Pacific Paranormal Research Society

AREA 51

GROOM LAKE EXPEDITION

There's something eerie about Area 51.

Maybe it's the long stretches of road where your only source of eye candy are sprinklings of sage, cactus, and open range cattle. Or maybe it's just the knowledge that you are headed to a location of a remote top-secret government location where sightings of alien spacecraft rub elbows with U.S. secret aircraft. Either way, in this location, it is easy to perceive everything that your travel experience awards you as untraditional and odd.

Area 51, also known as "Groom Lake," is located about 90 miles north of Las Vegas. The Groom Lake area is America's testing ground for new aircraft as well as nuclear testing. Because of its secrecy and the government's vehement denial to the American public of its existence, Area 51 has become the hotbed for UFO and conspiracy theorists. Adding to its mystery, Bob Lazar, a physicist who claims to have worked at the test center, claimed in a televised interview in 1989 that while working at Papoose Dry Lake-Area S-4, he witnessed and participated in extraterrestrial craft engineering and propulsion. Whether this is true or not, it has only added to the UFO and conspiracy fervor and helped validate many a persons claim of strange sightings in this area.

It was because of its mystery and the fact that we hysterically laugh in the face of kitschy adventures, that we rented a car and proceeded to make the trek from Las Vegas to Rachel, Nevada, to have lunch at the infamous "Lil Ale-Inn."
We stopped to snap photos of ourselves at the start of Hwy. 375, which is called, appropriately, the E.T. Highway. Interestingly enough, this road sign's location is in exactly the same spot where Groom Lake employees park their cars before being shuttled into the test center by the white or black "bus."

We decided early on in our travel plans to NOT to go down Groom Lake Road to view the sign that tells you they can shoot you if you pass GO. The government has their way with us each tax season, and we'd like to keep ourselves as unobtrusive to them as possible.

Even though we did not make the trek down Groom Lake Road,

we did see security personnel at the beginning of the road, standing outside of his white government pickup truck, nonchalantly taking a leak. As we turned around to take a photo of a sign we had passed, he hurriedly got into his vehicle and proceeded to barrel down this dirt road at an extremely high rate of speed. Apparently, the U.S. government does not authorize one in his position to pee close to the test site.

Odd (but funny) Experience number 1.

About a mile after we had passed one of the area's hysterical Cattle Warning road signs,

we saw the carcass of a dead cow on the side of the road. I'm sure the animal was hit by a vehicle, as it is not hard to ascertain that this happens here quite often. I'm also pretty sure it was the rancher's most expensive cattle, too. However, because it was right after the sign we saw, this made the location of the carcass sighting very surreal to us.

I must call this our Odd Experience number 2.

After a few more miles, we drove by the infamous "Black Mailbox" that has now been painted white. This is the best location to sit and watch for aerial craft from the test site. Many a UFO sighting has been had here.

It is also easily the most photographed mailbox in world.

When we drove by the "Black Mailbox" the first time, there was a car parked there already, facing out toward the highway. It was an unmarked, dark blue, older model sedan, not unlike those that the supposed Men in Black drive around in. On the driver's side, sat a woman with long brown hair, with dark, wraparound sunglasses, who was staring at us intently, while speaking into what looked like some type of walkie-talkie device. I'm not making this up.

Hey, okay- I'm sure most, if not all of this is coincidental and presumptuous on our part, but all these events do not make these string of experiences in Area 51 any less of an ODDITY. I must be honest and say that there was a lot of nervous laughter to be had inside of our vehicle at this point. And, yes, about this time we started to hear the musical tones of "The Twilight Zone" tinkling in our heads.

Totally Odd Experience number 3.

Right after passing the mailbox, we heard roaring and rumbling sounds, so we pulled over, and got out to watch a couple of noisy, but brief, aerial maneuvers by 2-3 of the neatest looking F16's. They left some interesting trails in the sky before completely disappearing.

About this time, the "Woman in Black" must have decided we were harmless by infiltrating our brainwaves. After telepathically receiving our social security, criminal history and medical information, she made a right onto Highway 375, heading to the opposite direction.

All this in an area that "doesn't exist."

When we finally reached Rachel, Nevada, our little trip to "Big-Brother-Is -Watching-You-'Ville" was thankfully made fun again. We had a great lunch at the Lil Ale-Inn, looked at some really cool photographs taken by visitors to the area (visitors..heh heh..get it), and enjoyed the company of the owners and the locals who were just as cool as they could be.

After buying way too many cute Alien and Area 51 based souvenirs, we proceeded back to Las Vegas, where Martina was promptly abucted by a Red M&M.

Other than my shocking win of 50$ later that night…from a penny machine no less(thanking personal Deity), and the above M&M abduction, we thankfully, had no more odd experiences.

Yes, Virginia. There is an Area 51.

For more information on Area 51 a.k.a Dreamland, as well as the Lil Ale-Inn, please click on Marvin:

"Where's the Kaboom? There's supposed to be an earth-shattering Kaboom!??!"