Merry Christmas

From my family to yours, "Merry Christmas"! This photo was taken on January 26, 2010 after a two day snowstorm.

Rainbow over the Nevada Test Site!

It has been raining for the past few days and I guess it is supposed to continue for a few more days. This type of rain is somewhat rare for this part of the state. It does make for some pretty photos at times. This photo is of a rainbow over the airstrip in the Nevada Test Site just before Mercury. That is an interesting airstrip. I have seen the lights on before and have seen a few small planes land there. You can see it pretty well from the Highway!

Balloon Ride Near the Nevada Test Site

While driving to the Pahrump Nugget to cash in my winning parlay card (I had USC -6, Nevada -9, Washington -6, and Oregon -16), I noticed a very rare sight. In fact, this was the first time I had noticed a hot air balloon floating into the Pahrump Valley. It appeared to me that the balloon originated somewhere in the Armagosa Valley near Crystal. The thing that caught my eye was the extremely high altitude of the balloon. I usually see 2-3 balloons per morning on the way to work in Las Vegas. The balloons do low Las Vegas view tours. The balloons are quite low and that really made this sight stick out. I could not believe how high the balloon was. I am guessing that the balloon was high to get over the mountain range that is to the North of Pahrump between the NTS and Pahrump. With the balloon being that high, with the right equipment and even with the naked eye, the NTS and well beyond Mercury would be easily seen. I have read many times and thought about hot air ballooning near the NTS, Range or even Area 51, but I have never seen on this close to the Nellis Range. The photo is almost impossible to see the balloon. It was extremely high up and far away from downtown Pahrump. I guess there could be tours of the Armagosa or Pahrump Valley, but there is not doubt they could get a great view if they knew where to look! I continued the drive further North to see where the balloon was landing. It started to descend shortly after I took the photo. I landed inside the Pahrump Valley in front of the mountain range that separates Crystal from Pahrump. It landed approximately 20 miles from the restricted area of the Nellis Range! Interesting to me...

A Busy Las Vegas Morning!

With the weather change, the contrails over Las Vegas really develop high above the valley floor. Each morning driving to work in Las Vegas, it is really a show high in the sky. The amount of passenger and military jet activity is impressive. I am glad the air traffic controllers know what they are doing!

Edwards AFB Research Laboratory

With such a welcoming sign, who could resist driving down the road to see what is up? After heading home from a wonderful Thanksgiving, I decided to venture down a road that has always interested me. I promised the wife (after the unauthorized Nevada Test Site Tour) that I would NOT go down these types of roads any more with the family in the car, so I turned around after a few ominous signs. What is the security like farther down this road? Is there a gate, guards, or fences? How close can you get to the rocket engine testing site? I haven't spent much time around Edwards AFB or the rocket engine test site. I have a feeling that I should start spending a little more time snooping around this area. I drive by continually on the way to my parent's house, but rarely stop to snoop around. I think Edwards AFB needs a little more attention!

Beautiful Southern Nevada Sunset

I captured this photo today at about 4:30 on the way home from work. The shot was taken at Red Rock Canyon. Red Rock Canyon is near Mt. Charleston. The Southern Nevada desert is a beautiful part of the country.

Aviation Nation 2010

What a great day. My dad and I had a wonderful time at this years Aviation Nation airshow from Nellis AFB. The Thunderbird's were as sensational as usual. They had a tremendous static display this year. We were able to see the UAV's from Creech AFB in action. They had a predator drone 18,000 feet above and nearly 3 miles away filming the airshow. The technology is very impressive. I am always fascinated by the amount of security. The above photo is of an A-10 with snipers on the corners of the Thunderbird Hangar. For more photos check out my Photobucket page and Youtube page. The show stopper was definitely the F-22 demonstration. What a plane!

Another recent video of F-117 flying near Area 51!

This appears to be another video that has recently surfaced showing the "retired" F-117 still very active in the Range near Area 51. The individuals on the video claim the date is July 27, 2010. I am starting to think that maybe this is a test plane for a completely remote controlled version. A F-117 UAV. I don't think that is too far out there. The F-117 is one of the first electronically controlled cockpit. It wouldn't be too far of a stretch to think they have completely taken the pilot out of the cockpit!

F-117 Flying Again Video

Click the above link to watch the video

Jesse "The Body" Visits Area 51 (almost)

The episode of Conspiracy Truth aired dealing with Area 51. Jesse didn't quite make it to Area 51, but he did get about as close as possible. He made it to the restricted area warning signs on Groom Lake Road with the help of Joerg Arnu of Dreamlandresort.com. Unfortunately, the show tended to go into too much alien folklore. I don't blame the show for this since it is obvious that the alien folklore continues to sell! The show has been put on Youtube by somebody in three parts for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Possible UFO or cow spotted above Creech AFB

While driving home to Pahrump, I caught what appeared to be a UAV returning home to Creech AFB. I usually travel with my digital camera or video camera, but did not this time. I only had my cell phone. While driving I managed to snap a shot of what appeared, with the naked eye, to clearly be a UAV, but upon further review, at home, it appears to be a flying cow or UFO! It is really cool to drive by and catch one of the UAV's flying around Creech AFB. It truly is the wave of the future for the Air Force. There has been a tremendous amount of construction at Creech AFB. The construction started a few months ago and it appears to be continuing with quite a bit of construction in all areas of the base. It is really an awesome sight to see the Predator flying past the car along the Hwy heading home to Creech AFB. This Predator UAV landed shortly after 6pm.

F-117 Resurfaces Again (well sort of...)

It appears that the Chinese have a mock up of the F-117 at one of their air bases. The interesting fact is that this base deals with UAV's and missle defense systems. It does make you wonder if the recent photos and scanner info. showing that the F-117 is again flying around Groom Lake. Lets not forget that the F-117 was the first completely wired jet. How hard would it be to disconnect the cockpit? I wonder if they are using a F-117 with some new technology making it completely remote controlled!

Image of the Week: Luoyang Nighthawk
Click on the link above to read more about this photo!

What Happens If You Cross the Line at Area 51

This video has been around for a while, but it never gets old. This should put to rest all of the people who keep talking about Area 51 being moved to Utah or other nonsense along those lines. Area 51 is as busy as possible and the security is as strict as any place on Earth!

Jesse "The Body" Ventura visits Area 51!

It looks like the new season of Conspiracy Theories with Jesse Ventura started this past Friday. The episode was about the germ lab on Plum Island. I watched all of the episodes last season and was entertained with the show. The topics were good, but Jesse just never really seemed to get any "smoking gun" concerning the topics covered, but he is an interesting character and made for an entertaining hour. The second show this season is going to be about Area 51. The previews looked interesting, but sort of gone over many times on many shows before. It looks like he interviews George Knapp and a few other regulars. The webmaster of Dreamland Resort and overall top notch Area 51 researcher is in the episode as well. The show airs Friday at 10pm Pacific. I will definitely DVR this episode. I don't expect anything monumental to come from this episode, but I am hoping it will at least be entertaining.

Possible F-117 alive and well at Area 51?

For the last few days there has been quite a bit of "buzz" about a possible sighting of a F-117 near Area 51. It is reported, from a very reliable source that the two photos and video of the F-117 are legit and they are recent and they are from near Area 51. I will work on posting the photos and video when permission is granted. The photographer wants to remain completely anonymous. It was verified that the F-117 did not come from Tonopah Test Range where the F-117 have been stored in a "mothball" state since the official retirement in 2008. If one is alive and well and being flown out of Groom Lake, that may not be too surprising after all. I can imagine Area 51 using a F-117 for testing purposes. Maybe some new technology has been added or they it has been designed to fly as a UAV. Who knows? Any guesses? When the photos and video becomes available, I will surely post for all of you!

Click the link below to visit a site that has the two photos and a video of the F-117
F-117 Post Retirement

Great Fly-By photo of Area 51, Papoose, and Yucca Dry Lake

This has been on a few sites for a few days. It really is an interesting shot. From what I can tell these shots were taken from an airplane just outside the restricted area over the Nellis Range. The flight might have been the Phoenix, Arizona to Oakland, California on US Airways. The photos are really great quality for shooting out of the window of a commercial airliner. Enjoy!

Fly-by photo

Groom Fest 2010

This should be a lot of fun. A public hike of Tikaboo Peak with Glenn Campbell.

Groom Fest 2010

Groom Lake Photos -July 2010

These photos were taken this July by one of the top Area 51 researchers. He is the webmaster at www.lazygranch.com His photos are top notch. These recent photos are the best and most detailed I have ever seen of Area 51. The photos are from Tikaboo Peak. Visit his site and this link. You will not be disappointed!!!

Groom Lake Photos

Click above to view the photos in an Area 51 discussion forum!

Air Force Rescue Helicopter

I was driving home from work this afternoon and notice the above Air Force rescue helicopter on the landing pad a Centennial Hills Hospital. It was on the pad used by the commercial emergency helicopters. I hate it when I see one of those helicopters land because it is usually not "good" for the patient. I was wondering who they dropped off? I wonder if it was a civilian or military member that was dropped off. I saw the helicopter leave and fly in a direct line towards Creech Air Force Base. It could have gone to any location on the range near Creech AFB or the Nevada Test Site. This made me think about where somebody is taken with severe injuries on the Nellis Range, Creech AFB, Nevada Test Site or even Area 51. I figured most would go to Nellis, but I am not sure what level trauma they have there. I would have thought that if somebody was going to airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas they would have gone to UMC. I know UMC is the highest level trauma center in Nevada (I believe). Centennial Hills is definitely the closest hospital by air from the west side of the Nellis Range. Any thoughts about who might have been airlifted this afternoon and where would the seriously injured on the Nellis Range, Creech, or Area 51 be taken? Sorry for the quality of the photo. It was taken out of my car window in traffic. It definitely said Rescue and Air Force on the tail.

"Dummy" SCUD missile at Creech AFB

I was driving past Creech AFB in Indian Springs when I noticed this huge "dummy" SCUD missile and launcher parked near the fence. I am sure they have many targets for the UAV pilots to practice with. It also made me wonder how many of the Commies used fake equipment during those huge Military parades!

Mach 6 X-51 WaveRider.

19 C-17's recover at Nellis during MAFEX Mass Recovery

Stealth Blimp?

This photo was emailed to a very credible Area 51 researcher. I can't make heads or tails out of the photo. There is just so much that people can do with photos to fake them. Has anybody seen this photo before? It was said to have been taken here: " Allegedly taken near Tybo. Comms on 257.95 to Silverblimp tower". That last sentence was included in the email. Any thoughts???

All the JANETS at the terminal!

Very strange. I drove by the JANET terminal yesterday at about 12:30 in the afternoon. All the JANET 737's were at the terminal. That was very odd. Recently they have been extremely busy. Various Area 51 researchers have noticed on Flightware and other programs that there have not been the usual scheduled flights the past day or so. It appears to coincide with the extreme wind and gusts we are having here locally. They are expecting gusts of up to 80-100 mph around the various ranges. I know Reno had gusts of 100 mph yesterday. I just wonder if with the desert heat/wind etc. if they thought it would just be prudent to hold off on the normal schedule until tomorrow when the wind is to die down. I guess we will know if the flights resume tomorrow. Just a thought!

As busy as ever!

One nice thing about being a teacher is our vacation time. This morning I decided to take a quick drive down to the JANET terminal to check things out. It was as busy as ever. Almost every parking space was filled. All but one of the planes was gone and that one left shortly after I arrived. It was amazing to see how many cars and trucks were parked in the lot. There should be no question that Area 51, TTR, North Edwards, and wherever else those JANET planes go, are just as busy as before if not even more busy! Without question!!!

New Construction At Back Gate near Rachel

I went for a little pre-Easter visit to see if the Easter Bunny had left any eggs for the "Cammo Dudes" and found a little construction going on at the back gate near Rachel. I haven't been there for about a month so I am not sure what is going on. About 1/8 of a mile before the back gate there is a large staging area for equipment. It is perfectly rectangular with a entrance and an exit. It looks to be able to hold quite a bit of material or equipment. There was nothing in there today. The guard shack has quite a bit of gravel to the right of the shack. At first I thought maybe they were putting up some new type of berm. I am not sure if it is going to be used for filling in the road and spraying the asphalt over it like they did on GLR. I guess it could be used for some type of building construction. I am leaning towards putting down a layer of gravel and then asphalt spraying it like they did on GLR. I am left wondering why it was put there and not in the cleared out area. Any thoughts?

While driving past Creech AFB...

It was interesting to see this while driving past Creech AFB this afternoon. It was about 2:35 in the afternoon. I didn't see or hear anything flying near the smoke. I am not really sure what it was. For those who don't know, Creech AFB is located in Indian Springs, Nevada. It is the base where most of the drones are controlled from. There are many training areas near here for the drones and pilots. This photo was taken about one mile from Creech AFB. Any thoughts?

"Black World" military unit patches

I have tried to buy online (mostly ebay) reproductions of original "black world" patches from various military units. Some of the patches represent projects that were test flown at Area 51, such as The Bird of Prey. Others are believed to be from Area 51 or the TTR, and some are from other secret units. The patches are on many clothing and other novelty items for sell in my Cafepress store. My profit is not much, so the prices are kept as low as possible. I am hoping to sell enough to cover the cost of the running the website. Thanks and happy shopping!

Click the following link and scroll to the bottom of the page to see examples.
The Paradise Ranch

Driving Past Creech AFB

I noticed this jet near one of the runways at Creech AFB. This is the base that is about 60 minutes from Las Vegas. This is where the AFB tests, does maintenance, and controls many of the drones seeing action overseas. This jet looked odd. I am wondering if it is some type of "dummy" to help with the training of the drone pilots?

As a follow up it does appear to be a SU 27 decoy that the USAF uses to train with the drones. It is a stationary target that the drones use to photograph.

Photographic proof Aliens live at Area 51

Well maybe not really aliens but this track was at the Rachel gate this afternoon. The snow was incredible. about a 1-2 feet everywhere. Coyote Summit was a little rough. They have not plowed it yet. Rachel is without power. The Little A Le Inn is running off a generator. We had to walk the last 500 feet to the GLR warning signs. I will send some pics. and a trip report this evening. This post is for your insight. For the last few visits (6-7 visits) something regularly has been happening. When anybody shows up at the signs on GLR the new cammo dude truck is awaiting as usual. The white jeep has been joining him and then the new trucks leaves immediately and goes to the shack, I presume. I was with my family this morning and a friend and noticed this happened again. The friend said, "I bet they are going to monitor something at the shack". That all of a sudden makes sense. Do you guys think they are now monitoring friendly visitors back at the shack with some new equipment? One watches on the hill, what does the other "cammo dude" leave for and what does he do at the shack? We were also lucky enough to get a "buzz" by an F-16 while down at the GLR signs. It came so fast and low, I didn't have time to get the camera on it and then it was gone. Pretty cool day! The kids left an alien snowman for the "cammo dudes".

PS. What the heck animal left that track at the back gate?

Uncomfortable standoff!

It was sort of funny, but I wimped out in the end. As I arrived at the Rachel Gate, a white semi with government plates showed up at the same time. I pulled way to the side of the road with plenty of room for the semi to pass by but he didn't move. He stayed right where he is in the picture. The guard opened the door and closed it quickly. The truck just stayed there. I thought maybe he wasn't moving because I had my camera out, so I put it away. He still didn't move. A few minutes passed and there was no movement. Some more minutes passed and still no movement. I started feeling a little uncomfortable at this point. I go out there quite a bit and have never had a problem with the security and didn't want any issue this time. I waited a few more minutes and then finally decided to leave. The semi won! He waited for me to be plenty far away and left. He headed down a different road than I was on. He cut through Rachel and went out towards Warm Springs. I was waiting for him at the entrance to the back gate road before you get to Rachel, so I didn't get any other pictures of him. He appeared to be just your usual semi, but he definitely didn't want any more photos taken. Everything else was quiet as usual around the perimeter today!

New Security Truck in Action

Here is the new "cammo dude" truck in action behind the warning signs. I wonder why that truck has the deep water fording exhaust?

New and Old security vehicles

I wonder who gets to drive the old jeep? Here is a photo of the new Ford 2010 Super Duty 4x4. The photo was taken on 1-6-10.

Engine Thrust Noise at Area 51

I ran out to the perimeter of Area 51 just to see what was going on.
Usually there is not much action on our side. Now the interesting
part, we both heard this strange noise. I have been to the GLR warning
signs at least 40-45 times and never heard anything like this before.
It sounded like a rumble just past the first set of hills. I thought
it sounded like a hot air balloon when they pull the cord to fill it.
It sounded like engine thrusting but there was nothing in the sky. It
would last 12-15 seconds at a burst and then stop suddenly. This
happened at least 3-4 times. Is it possible to hear engine thrust
testing from Groom at the GLR warning signs. To me it seems way too
far. I was able to capture this sound twice on my digital camera. The
video quality sucks! The loudest sound is my camera. If you
concentrate on the background sound you will hear the rumble. It was
quite noticeable at the GLR. Everybody heard it and questioned what it
was. If you watch the video a few times you can hear the sound.
Any thoughts???

New Paved Groom Lake Road

I took a wonderful couple from England on a tour this past Wednesday (12-30-09). There were quite a few more cars in the parking lot at the Sheriff's Annex in Alamo. I counted 14 cars and trucks where the Area 51 workers park to catch the bus. Once we got to the Groom Lake Road warning signs, it was easy to see they had newly paved the part of Groom Lake Road past the signs. We witnessed the "cammo dudes" speeding down "cammo hill" and turning onto the newly paved road towards the guardshack. Everything else on the tour was the same as usual. The weather continues to offer beautiful sights with all the fresh snow! This is definitely my favorite time to visit the area.