Howdy, folks. I'm Glenn and welcome to the almost world famous Cactus Atlas.
Today I'm exploring the Extraterrestrial Highway.
The highway that goes right by Area 51.
[Music]
Alright, let me brief you on what the plan is today.
I plan on driving up the Extraterrestrial Highway, 395, to Tonopah. I'm heading north.
We're going to be going right through Rachel, Nevada
and I'm going to go try to find one of the entry gates, the back gate, to Area 51.
I don't have time, I think, this afternoon to hit all the gates that I want but
I'll explain more and I am frightened, I'm gonna be honest with you.
This is gonna be something different.
Probably the most thrilling thing on my whole vacation this year.
So without further ado, let's get on up and see what happens.
Okay, so we want to hit the junction for 395.
I'm not quite there just yet.
We're now really starting to head north towards the Extraterrestrial Highway.
Really excited about this.
That was the first little tourist trap so I plan on stopping at all the little
tourist traps and trust me there are not that many to see on the way there.
This really is a desolate location of the country hence why the government chose to build
a very top secret base out this way.
Makes sense but, yeah, this is going to be an adventure.
[Music]
[Rumbling and whooshing sound]
Very cool. So Rachel, Nevada is my next kind of destination.
Tonopah is my ultimate destination tonight. It's where I'm spending the night.
But just take a minute to admire this landscape with me and the general desolation.
It's going to get only more desolate from here.
One thing that I want to do a lot of on this road is take a look at
some of these signs because there are other YouTubers that I like that
put their mark on these signs so it's kind of cool to see that.
Cactus Atlas doesn't have any stickers yet but maybe I need to consider that in the future.
Anyway, that sign is advertising the Little A'Le'Inn
which is an inn in Rachel, Nevada.
I'm not going to be spending the night there this time but
maybe I'll stop and get a beer. We'll see.
This is the the beginning of the ET Highway.
I think I see one of the tourist traps that I wanted to stop and check out really quick.
Maybe buy a t-shirt or two for some friends that I said I would.
Let's go see.
[Music]
Alright, what do you guys say.
Let's go check out this place and see what kind of treasures we can find.
[Music]
Ah check this out.
I've watched other fellow YouTubers that I really enjoy sign this wall but
trying to find their names on this now, even if you know the approximate location...
that's gonna be interesting.
I got myself a little Sharpie so we're gonna sign the Cactus Atlas on the wall.
Down this way there's a little bit more room it looks like so...
[Music]
This place was a lot of fun. It's on the southern edge of the Extraterrestrial Highway.
Right at the very beginning and I bought some friends co-workers some t-shirts
and now we're really about to get deep into it but I like this place.
Come find my little signature if you can.
Alright, so here's a little bit of the Extraterrestrial Highway from the
cockpit of the Cactus Atlas mobile.
It's absolutely beautiful back here. Beautiful country. Beautiful desert.
Some of the most beautiful desert of the southwest I would argue.
Sign said we're about 20 miles from Rachel, Nevada
which is really an area of interest to me because a couple miles before that I think
we're going to find something but...
Actually I just see something I want to see.
Alright, so I decided to pull over. It's very windy.
Somewhere off behind those mountains is Area 51 in Groom Lake.
There's actually a gate you can go up to, I think, which is the closest you can get to the base legally.
There's not much to see there but there's a dirt road.
It goes off that ways.
I think you can actually take this dirt road to connect with that road but
I'm skipping that one today in favor of a different one.
There's something of interest here I wanted to show you.
[Music]
This here is the little black mailbox, something to come seek out if you're
ever driving the ET Highway.
You can actually put letters in there for the aliens.
The U.S. Post Office won't pick up from here but the aliens do.
Let's take a look actually. I'm not going to steal anything or do anything bad but...
Whoa. There's a lot of weird stuff in here. Hopefully nothing naughty.
[Laughter] Got some stickers in here.
Water and a Miller High Life if you need it.
Capri Sun. Leave nude photos. You got candy.
Who knows what the heck in there.
I'm just gonna leave it be but this is for the aliens.
[Music]
I am standing right in the middle of the highway.
There's not much to worry about here. [Laughter]
You don't see too many cars coming through this place.
[Music]
[Scuttling noise]
[Music]
I never really thought I would do this to be honest with you.
This really isn't normally my kind of thing.
I'm honestly a little bit nervous too.
I've done my homework and where I'm going is legal.
You can legally go. It's public land all the way up to the gate.
Doesn't mean that I'm not scared a little bit.
Not a little bit nervous because it feels like something you're
probably not supposed to do but you can.
Hopefully I just don't miss something and accidentally go in to the base
because bad things happen if that's the case.
[Music]
It is very, very windy out here today
and uh...
I'm going to places where if I were to just disappear right now
I don't think anybody would be any of the wiser. Kind of freaky.
Alright, we're still making our way out this way towards what I believe will
be the back gate of Area 51. Isn't this weird?
There's just nothing here.
I think that's the way it's supposed to be, right?
I believe I'm approaching the back gate to Area 51. Oh my god.
I can't believe this. My heart's starting to pound a little bit.
I mean I see something up ahead. I don't know if it's that or not.
It has to be.
I hope it is because if not then I'm getting really worried about where the heck am I.
[Music]
There's the gate right over here.
The back gate entrance to Area 51.
Alright, this looks like what I've seen in other videos. Other people's videos.
I wouldn't be surprised if my voice is heard at this point by someone
surveilling the area and if that's true I have come in peace.
I've just come like many others have come before to get a quick glimpse of the gate.
I will not over stay my welcome and I will head on out.
Yeah, check this out.
We're at the official border of Area 51.
How cool.
You can see... I mean this is... You don't want to mess around.
Do not cross this. [Laughter] Just don't do it.
You could see no trespassing. There's fines.
They'll actually... They can actually take you and impound your car,
drive you to a facility to get checked in and then, yeah, you have to arrange
for your own transportation and figure out what to do from there.
I don't want to mess with that. Not today.
Wow.
Looks like there's cameras up there
and more warnings.
This is the place where we cannot go past.
Now I did do some research. These signs about photography of this area is prohibited...
Once you get beyond that, you know, they don't want you to take photography on the base.
Understandably so.
Yeah, some more signs here you do not want to be flying a drone here. [Laughter]
I don't own a drone and if I did I wouldn't mess with that but wow.
You can actually see that camera up there.
I'm assuming that's a camera.
It's actually tracking me as I walk back and forth. You see that?
It was anyway. It was facing this direction earlier.
It's kind of hard. It's unfortunate the sun is like right behind this.
Probably see a lot of silhouettes and stuff like that but
how cool.
There's some of the security. You see that white pickup truck?
The term I hear for those folks is Camo Dudes.
I think they're just like some kind of contracted security force.
Alrighty. I did it.
It wasn't as bad as I thought.
You know, I don't know what if there's any kind of protocol or any kind of etiquette here.
I've only... I was only here for about maybe five ten minutes if that.
I didn't wanna wear out my welcome.
And I'm freezing. I am shivering.
This desert gets cold. I was so hot and sweaty earlier and now... brr.
Alright, Area 51.
It's been real. It's been real.
[Music]
[Humming]
[Whooshing]
Alright, I'm hungry so let's go ahead over to Rachel.
[Music]
Alright. the Little A'Le'Inn. They're very particular about not filming.
Not even on the inside but on the outside back there by the building
so I'm just kind of coming out here to get a look at the sunset right around Area 51
and boy is it beautiful.
This very last thing that I wanted to show you is from the movie Independence Day.
You guys remember that one?
This is a time capsule that they're gonna open in the year 2050, I believe.
I'm not sure what's in it but I guess below that alien is where the time capsule probably is.
Alright, so the sun is going down.
I had my beer at the Little A'Le'Inn.
Chatted with the guy working in there. Really cool. Really nice. Really helpful.
Maybe that's your best bet is to go in there and ask them to direct you
where you need to go because he was very full of good information.
Only complaint is they don't want you to film. Not even on the outside out there.
Like the building I think is when they kind of said you could take as many pictures as you want
but just no video.
Alright, I decided to stop one last time to take in this beautiful sunset, or what's left of it,
right beyond Area 51.
The skies are quiet for now.
There are just cows out here.
No aliens but lots of cows.
Who knows what happens out beyond those mountains
but whatever it is I'm sure is pretty cool.
Area 51. Come find it.
[Music]