Day 4…

After a nights stay at the Motel 6 in Beatty, Nevada, Devin and I ate a yummy breakfast at Gema’s Wagon Wheel Cafe. This cute little motor home was parked in the same parking lot, and I had to snap a photo.

After breakfast, we hit the road once again. Here’s an abandoned gas station we happened upon, with that same mysterious shadow man tag we saw in Goldfield.

Miles and miles of endless road through the desert. The sky was constantly changing, and it was absolutely breathtaking. Growing up in Oregon and the land of trees, I find the vast open spaces of the desert both beautiful and overwhelming.

We saw a heard of antelope running through the sage. I think this is the first time I have seen any antelope in the wild. Not much can hide in the wide open spaces of the desert.

After miles, and miles of driving, we finally made it to Rachel, Nevada where our first order of business was to get a picture under the Extraterrestrial Highway sign.

The Extraterrestrial Highway

Besides being the gateway to Area 51, Rachel is also home to the Little A’Le’Inn that serves up the world famous Alien Burger. Of course when anything is world famous, you’ve gotta to try it, which is exactly what Devin and I did. The Little A’Le’Inn also provides rooms to sleep and has a cute little gift shop area where you can literally buy any and all of the alien memorabilia you want….which I totally did.

While the only UFO we saw was the one hanging off the back of the truck that resides at the Little A’Le’Inn, we definitely kept our eyes peeled. I like to think we aren’t the only planet in the vast universe that has life on it. And as long as any otherworldly visitors are chill, I think it would pretty incredible to come across one.

The Little A’Le’Inn

While this isn’t the original infamous “black mailbox”, someone set up a makeshift one since the other one was stolen. The original black mailbox was meant to be a gathering place for UFO enthusiasts, and a place for earthlings who want to believe to drop letters for any alien beings that may be checking it. More about the history behind the black mailbox can be found on Atlas Obscura.

The Black Mailbox

Another must see along the Extraterrestrial Highway is the Alien Research Center, located in Hiko, NV. It is not easy to miss with the GIANT metal statue of an alien guarding the entrance. The inside is chock full of any souvenir you could possibly want to commemorate your travels along the ET Highway.

The Alien Research Center

As we were purchasing our goods, the woman behind the counter asked us if we wanted to check out what their museum was working on as their next big display. She said it wasn’t quite ready for the public, but if we wanted, we could go through the door that said “Staff Only” and check out what it was. She didn’t give us any hints as to what we might see, but of course we took her up on her offer.

The “Staff Only” door opened into a long sterile looking hallway. As we walked down the hallway we were greeted at the end by a charred alien laying on a cot.  Devin and I went into full nerd-out mode as we pretended we just breached the fortress known as Area 51 and had just discovered their deepest, darkest secret….evidence of life from another planet. Do you believe? Because I know I want to believe.

Next stop…The Ward Charcoal Ovens in Ely, Nevada.