More Area 51 fun

We woke up early this morning and headed for Groom Lake which is in Area 51 and is off limits. The unmarked road was about 2 km's from Horneys where we were camping.

 The road heading to Groom Lake is abut 25 km's of a dusty, dirty gravel road. 

It was surprisingly smooth though. We assume the dust is there so the base can get a heads up that someone is on their way towards them. Rumor has it by the time you enter the road, and drive the 25km's, the base knows everything about you.

We found a few spots that would have been great to camp at as well along Groom Lake Road so if we were to ever travel here again, we would stay here for sure. 

We had turned into the road last night after visiting the "white mailbox" but since we had the trailer on at that point we didn't want to venture down and find out the area was too small turn turn around in.

As we pulled up to the beginning of the base road there are sensors to detect movement. 

You are welcome to  walk around here so long as you do not cross the line. There are red marked poles to show you the line but they are spread out and you don't want to make the mistake of walking on the wrong side of the line! From what Ian tells me the "Camo dudes" will make a visit if you get too close and will pop in to see you if you are camping too near. For us, they drove part way to meet us in their truck, sat and watched for a while then left. 

Ian said they would come around and sit ontop of the hill and look down and sure enough they did.

Ian did manage to get out and I got a couple pictures from the safety and security of the truck.

Then off we went, back down the 25KM's of dirt road 

Cattle crossing

The road is in open range area so don't be surprised
to see a few cattle walk by

to load up the trailer and head to Las Vegas!

Some scenery along the way

Ian at the sign for the Extraterrestrial Highway

Welcome wishes to Jackie and meadowsh for following our blog...even though their family I am so glad they are following along :)

REVIEW Boondocking near Area 51

This was a wonderful little spot. Here is what we found on the internet which led us to it.

"Horneys Reststop (LN 38.1 [15]):

• Horneys is the only "official" reststop on the E.T. Highway. There are no facilities here, but a few trees that provide some shade. Access from the highway is possible with most trailers and RVs. This is a popular campsite in summer, and there is a good chance that you will have company here."

Value 5/5

It was FREE

Site Quality 4/5

Perfect for smaller RV's, campers and tenting. Our 35' trailer made it. The ground is soft in some places and if you go down the little hill you may need a 4X4 to get out. This is supposed to be an "official rest stop" and there are a couple OLD picnic tables provided but they aren't very usable as they haven't been maintained in a long time.

Facility Fun 4/5

The peacefulness of the great outdoors is upon us here. The roar of an occasional jet was lots of fun! We wished they came by more often!!! Go and explore the road to Groom lake or visit the "black mailbox" or the near by town of Rachel.

Natural Surroundings 5/5

This spot is beautiful! Mind you we had it to ourselves and it supposedly can get busy during the summer, but the hills, trails and night sky are all amazing! The area is sheltered from the wind and very peaceful. The night sky is amazing and you can sit and look at the stars for hours. The sky was clear for us and the stars and shooting stars were plentiful! During the day you can explore the nearby trails and hills. Very beautiful area.

Bathrooms N/A

Staff N/A

Location 4/5

It is an amazing location for star gazing, and close to Groom Lake Rd and the infamous "black mailbox". There is a nearby town of Rachel but we didn't go that far along the Extraterrestrial Highway. Other then that it is out in the middle of nowhere...so if you want to be alone with nature then this is a great place to be!

Overall 4.5/5

We loved this spot! If there were other campers present that might change but we had an amazing time here and if we didn't make arrangements to meet friends in Vegas for Easter then we would have stayed here longer just for fun! The low flying jets are LOUD and that may be a deterrent for some, but we loved it! They flew so close you felt like you could reach out and touch them. I personally am not an jet, UFO, or Star gazing fanatic but the time we spent here was so fun and I am so glad we did it! Watch out Roswell we will be visiting soon and since the UFO convention didn't happen here, perhaps it will be in Roswell :)

View of the road from where we were camped. You barely heard
the few cars that went by

Campfire rings are available. 

View behind us of a mountain and other camping sites

Sad looking picnic table

A camping area down a slight hill

Nearby museum that was closed both times we drove by.

Getting Ready to pull out

Our travels to and stay near Area 51

This morning we woke up to this!!!!

Winds and dust blowing a crossed the parking lot

Ian pondering "should we stay or should we go?"

We thought about hanging around until it passed but instead just took our time packing up and then decided to head out on the road for as long as we could and if it got too bad we could always pull over.

After a short while mother nature decided to add snow into the mixture

but we kept plugging along and eventually the sun came out. From the highway we saw a billboard for McDonalds in Ely so we surprised the girls with lunch there and some time on the playplace (as well as wifi time for mom and dad...I'm lovin it!)

From here we passed through Ward Mt Elevation 7316,

and headed onward through some beautiful scenery. A little taste of what's to come with all the canyons we will visit.

Aayla learning to draw circles on our drive...since they aren't on paper to
keep forever at least I have a picture :)

Sierra's newest game while driving is to draw a
picture and then we have to guess what she drew.

Today we planned to make it to the Extraterestrial Highway

and find a place to boondock near Area 51. We arrived early and took a drive toward Rachel (about 1/2 way) looking for the infamous "Black mailbox" which is now a white mail box covered in grafetti.

To be honest, this part of the trip was for Ian. I never imagined I'd enjoy it at all. But if we had more time I would have stayed in this area for a few more days. Our campsite was beautiful! We stayed at a place called Horneys and it was fairly close to the road but you didn't notice the little bit of traffic on it. More pictures will be posted on the review of this boondocking site.

As Foster luck would have it we managed to finally score our first damage!!! No Ian wasn't pleased but heck...nothing we can do about it! Luckily ir is only the back stab jacks and we will have to live with out it until we can get somewhere to replace the motor.

Ian looking at the damage

The rocky patch we hit which sheared off the motor for our jack.

The girls had a wonderful time playing here

The scenery was beautiful and it was so peaceful...

This jet flew right over us. I pulled up my camera to take a picture as it was flying about
200 feet above this small tree and by the time I got my lense cap off it was already
so far away! We hoped another would come by again but none came as close.
This one was loud but the others were't bothersome at all.

And the excitement of waiting for the jets to fly over just above your heads was so fun!

After the girls went to bed we spent some time outsdie looking up at the stars. For some reason the schedlued UFO meeting Ian had hoped would occur never did but we did see some amazing shooting stars! It was so dark and the sky was so bright with the stars on this moonless night. The sky looks different then at home but we picked out a few simple constellations.

Tomorrow a review of this boondock site and a trip toward Groom Lake and the ever mysterious Area 51.