Aliens, Haunted Hotels, and Area 51 on An Extraterrestrial Highway Road Trip

AFAR

UFOs, “alien jerky,” haunted hotels: Is this the weirdest road trip in America? Come with us on a drive down Nevada State Route 375—a.k.a. the Extraterrestrial Highway or ET Highway—and see what we discovered.  Read more here: https://rebrand.ly/bfnoytm  ---- CONNECT WITH AFAR Afar.com is a digital and print magazine that publishes travel tips, guides, news, and stories: https://www.afar.com  Get updates on the latest articles, travel news, and more from AFAR by signing up for the AFAR newsletter: https://afar.com/newsletters  Follow AFAR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfarMedia Follow AFAR on Twitter: https://twitter.com/afarmedia Follow AFAR on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afarmedia Follow AFAR on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/afarmedia  ---- CREDITS  Tiana Attride - Host Claudia Cardia - Video Editor Jessie Beck - AFAR Producer Elizabeth See - Designer Sarika Bansal - Editorial Director Michelle Heimerman - Photo Editor  FOOTAGE / PHOTOGRAPHY Tiana Attride - AFAR Social Editor

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 Hey guys, it's Tiana.

00:07 Today I'm gonna be taking you guys down

00:09 Nevada Route 375, also known as the Extraterrestrial Highway.

00:13 While I can't guarantee we're gonna see

00:15 any little green men today,

00:16 I can guarantee that we're going to see things like

00:19 an alien research center, a couple of ghost towns,

00:22 and the closest town to Area 51.

00:25 And there's the Ely train.

00:28 (upbeat music)

00:30 I am coming to you this fine morning from the town of Ely.

00:39 That's Ely, not Eli.

00:40 Now, if you haven't heard of the ET Highway,

00:42 it's essentially a roughly 500 mile route

00:46 that generally starts on Las Vegas, heads up to Tonopah,

00:49 and then in my case, ends in Ely.

00:51 And the story goes that along this particular highway,

00:55 a lot of UFO sightings have occurred,

00:57 seeing extraterrestrials is a pretty regular thing.

01:00 There it is.

01:02 Assuming you're driving north from Las Vegas,

01:05 your first stop will be ET Fresh Jerky,

01:07 which sits roughly one and a half hours away from Sin City.

01:11 It's pretty hard to miss, given the alien murals

01:13 and the legion of crashed spaceships right outside,

01:15 including this giant one,

01:17 which may be one of my favorite roadside attractions

01:19 of all time.

01:20 Who doesn't want to be an intergalactic hitchhiker?

01:23 ET Fresh Jerky has been humbly serving visitors

01:25 to the Milky Way since 2011.

01:28 You'll want to stop in

01:28 for some of their homemade alien jerky,

01:30 sign one of their walls to commemorate your visit

01:32 to this corner of the galaxy,

01:34 and stock up on some extremely quirky souvenirs

01:36 like stuffed toys, novelty hats, and alien mugs

01:39 before hitting the road again.

01:41 As you exit ET Fresh Jerky,

01:44 you'll want to head straight across the road

01:45 and head west on Route 375 to continue your trip.

01:48 This will officially put you

01:50 on the extraterrestrial highway,

01:52 as indicated by an excellent photo

01:53 off the ET highway sign.

01:56 From there, continue straight down the road

01:57 for about 10 minutes until you see

01:59 this massive silver building, the Alien Research Center.

02:02 Okay, y'all.

02:06 We are now right down the road

02:08 from the galaxy's favorite jerky spot

02:11 at the UFO Research Center.

02:13 But before we go in there, I have to show this off.

02:17 We are currently right on the edge of Area 51.

02:22 In fact, back in 2019, this served as the meeting place

02:25 for the movement to Storm Area 51, which went viral online.

02:28 This is, of course, why they have

02:30 this massive alien standing guard right out front.

02:33 Inside, you'll find a smattering of weird memorabilia,

02:36 including some T-shirts to prove that you've traveled to,

02:38 or at least have gotten very close to,

02:41 the country's most infamous Air Force base.

02:43 From the Alien Research Center,

02:47 continue right down Route 375 for a while.

02:49 If you suddenly feel like you're in one of those dreams

02:52 where you're running toward a door,

02:53 but the door isn't getting any closer, don't worry.

02:55 It's not you, it's just the desert.

02:58 But look sharp, 'cause your next stop

02:59 is coming up on your left,

03:00 and if you're not paying attention, you might miss it.

03:03 Given it's so close to Area 51,

03:08 the black mailbox has long been a gathering place

03:10 for alleged alien abductees

03:11 and those who just wanna believe.

03:14 This actually isn't the original.

03:16 Funny enough, it used to belong to a man

03:17 named Steve Medlin, who didn't even believe in aliens.

03:20 Medlin got so tired of people messing with his mail

03:23 that he moved his mailbox closer to home

03:25 and put this one here for the UFO obsessed to commute at.

03:28 Take a look inside to see what odd notes people have left,

03:31 or leave one of your own before heading out again.

03:34 Once you've driven another 30 minutes or so

03:38 through the desert, you'll come across

03:40 the nearest town to Area 51, Rachel, Nevada,

03:43 and one of the most famous rest stops in the solar system,

03:46 the Little Alien.

03:47 (upbeat music)

03:50 When you're driving from the Little Black Mailbox,

03:53 you're gonna be driving for like 20 minutes up the road,

03:56 and you're gonna think that the desert will never end

03:58 until the very last split second

04:00 Rachel's gonna come up on your left,

04:02 so just make sure to keep an eye out

04:03 because it felt like a mirage appearing out of the desert.

04:07 Inside the Little Alien, you can sit down

04:09 for some of their world famous alien burgers

04:11 topped with alien sauce, and strike up a conversation

04:14 with the other UFO chasers and locals at the bar.

04:17 You can even stay the night if sleeping next door

04:19 to Area 51 feels like your best shot

04:21 at spotting a spaceship in action.

04:23 Another hour and a half down the highway,

04:27 you'll hit your final stop on the ET highway for the day,

04:30 Tonopah, Nevada, an old mining town

04:32 that's commonly known for its amazing stargazing.

04:35 Here, you can either head to the Tonopah Star Park

04:37 for some stargazing in town,

04:39 or sign up for a tour with a local astronomer

04:41 like Russ Gartz, who'll show you the ropes

04:43 when it comes to getting an amazing glimpse of the cosmos.

04:47 Although Tonopah just about wraps up

04:49 the out of this world attractions,

04:51 there are a few places left in town

04:52 and along the road back to Vegas

04:54 that are certainly otherworldly.

04:56 If you're feeling brave, stay for a night or two

04:58 at the Mitzpah Hotel, often referred to

05:00 as the most haunted hotel in America.

05:03 Or try a stay at the equally terrifying

05:05 world famous Clown Motel, which is home to a collection

05:08 of more than 3,000 clowns,

05:10 some of them nice and some not so nice.

05:12 Between Tonopah and Vegas,

05:15 there's also the Area 51 Travel Center,

05:18 a combination gas stop, and yes, alien themed brothel.

05:23 What better way to signal that you're about

05:24 to arrive back in Sin City?

05:26 If you do decide to road trip the extraterrestrial highway,

05:30 here are a few quick tips to make sure

05:32 you have a smooth ride.

05:33 For this road trip, we'd recommend budgeting

05:35 at least three or four days,

05:37 especially if you wanna stay overnight

05:38 at the unusual hotels in the area,

05:40 or tack on even more stops like Cathedral Gorge State Park,

05:43 the wild western town of Ely, and of course, Las Vegas.

05:48 Since cell service can get spotty out in the desert,

05:50 we'd recommend downloading a map of the area

05:52 before you head out.

05:53 It's also wise to stock up on snacks, water,

05:55 and a phone charger to keep you going during the drive.

05:58 And last but not least, if you do see a UFO,

06:02 remember to take some photos for the rest of us.

06:04 (upbeat music)

06:07 (crowd cheering)

06:10 (upbeat music)

06:13 (upbeat music)

06:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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