Area 51

As I passed Nellis Air Force Base, it looked busy. Planes were taking off every few minutes. Between keeping my eyes on the road and the Las Vegas smog, I couldn't tell what type they were, but about a half hour later, after I had turned north on Nevada highway 93, two planes flew over head that were unmistakable. They were F-117 Stealth fighters. I hoped to see more of my tax dollars at work in the days ahead, as Red Flag exercises were going on that week and the places I was going were right under the Air Force practice area! 

Another hour or so driving and I reachedAlamo, NV. It's a bit past the road to Tikaboo Peak, the target of this mornings hike, but I felt better topping off the gas tank ($1.55/gallon) and filling up all my water bottles. Back-tracking on NV 93, I turned off on the unmarked dirt road that leads 25 miles to the trail head to Tikaboo. The road is good, and in places its easy to drive 50 mph. I got to the trail head surprisingly quick and found a convenient 'Y' where I could turn the Explorer around for an easy exit later that day.  After stuffing a few last minute items in my backpack, I estimated it weighed about 50 pounds. That included a gallon of water, one can of Coke (cold when I started), granola bars, trail mix, cheese crackers and a candy bar. Also in the pack were binoculars, a VHS video camcorder, two 35mm cameras, wide angle and telephoto lenses, 3.5 inch reflecting telescope with camera adapter, and a photographic tripod. Also thrown in were a flashlight, in case I stayed to late, plastic trash bags, (If you pack it in, pack it out.) a compass and most important, a copy of the " Area 51 Viewers Guide" by Glenn Campbell. Glenn, with Tom Mahood, has written a step by step description of the hike with maps of the trail and the road to the trail head. "Don't leave Hiway 93 without it." 

The hike to the top was a lot harder than I expected. Maybe I brought to much along, or maybe it was the altitude, or maybe I'm just getting old. In any event, after two and a half hours I reached the summit. There is a great place to camp in a 'saddle' that the trail crosses a few hundred yards from the top. Its fairly level and even has fire pit, ready for your campfire. When I finally reached the top, I was, well... disappointed. This was supposed to be the last place where the public can see the top secret site where new planes are tested -- planes like the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Stealth fighter. But as you can see in this photo, taken with a 200mm lens, equal to 16x50 binoculars, its not much of a view from 26 miles away. 

After that climb though, I at least tried to get a few close-ups with my 3.5 inch telescope. With the equivalence of a 1280mm lens, it gets good magnification, although at maximum magnification it does have a little 'porthole' effect. I braced the tripod in the rocks for stability and after taking the photo at left, attached the camera to the back of the telescope. The pictures turned out fair; the haze and sun angle (it was after noon) hurt the contrast. For those who are interested in a few more fuzzy pictures of Area 51 plus assorted odds and ends, you can jump to my Dreamland Scrapbook page. In between taking the pictures I shot some video, ate lunch and admired the scenery.

Tikaboo Peak is wooded with Juniper trees and I was impressed by their tenacity. The mountain is mostly rock, with scant patches of soil, yet these trees found every bit of ground and every crack in the rocks to send down roots for moisture and nutrients. It was a very serene feeling sitting on top of a mountain without another human being in sight. The only man-made signs below, besides the airfield, were Groom Lake Road and Hiway 375 and the only traffic I noticed was the bus that was taking workers from the test site back to Alamo, NV at the end of their day. I wished I could have stayed longer, but 4 o'clock was my 'must leave' time if I wanted to complete the walking part of the trip in daylight. 

As it turned out, I got back to the car just at twilight and drove most of the way out in the dark. A hearty camp supper was out of the question, but fortunately the R-Place store in Alamo had sandwiches and such. From there it was on to a campsite at mile 31.7 of Highway 375. Rather than set up camp in the dark, I opted to sleep in the Explorer. The picture on the left is the camp the next morning. Before going to bed I brewed a pot of coffee for my thermos, (I like coffee as soon as I wake up.) and while it was perking, I looked at stars. At home in Houston its a clear night when you can see 4 stars in the big dipper; here I could see millions, and stretching overhead was the white nebulous glow of the Milky Way. The only man-made lights were from the Medlin ranch, about 5 miles away, headlights from a Jeep of the guards at Area 51, about 10 miles away, and a faint glow on the southern horizon from the glitter of Las Vegas. I got out the telescope and spent some time looking at the moons of Jupiter, the Orion Nebula and anything else that seemed interesting. I suppose the astronomy was sort of an excuse. I really hoped I'd see something in the sky that I couldn't explain -- something like a UFO. But no luck. I did see one satellite cross the sky, and though I don't know which one it was, it definitely was a satellite. Oh well, maybe next trip...... 

By 11 o'clock I packed things up and went to sleep. No doubt the UFO's came out at midnight.