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Yes, you too can own a real Area 51 license plate. Unfortunately it
won't get you into the top secret military base. This base is approximately a 3 hour
drive from Las Vegas. Area 51 is supposedly where they took the alien bodies from
the Roswell UFO crash and where secret research on UFO's is happening. In reality it
is where the F117A stealth fighter and bomber were developed in complete secrecy. |
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The major highway, Route 375, that gets you close to the base is
nicknamed the ET Highway. |
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We posed for a picture. |
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The Little A'Le'Inn, a restuarant that caters to UFO chasers is on the
road to Area 51. |
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It's true! There ain't nothin' but cactus — and cars don't run
on cactus juice. Fill up at every opportunity. |
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The weather started looking bad as we got closer. The wind whipped
up to 40mph and the temperature dropped to 28 degrees. This is desert weather? |
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This is the famous "black" mailbox that marks a checkpoint to
Area 51. It's in the middle of nowhere. The unfortunate rancher who owns the
box recently had to upgrade it to plate steel — and repaint it white. It seems
that people thought it was the mailbox for Area 51 and would go through his mail. A
few even shot holes in it. |
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Unfortunately, white paint lends itself to more graffiti. |
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Groom Lake Road. The entrance to Area 51. It's not marked and
goes for 13 public access miles on dirt road. After that, don't dare proceed! |
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The first sign that something is up. |
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Then the signs get a bit harder to miss. This is where you stop. |
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No trespassing, no photography! Wait, then how do you get a picture
of the sign? |
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Proof that Ron was there! |
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Proof that Val was there! Notice the white truck sitting up on the
hill? He (they) are watching us. It is believed that they monitored us from
the time we got on Groom Lake Road. Probably read our license plate with a high
power scope, checked the registration and rental records, got our names, and ran a quick
check on us before we even got to the border. Just tourists... |
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Thanks to our 10x zoom on the digital camera I was able to capture this
close-up of the guards. The owner of the Little A'Le'Inn told us not to taunt them
or cross the border. They will detain you, fine you, and more — if they're in a
bad mood. |
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See those white blurs in front of Val's coat? That would be snow! |
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The getaway truck. I don't know why I left the door open. We
were not going to get away if they came after us. I felt better, though, leaving it
open for me to jump in. |
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Val clicked this picture on the way back. We seem to have picked up
a visitor hanging onto the driver's door of our truck... |
