UFOs and U-2s, Aliens and A-12s

BY DONALD R. PROTHERO

We are driving west in a black SUV across the “Extraterrestrial Highway” (Nevada State Highway 375), about three hours north of Las Vegas. The road itself is unremarkable—miles and miles of a ribbon of asphalt cutting across barren desert with mesquite and Joshua tree yuccas the only signs of life anywhere. Occasionally the road rises up from the low flats to cross a small mountain range, with jagged rocks exposed on all sides, completely devoid of vegetation. During the summer, the daytime temperatures here stay above 100°F for weeks on end, so few come through here. In the winter, the daytime temperatures are more comfortable, but at night it gets bitterly cold, especially if the desert winds are howling. It’s over 4400 feet in elevation, so some winters are cold enough that snow accumulates on the high desert surface, and may persist on the peaks well into spring.

After you pass through the tiny towns of Alamo and Ash Springs on U.S. Highway 93 (last gas station for 150 miles or more), and turn west onto Highway 375, you drive about 15 miles before reaching Hancock Summit, a mountain pass through barren rock that is the highest point in the region. You can get out of your car and look to the southwest, but all you will see is the Groom Range. Area 51 is hidden in the valley beyond, and there is no other spot in any direction where you can see the base from a paved road. You could make the strenuous hike to Tikaboo Peak to the south to see parts of the base on the other side of the range without incurring the wrath of base security, but at 26 (42 km) miles away it desn’t provide that much more information.

The isolation of the base was deliberate. Its location was chosen to be as remote as possible and impossible to see from the paved road. Until recently, the only way to see the base was by airplane. But the entire airspace above the base is restricted, so unless you want to be chased away by fighter jets, you don’t try to fly over it with a civilian craft. Then, when spy satellites and especially Google Earth became available, it was possible to get satellite images of the base. All these show are a series of airstrips and a bunch of buildings down on the valley floor next to the dry Groom Lake bed. You can infer that there is some sort of military activity there, but nothing worth getting excited about. It looks just like any other military airstrip in a desert.

Driving southwest and down from Hancock Summit, somewhere between mile markers 34 and 35, you come to a right curve where the paved highway veers off to the northwest. Straight ahead to the southwest is Groom Lake Road, the primary entrance to the base, left unpaved and unmarked and hard to find. If you veer off down this dusty road, there are sensors buried beneath it that will let them know you’re coming. After about 13 miles, you come to the first signs that warn you that this is a closed military installation, and that photography is not permitted. On the hills above the road are several lookout spots where the “camo dudes” (as some people call the security personnel) are watching you with high-powered binoculars from their white Jeep Cherokees or Chevy pickup trucks. If you stop and look around, you’ll see not only their vehicles, but also security cameras on posts, so the entire base security can watch you. Finally, at 13.8 miles from the unmarked turnoff, a final sign warns you that you are on the base perimeter. The signs not only warn you to go no further and that photography not is permitted, but also that the use of deadly force is authorized! These folks aren’t kidding! The perimeter is marked not by a big fence, but by a series of large orange posts spaced about 50 yards apart on the base borderline. As long as you stay in your vehicle and don’t cross the line, you’ll be okay. Lately, they have even begun to tolerate photography of the signs and the base perimeter. But if you drive past the signs, or get out and walk too close to the line of orange posts, they will swoop down, arrest you and turn you over to the Lincoln County Sheriff, where you will have to pay a steep fine for trespassing on a restricted military base.