• 9 months ago
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.

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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

Category

🏖
Travel
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]