I had Sin City in my sights and was eager to enjoy some better weather, but having driven 95 from Las Vegas to Tonapah back in November I decided to try a different route. After heading East on 6, I turned south on 375 which also goes by the name Extraterrestrial Highway. There was a spot along the way that I’d seen mentioned in the iOverlander app, a great method for finding free places to camp, and the reviews mentioned a nice diner with great food. It sounded like a perfect lunch stop.
It wasn’t until I pulled in that I understood the odd name of the place. Little A’le Inn, I though it was in reference to beer or something. Nope, little green men. Complete with a flying saucer out front.
I let the waitress choose my lunch, a technique I use often to break the ice and get menu recommendations from the people who see, firsthand, what’s popular. She chose a cheesy burger made with fresh local beef and loaded with grilled mushrooms and told me how she’d come from northern New York and ended up staying.
While chatting with the cook after my meal, he asked “Have you been to the back gate?” I had no idea what he was talking about but had heard the other table talking about it. They were on a road trip to celebrate her milestone birthday, 60 I think, and were very excited to have driven in to see this ‘attraction’. “You really should go”, he urged. “You’ve come this far it’s only another 10 minutes up the road. And when you get there, the guards will either wave, take your photo, or shoot at you.” That got my attention. Turns out I was only a few miles from the back entrance to Area 51, the top-secret U.S. Air Force base where alien remains may or may not have been taken from Roswell in ’47.
Honestly, I almost turned back because the road had the worst washboard, and I was afraid of shaking us to pieces. I made it to the end, the last half of the road was paved, thank goodness. Sadly, it was underwhelming. I didn’t see anyone, just a few signs about NOT taking photos and a gate. So, I did a quick U-turn (or maybe it was a five-point turn), took a few selfies and started the unwelcome journey back to the highway. Turns out if you can hit the washboard at around 33 mph, it’s not that bumpy at all but be warned, 2mph either side of that and the magic disappears.
An hour later, when I finally arrived at my next camp spot on the Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge, the dinette light was hanging by the wires but by some miracle, the aliens had fixed the power step which hadn’t worked in over a week.
