Nevada State Route 375 a 98-mile stretch of road is named the Extraterrestrial or ET Highway.

The adjacent Area 51 has continued to capture our collective interest. You could almost say that one would have to have been kidnapped by aliens to not know about all the hype that has surrounded that part of Nevada over the past few decades.

That stretch of highway, between Warm Springs and Alamo, and including the hamlet of Rachel, gained its moniker in 1995, when state officials officially designated it as the Extraterrestrial Highway in order to capitalize on the public fascination with Area 51, a top-secret military installation.

For years, some have believed that the U.S. government has conducted mysterious research at Area 51, including, allegedly, some involving recovered aliens and/or alien aircraft. This notion has been reinforced in pop culture via television shows like “The X-Files” and film such as “Independence Day.”

Part of what keeps Area 51 so fascinating is the fact that the U.S. government insisted for many years that it didn’t exist. Because nature abhors a vacuum - and people love mysteries - stories about what actually goes on there have proliferated over the decades.

It was all this speculation about the base, said, in some accounts, to be where the U.S. government hides captured flying saucers - as well as stories of alien encounters near Rachel that spurred creation of the tongue-in-cheek ET Highway by the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Additionally, for many years state tourism officials encouraged travelers—earthly and otherwise—to head out on Route 375 in search of a close encounter of their own.

Hidden within a ring of mountains deep within the high desert is Area 51, a secretive military installation that exists as part of the Nellis Military Operations Area. It has served as a military test facility since the 1950s, and is well-known for its role in conspiracy theories. 

The base is perhaps the most famous clandestine military base in the world. For decades, determined visitors have been attempting to get close, yearning for a chance to unlock its secrets with their telephoto lenses.

Originally known as “Site II” or “The Ranch,” this mysterious base is where Lockheed tested the first U2 spy planes. They went on to test the SR-71 Blackbird, the A-12 (or OXCART, likely the inspiration for many UFO sightings), and the F-117 Nighthawk at this location.

Personal Note:

As a young man, I was an electronics systems repairman working on the top secret SR-71 Blackbird and serving in the USAF for four years (including a year in Vietnam).

Other than a couple of old Chevy trucks, a few dinged-up trailers, a noteworthy roadside diner and miles of sagebrush there’s not much to see over the 98 miles of Nevada State Route 375.

Highlight of most visits is a trip to “Little A’Le’Inn” in Rachel, a local diner that serves such concoctions as an Alien Burger. The place also has a gift shop well stocked with alien-related merchandise such as key chains, coffee mugs and t-shirts.

Most folks in Rachel take all the fuss with a wink and a half-smile. The “Little A ‘Le’Inn” maintains a small library of UFO-related books as well as a virtual gallery of grainy black-and-white photographs allegedly depicting alien spacecraft.

Perhaps because of its sparse population and remoteness—the town has fewer than 100 residents—it is easier to believe there might be something out there in those vast night skies.

Are those the blinking lights of a passing airplane or something more? Is that a shiny weather balloon or, perhaps, the glint of metal from a UFO?

Who knows?