Continued:

It is the Black Mailbox, and its significance lies as the turnoff point for Area 51-bound adventurers. The mailbox is the propertly of Steve Medlin, a longtime rancher whose property butts up against the edges of Nellis Air Force Base. The same dirt road which takes you to the base boundary, comes to a fork several miles off Highway 375. Take the left, and you’re headed for Nellis. Turn right, and you’ll find yourself dodging bullets in no time.

Medlin, who is rumored to have refused a hefty government payoff to relinquish his ranch (prompting conspiracy theorists to believe he may be involved in the government ploy), apparently grew so disgusted with tourists getting lost and ending up on his property, that he has resorted to taking pot shots at any unfamiliar cars headed down his driveway. Take a close look on the gravel road en route to the Medlin property, and you’ll find evidence of his disgust with surprise visitors: rifle shells scattered in every direction.

An unofficial guidebook to the Area 51/Rachel region (written by longtime skywatcher Glenn Campbell, whose falling-out with the Travises and whose longtime alien skepticism has made a hated figure in alien-conspiracy circles) describes the final few steps to the Nellis gate.

"The boundaries of the base are marked by bright orange posts," the guidebook details. "Do not pass them."

These boundaries are clearly discernible, thanks to both the orange posts and the weathervane-esque radar towers which stick up out of the dusty ground at various intervals.

The guidebook also describes the men who greet any unwanted visitors to the gate. These men, the official sentinels of Area 51, are called ‘Cammo dudes,’ and the instant an arriving vehicle rounds the final turn before the sign, these Cammo dudes appear. They are known to observe the visitor carefully from afar, using both sophisticated surveillance equipment and standard government-issue Chevrolet Suburbans (always white with dark tinted windows). If you cross the clearly-marked line (distinguished by the infamous signs advocating gunplay in the event of noncompliance), you will be subject to one of the following treatments: a) you will be arrested; b) you will be shot; and c) you will simply vanish from the face of the earth, and become another footnote in the longstanding conspiracy.

And the guidebook doesn’t fail to mention perhaps the best vantage point of them all, the inside view of the base from the summit of Tikaboo Peak. However, the book strongly cautions against this hike, especially in inclement weather conditions:

"The mountain trails to be hiked in order to gain a view of Nellis Air Force Base, can be quite treacherous and dangerous. Do not attempt this hike if you are not in prime physical condition, or if the weather is in any way suspect. Also do not stray from the well-cut trails, or you will die."

These are the characters and images that make up Rachel and the Area 51 experience. All too often, an inquisitive visitor finds himself driving back toward the decidedly-human lights of Las Vegas, pondering exactly what lies on the other side of the forbidding, forbidden mountain range. In the end, all you’re left with are glimpses of an eerie sign and a white Suburban, unexplained flashes of light in the sky, alien lore… and souvenirs.

"I really believe in UFOs," says Pat Travis. "This is not just something to sell t-shirts."

 It is the Black Mailbox, and its significance lies as the turnoff point for Area 51-bound adventurers. The mailbox is the propertly of Steve Medlin, a longtime rancher whose property butts up against the edges of Nellis Air Force Base. The same dirt road which takes you to the base boundary, comes to a fork several miles off Highway 375. Take the left, and you’re headed for Nellis. Turn right, and you’ll find yourself dodging bullets in no time.

Medlin, who is rumored to have refused a hefty government payoff to relinquish his ranch (prompting conspiracy theorists to believe he may be involved in the government ploy), apparently grew so disgusted with tourists getting lost and ending up on his property, that he has resorted to taking pot shots at any unfamiliar cars headed down his driveway. Take a close look on the gravel road en route to the Medlin property, and you’ll find evidence of his disgust with surprise visitors: rifle shells scattered in every direction.

An unofficial guidebook to the Area 51/Rachel region (written by longtime skywatcher Glenn Campbell, whose falling-out with the Travises and whose longtime alien skepticism has made a hated figure in alien-conspiracy circles) describes the final few steps to the Nellis gate.

"The boundaries of the base are marked by bright orange posts," the guidebook details. "Do not pass them."

These boundaries are clearly discernible, thanks to both the orange posts and the weathervane-esque radar towers which stick up out of the dusty ground at various intervals.

The guidebook also describes the men who greet any unwanted visitors to the gate. These men, the official sentinels of Area 51, are called ‘Cammo dudes,’ and the instant an arriving vehicle rounds the final turn before the sign, these Cammo dudes appear. They are known to observe the visitor carefully from afar, using both sophisticated surveillance equipment and standard government-issue Chevrolet Suburbans (always white with dark tinted windows). If you cross the clearly-marked line (distinguished by the infamous signs advocating gunplay in the event of noncompliance), you will be subject to one of the following treatments: a) you will be arrested; b) you will be shot; and c) you will simply vanish from the face of the earth, and become another footnote in the longstanding conspiracy.

And the guidebook doesn’t fail to mention perhaps the best vantage point of them all, the inside view of the base from the summit of Tikaboo Peak. However, the book strongly cautions against this hike, especially in inclement weather conditions:

"The mountain trails to be hiked in order to gain a view of Nellis Air Force Base, can be quite treacherous and dangerous. Do not attempt this hike if you are not in prime physical condition, or if the weather is in any way suspect. Also do not stray from the well-cut trails, or you will die."

These are the characters and images that make up Rachel and the Area 51 experience. All too often, an inquisitive visitor finds himself driving back toward the decidedly-human lights of Las Vegas, pondering exactly what lies on the other side of the forbidding, forbidden mountain range. In the end, all you’re left with are glimpses of an eerie sign and a white Suburban, unexplained flashes of light in the sky, alien lore… and souvenirs.

"I really believe in UFOs," says Pat Travis. "This is not just something to sell t-shirts."