L T I P S V E R T
To escape the excesses of Las Vegas, I’d steered clear of the predictable Grand Canyon and headed out on Route 375 instead.
But as I looked at the lone, threatening sign in the middle of the high desert scrubland, I wondered if I’d made the right choice.
“Nellis Bombing and Gunnery Range,” it read. “No trespassing. Photography prohibited.”
Just beyond was the infamous Area 51, the top secret US Air Force base at the heart of UFO folklore.
It’s where conspiracy theories say alien bodies were taken after crashing at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
Where UFOS have allegedly been spotted overhead.
Where people claim to have been abducted nearby and experimented on by aliens.
I had started my alien road trip just before dawn and, for once, jetlag was a good thing.
I set out on Interstate 15 and the neon oasis of Vegas quickly faded as I drove into the last of the night.
Day broke as I turned on to the single-lane Route 93 and the rocky desert became visible.
It was immense. The mountains low and gnarly. The road skinny, empty. It seemed like I was already being taken to an alien world but then a beam of light and heat suddenly struck my car. Engulfing, dazzling.
Was I being abducted?? Unfortunately not. It was just the sun rising above the mountains.
The ET Highway starts at the ghost town of Crystal Springs.
Near the junction is the ET Fresh Jerky shop, a rickety old place selling alien-themed dried meat and souvenirs. Wonderfully random.
I sounded so English as I greeted the lady working there. She stared at me as if I were an alien – and came out to stare some more as I took photos of the UFO mural nearby.
To mark the start of the ET Highway, there’s a much
EXPLORE the surreal
Valley of Fire State Park the day before, then stay the night in a desert cabin at Windmill Ridge, Alamo, not far from the ET Highway.
STOP at the Black Mailbox, about halfway to Rachel. It’s the only sign of (human) life for miles and where tourists leave messages for aliens.
ON the way back, visit the stunning Red Rock Canyon, just outside Vegas, and watch the sandstone peaks blaze in
the setting sun. photographed road sign, where I also took a photo. Just a bit further was the Alien Research Centre, a big hangar with an even bigger metal alien out front.
What it researched, I don’t know, but it had a great gift shop.
From there on, the highway was like a movie. Arrowing through giant valleys of cacti and scrub. Snaking over mountain passes, drifting on to high plains.
Desert
As the sun got higher, the horizon started shimmering. Tiny ground squirrels scurried across the road. Desert ravens swirled in the monstrous blue sky above.
I stopped several times to take in the magnificence of it all, before arriving at the remote, ramshackle hamlet of Rachel. It’s as close as you can get to Area 51. It’s also home to the fantastically cheesy Little A’le’inn, the mecca for Ufoenthusiasts that was in the Simon Pegg alien movie Paul.
Apart from a mini flying saucer and a little green man, the inn was underwhelming from the outside.
But on the inside, it was a treasure trove of alien-themed paraphernalia, with the ceiling decorated in hundreds of dollar bills signed by tourists from around the world.
I stopped to eat and happily chat to the eccentric staff and clientele.
I then went out to explore dusty Rachel, slowly driving around the surreal cluster of low-slung houses. All windows were shuttered. No sign of life, human or alien.
Passing the last house, I clocked the no trespassing sign.
I obeyed. The men in black are always watching, apparently.
There are 12 rooms at the inn, if you want to stay and take your chances with the night.
But I decided to head back to Vegas, to the nocturnal life that’s even more unearthly. FACTFILE: London Heathrow to Las Vegas from £338 return. See virginatlantic.com Car Hire from £30 per day. See alamo.co.uk
For more info on Nevada, visit travelnevada.com