Nevada isn’t just famous for the casinos of Las Vegas; it also draws intrigue with the Mojave Desert, a location widely believed to be a refuge for extraterrestrial life.
The first time Fontella Day was certain she had seen life from another planet was on a cloudy afternoon in the town of Rachel, Nevada. The phones and computers at the Alien Cowpoke gas station and convenience store, where she worked, had been malfunctioning for hours.
As Day ended her shift and prepared to drive home, situated in the middle of the Mojave Desert, she noticed something bizarre: a cluster of clouds in the sky shaped exactly like a flying saucer. Her heart pounded. No matter how many times she rubbed her eyes, the cloud formation remained, hovering directly above her.
Day’s account is one of hundreds of stories recounted along the Extraterrestrial Highway, a 225-kilometer stretch of road in Nevada, just outside the city of Las Vegas.
This road cuts through one of the darkest and most desolate regions of the United States, famous for having a higher number of reported UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) sightings than almost anywhere else since the 1950s.
Skeptics suggest that these airborne objects might merely be classified stealth aircraft undergoing testing from the nearby Nellis Air Force Base. Conversely, believers in UFOs maintain that this particular area of the Great Basin Desert holds a special allure for beings from distant corners of the cosmos.
Many Americans and tourists are convinced the reason lies in the desert’s proximity to the Nevada Test and Training Range and Area 51—the highly classified military base whose existence the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officially acknowledged only in 2013.
Some individuals who claim to have worked at Area 51 assert that the base stores extraterrestrial spacecraft, and even the bodies of aliens. Others link the facility to the 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico—an event that ignited countless conspiracy theories about a government cover-up of a crashed alien vessel.
For many, the best way to pursue this truth is a late-night drive across the Nevada desert—following the “Extraterrestrial Highway.”
The sign in the town of Rachel officially marks the beginning of the “Extraterrestrial Highway.” State officials drew inspiration from the alien legends associated with the nearby top-secret military facility, Area 51.
The Alien Cowpoke gas station, where Faun Day works, has a peculiar appearance befitting its location along this route.
If departing from Las Vegas, the adventure begins by driving north on the I-15, passing through downtown and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From here, travelers turn onto U.S. Route 93 and continue 137 kilometers across the desert toward the town of Ely.
The initial segment of the journey is nearly 90 minutes of driving amidst sand, prickly pear cacti, and juniper trees. Everything here is arid, stark, and the color of aged brown vegetation.
Yet, just outside the town of Alamo, a wetland sustained by springs from the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge emerges like an unexpected oasis in the desert. It boasts trees, open water, and a multitude of creatures, serving as a sanctuary for thousands of migratory birds and other wildlife.
This is the first “head-scratching” stop that astonishes travelers along the entire route.
Soon after, at the intersection of US 93 and Nevada State Route 375 in Crystal Springs, another unusual rest stop appears: the roadside store named E.T. Fresh Jerky.
Murals depicting large-eyed aliens, alongside a “faux flying saucer” nestled in the sand, welcome visitors to the store, which sells a wide variety of dried meats. The famed “Alien Jerky” is not, in fact, made from real alien meat, but the packaging—featuring a hand and a spaceship levitating a cow—piques everyone’s curiosity. Another creative choice is the “Freeze-Dried Alien Tongues,” gummy candies advertised as the dessert that “aliens eat in space.”
Driving further north on Nevada 375, just about a quarter of a mile from the jerky store, travelers encounter the sign marking the official starting point of the Extraterrestrial Highway. The sign, with its futuristic-style font, is mounted on two six-meter-tall posts, covered in a dense layer of stickers accumulated over the years.
The road was officially designated and named in 1996, partly thanks to the lobbying efforts of George Harris, a U.S. Army veteran and local businessman.
During the 1960s and 1970s, while serving in the military, Harris was part of a group tasked with interviewing individuals reporting alien sightings across the United States. In that role, he spoke to over 5,000 people. (The 2009 film The Men Who Stare at Goats is believed to be partially inspired by this group.) Harris also claims to have worked inside Area 51.
After retiring from the military, he purchased a piece of land right at the start of the highway, erected a Quonset-style metal dome building, and opened the Alien Research Center in 2000. Harris also installed a 12-meter-tall alien statue named Zork out front. The center preserves a local historical artifact: the original Extraterrestrial Highway sign from the 1990s, which is now hung indoors, surrounded by hundreds of handwritten notes from visitors.
Today, the location functions more as a souvenir shop than a research center. Tourists can buy apparel, magnets, sauces, and glassware. Harris, who splits his time between the Mojave Desert and Las Vegas, views these ventures as a “personal homage” to extraterrestrial life.
“I believe in aliens,” he affirms, adding that what he witnessed inside Area 51 is enough for him to be certain. “Regardless of what others think, it’s clear we cannot be the only species in the universe.”
About an hour’s drive north of the Research Center is the town of Rachel, the core of the region locals call “Alien Country.”
This town has a specific link to aliens: in terms of potential UFO flight paths, Rachel is the nearest inhabited community to Area 51. Although it takes an hour of driving on a dirt road to reach the base’s gate, curious visitors cannot proceed past the military checkpoint.
To call Rachel “isolated” is perhaps an understatement. It is the only settlement within the Sand Springs Valley, a remote offshoot of the Mojave Desert. Turning left reveals only rock formations and sand; turning right yields the same.
Consequently, the approximately 200 vehicles that traverse the Extraterrestrial Highway daily almost invariably stop at the only two establishments: the Alien Cowpoke gas station or the Little A’Le’Inn motel.
The “Cowpoke,” as locals refer to it, is the only gas station within an 80-kilometer radius. The small building behind the pumps also serves as a convenience store selling snacks and handcrafted alien-themed souvenirs like magnets, posters, tote bags, and keychains. Out front, there’s a photo op area complete with hay bales and three alien statues.
This is where Faun Day works—the person who recounts the details of her “fateful encounter” to tourists. And down the road, the Little A’Le’Inn (a playful misspelling of Little Alien) attracts visitors with similar tales—a model UFO hangs suspended above a tow truck right outside the entrance.
This quaint, quirky hotel offers just ten simple rooms, but its greater allure is the restaurant, which serves hot meals, including a hamburger with a special “alien sauce.” Inside, visitors can find life-sized alien mannequins, inflatable figures, and news clippings about UFO sightings over the years. In the bar area, alien faces are plastered all over the mirror behind the liquor shelves.
Perhaps the most intriguing corner of the restaurant is the souvenir section: alien head-shaped glass mugs, alien head cookie jars, and replica Nevada license plates inscribed with “4ALIENS” or “ET HWY.”
From Rachel, the Extraterrestrial Highway continues northwest, cutting through the state’s most desolate terrains. In some stretches, the road appears as an endless line drawn across the desert; in others, small dirt tracks branch off, then vanish into thin air, prompting the question: Where do they lead?
The answer is that at least two of those roads lead to the gates of Area 51. Those curious enough to drive onto them will be halted at a military checkpoint, where armed guards might even confiscate photographic equipment.
Finally, Nevada Route 375 terminates at U.S. Route 6, where the Extraterrestrial Highway continues west to the town of Tonopah—one of the best spots in America for stargazing and UFO hunting.
Specifically, the Tonopah Stargazing Park, with its concrete pads for telescopes, is an ideal location to observe the crystal-clear night sky.
The Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah is considered one of the most famously haunted hotels in the U.S. Meanwhile, the Clown Motel, situated on the edge of town right next to a cemetery dating back to 1907, adds to the eerie atmosphere.
The lobby of the Clown Motel showcases about 800 of the 2,500 clowns that owners Hem and Vijay Mehar have collected over the years—some of which are rumored to be possessed.
Tour guide Wonder Crisp, who identifies as a psychic medium, organizes night tours through the Clown Motel and the adjacent cemetery, describing Tonopah as a hotspot for supernatural phenomena.
“Spirits and aliens are everywhere around here. To see them, you just have to believe,” Crisp says with a mysterious smile.
(According to CNN)
