Our journey on The Extraterrestrial Highway to Area 51 begins in west-central Nevada at the junction of U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 95 in a town called Coaldale 40 miles west of Tonopah…
(Can you find the Alien in the photograph?)
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Coal was discovered near here in 1894. And by 1911 the Darms Mine and the Nevada Coal & Fuel Co. were in operation. In the 1940s there was a gas station near the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad which later moved to the junction of Highway 6 and U.S. 95…
(Can you find the Smiley Face in the photograph?)
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In 1993 Coaldale became a Ghost Town when the service station was closed because of leaking underground tanks. In 2006 there was a fire that destroyed the whole lodge and store complex at Highway 6 and U.S. 95 junction…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Looking west from Coaldale at 4,000 foot elevation, we see across the Nevada border to the 14,000+ foot California Sierra peaks which are still snowcapped even in mid-July!
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Our journey continues in Tonopah, Nevada where we head east on Highway 6 towards Ely. Tonopah is a very interesting old mining town and you can see more of it here: https://www.adamchryslerphotographer.com/tonopah
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Similar to “Route 66,” U.S. Route 6 is transcontinental highway stretching from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. The Nevada portion was included in 1937…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
According to Locals the Tonopah Test Range, (also known as Area 52) is a place where they “Blow Shit Up,” including Nuclear weapons. It’s also where the F-117 Stealth Fighter was tested between 1982 and 1989…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Here we look west from the Test Range down Route 6 towards the town of Tonopah over the ridge. In May 2020 there was a 6.5 magnitude earthquake near Tonopah, which Locals say was actually an underground Nuclear Test…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Around the bend to the Extraterrestrial Highway, we are reminded of the experimental Low Flying Aircraft that strafe the landscape “as low as 400 feet Monday through Friday,” Locals say…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Welcome to Warm Springs at the junction of Route 6 and State Route 375. The first pioneer settlement here was in 1866 when it served as a stopover for stagecoaches and prospectors passing by to-or-from Ely and Eureka…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The hot spring flows from the hills above and there are handful of original stone ruins and dilapidated buildings still here…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The State of Nevada officially deemed State Route 375 “The Extraterrestrial Highway” in 1996…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Here we look east at Twin Springs Ranch... This stretch of 375 would be exceptional for a McLaren or Lamborghini to open-up-on, except that it’s an open-cattle-range… And the cattle own-the-road!
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Here the reservoir off 375 feeds the Twin Springs Slough where many of the Ranch’s cattle water themselves. This region is part of Nevada’s famous Volcanic Reveille Range…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Welcome to Rachel, Nevada the closest population to Area 51… It is a must-stop destination for road-trippers and UFOlogists. It was founded in May 1973 by a local alfalfa farmer, and named after the first child born in the Penoyer Valley…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Originally this was just called the “Rachel Bar.” Then in 1988 the West family purchased it and renamed it the Little Ale Inn. There was an error with the logo machine which printed it as the Little A’Le’Inn, and the West family ran with it…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The new bar was intended to capitalize on the mysterious lure of Area 51 after Bob Lazar came out and claimed he was hired by the U.S. Government to reverse-engineer extraterrestrial technology…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The owner says - “I am the only business, and have the only toilet between Alamo and Tonopah!” The Little A’Le’Inn boasts an international clientele and alien themed food n’ cocktails such as the Saucer Burger, and Alien Amber Ale…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In September 2019 “Alienstock” was held in Rachel bringing a couple thousand people to the town. The event was a result of an online prank called “Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us…”
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
There is lodging available at the Little A’Le’Inn, as well as camping. An Area 51 tour can also be booked taking people to the various spots around the base. More info can be scene here: https://www.littlealeinn.com/tour/
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Based on online articles - Bob Lazar is conspiracy theorist who claims he was hired by the U. S. Government in the late 1980s to reverse-engineer extraterrestrial technology at Papoose Lake, also known as S-4 next to Groom Lake - Area 51…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Lazar surfaced publicly in 1989 and claimed that the U.S government had nine crashed or captive spacecraft from another world with at least one of them shaped like an actual saucer…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Lazar also claimed he read US government documents that described alien involvement in human affairs over the past 10,000 years…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Although Lazar’s credibility has been in question, his claims have popularized the UFO genre, and defined Area 51 as a tourist destination. It also has inspired a whole generation to believe that “The Truth Is Out There…”
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
And here we are! Area 51 and The Back Gate. Upon arriving, a blaring semi-horn made me leap about 2 feet as I approached the gate to photograph a couple shots. Locals say the security guards get a kick out of spooking tourists and visitors with the horn…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Behind this entrance is Bald Mountain. Behind Bald Mountain is Groom Lake, the dry lakebed where the Area 51 facility and runways were constructed in the early 50s.
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Locals say - “You don’t wanna know what happens if you cross that gate!” Security is authorized to use deadly force! And in January 2019 a person was killed when trying to enter the southern checkpoint near Mercury, Nevada…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Guide Map to Area 51 courtesy of the Little A’Le’Inn…
For more detail on Area 51 from experts you click here: https://www.dreamlandresort.com/
Guide Map to Area 51 courtesy of the Little A’Le’Inn…
To see more detailed photos from Area 51 experts, you can click here: https://www.dreamlandresort.com/
Hancock Summit at an elevation of 5,613 feet, east of Rachel on The Extraterrestrial Highway.
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Looking west from the Hancock Summit we see Groom Lake Road, a main entrance to Area 51. Groom Lake - Area 51 can be seen way-off in the distance as a white patch to the right of the road. Papoose Lake - S-4, where Bob Lazar says the Aliens are, is the white patch to the left of the road…
To see more detailed images of Groom Lake and S-4 you can click here: https://www.dreamlandresort.com/
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
This is the the Groom Lake Road Entrance to Area 51… Unlike The Back Gate with barb-wire fences, mine fields, and an armored bunker, all that is here is this unassuming Warning Sign which says:
WARNING
If you are considering trespassing on the Nevada Test and Training Boundary, please consider the following:
You will be required to pay a $1000 Fine
You will have your car towed at your own expense
You will have your car impounded at your own expense
You will be brought to Hiko, NV to be processed
Once released you will be responsible for transportation to your next desired travel location
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
On the ridge to the right of the Warning Sign sits a white pick-up with what is known as a “Cammo-Dude“ sitting in it. “Cammo-Dude’s” are private security hired to patrol the vast rural parameter of the base. To learn more about “Cammo-Dudes” you can click here: https://www.dreamlandresort.com/area51/cammos.html
The Black Mailbox was originally a Ranch Owners private mailbox but the Owner got sick of receiving letters directed to visitors from outer space. Alien enthusiasts making pilgrimages to the site also put dollar bills in the Mailbox for luck and gas money for the Aliens…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Reminder, this area is an open cattle range, and as the Locals say - “Cows n’ cars don’t mix!” It especially gets treacherous at dusk and then at night when all kinds of “critters” from Pronghorn and Bobcats, to Rabbit and Chipmunks leap out in front of a vehicle’s headlights…
Roadkill ain’t pretty, and I dig “aminals,” soooo…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Welcome to Crystal Springs, Nevada - the end of our journey…Or beginning if you chose this route to Area 51. And then travel to Tonopah. There are actually springs here that have a temperature of 81 degrees, and were used way-back by people traveling the Mormon Trail…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
You can visit E.T. Fresh Jerky at this junction of The Extraterrestrial Highway and State Route 318. Outside of various Alien themed chackis, there actually is homemade jerky. You can visit there site here: https://etfreshjerky.com/pages/about
Here is one of Bob Lazar’s crashed saucers from Papoose Lake - S-4 outside of E.T. Fresh Jerky, with the Pahranagat Valley in the background…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Looking west at the Pahranagat Valley and the Crystal Springs entrance to State Route 375, The Extraterrestrial Highway… Area 51 is a unit of the Nellis Air Force Base Complex. Nelis Air Force Base in Las Vegas is one of the nine locations where the U.S. stores it’s Nuclear Weapons… Yep…Nukes in Vegas!
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Crystal Springs entrance to The Extraterrestrial Highway… And, according to the Lady at E-T Fresh Jerky, most of the dust out here is radioactive cuz of all the atmospheric nuclear tests in the 50s and 60s. And my car got caked in dust. But I’s not glowing yet. Neither am I…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
This is the north entrance to Edwards Air Force Base outside of Mojave, California. Coincidentally Area 51 is actually administered by Edwards Air Force Base where Lockheed’s infamous Skunk Works is located. Ironically given all the secrecy and security of Area 51, The Skunk Work Hangars hide in plain site with a public bike-path and metro train tracks just yards away in a somewhat residential area of Lancaster, California…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler