we might want to speed up a little. Troy echoed the sentiment, though that didn't stop him from videotaping the thing.

I wasn't feeling all too secure about this thing either, but with only half a tank of gas and 100 or so miles to go until Tenopah I didn't think speeding was such a good idea. After arguing with Mike about it we decided to simply maintain our current speed of 70 and see if this thing got any closer. After a few minutes, it definitely grew closer. Instinctively I sped up but that only seemed to make the blue orb come closer. I tried to keep my eyes on the road. After all, I didn't relish the idea of hitting a cow at this speed any more than I wanted whatever it was out there to catch us.

I couldn't help myself. The blue light would blink on and I found myself staring intently at it in the millisecond it took before it blinked off again. I wanted more than anything to see what kind of a craft it was that produced this light. No good. Neither I nor anyone else on the road could see the craft clearly enough to make out anything more than a round light. I wanted to investigate further, maybe see if it emitted a sound, but that would mean rolling down the window and I did not want to chance that.

"Go away" I heard Troy mumble aloud to himself. I was thinking the same thing. If it would just go away. I looked at the speedometer. I was now pulling 100. Mike's truck, equipped as it was with a V-8, surged past me on the highway. This was getting nuts! We'd be out of gas in no time with no gas station or any other sign of life in sight. A million fears raced through my mind. I didn't want to run like this, but felt like I could do nothing else.

"A phone," Troy called out.

"What," I said. His announcement brought me out of my shell.

"That sign back there said there was a phone," Troy explained. "A gas station or something."

I tossed a look back but knew I wouldn't see anything. By the time our little exchange was finished that sign was probably miles behind us anyway. I could still see the blue flashing light out of the corner of my eye. I didn't want to know how close it really was. It was bright enough that I didn't want to know.

Up ahead we saw a single light that appeared to be illuminating a clump of buildings of some kind. Would this blue thing pursue us to an inhabited area? Lord only knew but I didn't see too many options at that moment. I hit the gas for the remaining mile then slammed on the breaks when we reached the light post.

It was the most deserted truck stop I'd ever seen. For some reason Mike had stopped there are well. He and John had jumped out of their truck and into the building across the way. They came out as soon as we saw the blue orb had veered off into the desert.

There were two buildings, one on either side of the highway. The one we pulled in front of was obviously a gas station at one time, done in the architecture a la late 70s Shell. All the windows were boarded up with rotting plywood and there were only a pair of holes where the gas pumps used to be. Whoever abandoned this place picked it clean first a long time ago.

Across the highway was a dilapidated old store with the frame of what I was sure was a Stop N' Go sign crumbling off the roof of it. This one didn't even have any boards in its windows, just open holes where windows used to be.

The phone looked intact though and I ran to pick it up. It worked to my amazement. At least there was something here that could be used. Of course the key pad on the phone itself was so punched in dialing would be a challenge. We had a cell phone, so I honestly don't know why I even bothered with that phone. Curiosity I guess.

"Welcome to Warm Springs," Troy read off as he looked at the map in the truck. The rest of us were too busy walking off our nervousness. They are supposed to update those damn maps every year. God knows that's how they try to sell them to you. "New for 1999! With hundred of new updates!"

Apparently no one pays any attention to Nevada.

The good news was that we were only 50 miles or so from Tenopah. No sooner did we enter the town than we saw our choice of several hotels. All nice ones, I might add. The next morning we were pleased to see we really were back to civilization. A McDonald's sign poked up over the hill by the junction. When you see that, you know you're home.

Reflections

So what did we come away with from Area 51? Well, a newfound respect for Ford Motor Company for one. My Explorer really held up under the worst situations imaginable. No wonder it's the best-selling SUV. I also learned not to trust maps. Ruins where towns were listed. Government electronic detection facilities guarding a "wild life refuge."

Seriously, though, I came away learning that there still is a lot of activity out there at Area 51, no matter what the media says. For a facility that supposedly moved to Colorado or Utah, it has sure expanded its size. I think what the reports of less activity are reflecting is that people just can't see what's going on inside the base anywhere nearly as much as they used to.

I took this one as we sped past in the middle of the night. I could not believe how well it turned out.