I don’t believe in UFOs or aliens, but am certainly open to experiencing something that might change my mind. That was my attitude when I realized our drive to Alamo, Nevada, would take us along the Extraterrestrial Highway (SR 375). I had heard of Area 51, but never knew there was an entire 98-mile road named after these phenomena.
Why we were going to Alamo in the first place? Three years ago, Chris had read an article in the newspaper about a large-scale installation called City, by artist Michael Heizer, that was finally open to the public on a limited basis. He had been working on the land sculpture for more than 40 years. Although I had never heard of him or it, I love seeing random, cool things.
Don’t expect to just drive up to the City and buy tickets, though. The Triple Aught Foundation manages the project, which is only open to visitation between May and November, and limited to 6 people at a time. Interested parties must submit a request via an online form which is made available during a specific window of time once a year. You’ll need to provide them with three dates when you’ll be available. And then, sit back and wait.
The year we learned about City, we had already missed the submission window. The second year we applied, we didn’t get selected. This year, Chris was on top of things and sent in the form on the day it became available on their website, in early January. We learned in April that our request for November 5 had been accepted, along with instructions to meet at a designated place and time in Alamo.
We left San Francicso early Saturday morning and drove through Sacramento, continuing east on route 50, skirting Yosemite due to a road closure from possible winter storms, before turning south on 395 to Bridgeport. It was the only place where I could find an open campground. All the ones operated by the Forest Service had already closed for the season.
The Bridgeport Reservoir RV Park and Marina is in a beautiful location, right on the lake. There were a few RVs there already. After quickly setting up our tent, we drove to the northern end of the reservoir and did a short walk. Lots of people fishing, ignoring the sign for low-levels of mercury contamination.
It was still early when we turned back so we decided to find an OHV trail. The track to Bodie Ghost Town started off easy enough, a wide and compacted dirt road that went up into the hills. We didn’t have time to drive the entire route, so took at a cutoff that would loop us back to the main road. Not exactly a mistake, although it could easily have turned into one, but more than we had planned on.
The road was narrow and more rutted, so while more fun and interesting, it meant that Axle got a lot of pinstripes; not exactly the look we were aiming for. Also, when we were near the end, we reached a sign warning that we were entering a firing range and that the gates across this particular stretch of road could be closed. The gate right in front of us was open so we took a chance, hoping that we would not have to drive all the way around. When we reached the other gate, it was actually closed and we both let out a loud expletive in unison. Fortunately, we noticed tire tracks off to the side and confirmed that lots of people had come this way and just went right around the gate. Axle, while quite scratched up, was no doubt in his element.
After somewhat restless sleep due to the constant stream of noise – first from the wind which blew like crazy for several hours, then the pelting of rain/sleet against our tent, and finally early in the morning, the hooting of three owls – we packed up in record time on Sunday morning and drove to Lee Vining. The town was still waking up and we ended up at Nicely’s for breakfast.
Rather than beeline it for Nevada, we headed to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake and walked along the interpretative trail which meandered among the spires of the limestone rock formations, which could be found on land and in the water. Hard to imagine the water level used to be that far above us.
After exploring the otherworldly landscape of the lake, we found a sandy 4WD trail that paralleled its shores and would eventually take us back to SR 120. A fire must have ravaged this area a long time ago. We drove past acres of dried branches, bleached white like driftwood. It was hauntingly beautiful.
Back on the highway, we continued east towards Nevada, encountering almost no cars. My favorite lonely stretch was a section of SR 6 near Benton. It unfurled like a gray ribbon in front of us and the dips where fun to drive through.
According to the Travel Nevada website, Tonopah marks the start, or end, of the Extraterrestrial Highway, but there’s not a lot of ET-like activity going on here compared to the other towns actually located on SR 375. It’s primarily an old mining town with two noteworthy hotels: the Mizpah, purported to be haunted, and the Clown Motel, need I say more. We passed through, but on our way back, stayed at the Tonopah Station, mostly because it was the cheapest of the options. The other two probably would have been a more interesting, but neither appealed to me, because while I’m open to encounters of the alien kind, having read one too many Stephen King novels in my childhood means I don’t like to tempt the spirits.
Fifty miles past Tonopah we turned onto the Extraterrestrial Highway. There’s not much there; the asphalt continues in one straight line through nothing but desert. It could vie with Highway 50 for the moniker “Loneliest Road in America“, another roadtrip we did during the pandemic on our way to Great Basin National Park. Other than the occasional road sign warning of lowing flying aircraft, it’s only when you reach the town of Rachel, about 60 miles later, that the fun begins.
First, there’s a sign with the name of the highway on it. You might notice right away that it’s much taller than regular roadway signs. I was told it’s because people regularly steal them (there’s another one at the end of the highway before Alamo) so this was an attempt to make it harder to reach.
Just down the road from the sign is the Little A’Le’Inn, a small mom-and-pop outfit with a restaurant/bar. The place is decked out in alien paraphernalia inside and out. We stopped for some soup and apple pie.
Pat, the owner, was sitting at the bar, and I asked her how to get to Area 51. Without missing a beat, she told us to drive another 1.7 miles, turn right onto a dirt road where we might see antelope, and go 12 miles until we reach a fenced-off area. As other visitors came in, we left to go find Area 51.
We did find it. The turnoff was exactly 1.7 miles from the Little A’Le’Inn, and we did see a herd of antelope. I was impressed. There’s not much to say about Area 51 other than we approached it cautiously as Pat had warned us that they would absolutely confiscate cameras and phones and use deadly force if it came to it. The fence has all sorts of signs on it, most noticeably one indicating that any photos of the area were strictly prohibited. You’ll just have to take my word for it that we saw it and it’s out there.
Departing Rachel, we continued on the highway looking for the Black Mailbox, where people leave notes and oddities to the unknown. We never found it. I imagined it to be similar to the Mojave Road Mailbox we encountered when we did our overland trip through the Mojave Desert. I guess there’s something about the desert and the extended lonely stretches of road that make humans want to connect with others. Eventually the highway ended at the final attraction called E.T. Fresh Jerky. As we pulled into the lot we were greeted with more alien artifacts. I especially loved the giant UFO.
Inside, there was an entire wall of jerky, and more souvenirs. I asked the staff about the Black Mailbox and was told it had been stolen. She then showed me photos of the last several versions of the mailbox. It’s not clear if a new one will be erected.
Perusing the shop was fun. We picked up two bags of jerky for the road and drove to our motel, the Sunset View Inn, in Alamo. We did not make it to Hiko, which is north of the main highway, where there was another shop called the Alien Research Center.
It was sheer coincidence that we were given room #19, aptly named “Out of this World”. All the decor is alien-themed, from the bed covers to the towels and light switch plates. They even had the night sky on the ceiling. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to sleep with all these “eyes” watching me!
On Monday morning, we drove to Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge and hiked the Black Canyon Trail. It was a short 1.25-mile loop, but pretty as it meandered past small lakes and through the canyon where we saw some petroglyphs. We spent the rest of the day working from the room, surrounded by our alien friends. That night, we drove into a canyon not far from the hotel and spent an hour watching meteors from the Leonid shower streak across the sky.
Tuesday was our day to see City, the entire reason we had made this drive. We had been instructed to meet the driver at the offices of the Triple Aught Foundation in Alamo at 11:15, for an 11:30 departure. We arrived a little early, and were not the first ones there. Our group of six comprised two buddies from LA and two friends from Las Vegas. Ed was our driver. The seven of us fit comfortably in the GMC Yukon and chatted on the 90-minute drive to the site.
Ed drove us north, past Hiko into the literal middle of nowhere, where Michael Heizer has his home and studio right next to City. He dropped us off and after a few instructions, the main one being no photos or videos, he let us loose to walk around for three hours. It’s really hard to describe the project. The enormity of it meant that after the the three couples took off in different directions, we almost never saw each other again except for occasional glimpses of a pair off in the distance, which helped put a neat perspective on size and space. Walking around the pathways, going up and down, around and over, felt like walking through an American version of a Japanese zen garden. It was one of the most interesting walks I had ever taken and the three hours went by quickly.
Back in the car, we exchanged notes about the experience, learned about the history of nuclear test bombing that had occurred nearby, and almost ran into a herd of antelope crossing the dirt track. When we arrived at the offices, we took a group photo before everyone split up to go their separate ways.
I always enjoy a good roadtrip and this one had been an incredible few days, filled with many new experiences. While nothing definitively changed my mind about the presence of extraterrestrial life, on our last day, while visiting City, I saw a cloud formation that looked as if the universe was trying to send a sign. Was it really a UFO with a little man hovering just below it? Safe to say, it was out of this world!
