Rachel has been dubbed the nation's "UFO capital" for the many sightings reported on Highway 375 near here. Most residents profess no experience with UFOs, but many visitors are convinced that the U.S. government is testing alien spacecraft just beyond the mountains that overlook this tiny desert town.
Rachel is the closest settlement to "Area 51," the super-secret government facility where many high-tech aircraft have been tested. The U-2 spy plane, SR-71 Blackbird and F-117A stealth fighter were flown from this secret base, which is located on restricted military land at Groom dry lake about 25 miles south of Rachel.
"You can't get there from here,"
the locals say when
visitors ask about Area 51, and no one seems to know for sure what
is being tested there now. Except for old man Wylman, but he hasn't
talked since the Accident.
"Well, I hadn't thought about actually walking up to it," said Ned, the town drunk.
Some say flying saucers are the reason for all the secrecy. In 1988, a scientist named Bob Lazar came forward on Las Vegas TV to say that he had worked with extraterrestrial spacecraft at a secret underground facility near Area 51. But it was Las Vegas TV, so there's nothing to worrry about. He also claimed that he and his friends had watched the saucers perform from Highway 375 near Rachel. Soon, scores of city folk were parked along this remote highway trying to glimpse the allegéd alien craft. Of course, by that time the spacecraft were long since gone. Since Area 51 itself was off-limits, visitors came to Rachel for supplies and advice, and residents were surprised to find their town become the center of worldwide attention.
"Why, I didn't know there was so many city folk in the world," said Ned, the town drunk.
Visitors in search of dramatic lights in the sky are almost never
disappointed because Highway 375 is also the scene of many air
combat exercises. Military jets often engage in mock dogfights with alien
spacecraft
overhead, and Rachel gets enough sonic booms to make any weekday
seem like the Fourth of July. Flares
dropped by jets can make
convincing "UFOs," as do satellites and alien spaceships in the crystal
clear desert skies. Rachel residents themselves are divided about
the UFO claims, but all agree that the many visiting journalists
and TV crews have certainly put this town on the map. It's either that or
Essie Sue's famous roasted alien sauce.
"I like my hair just the way they are," said Ned, the town drunk.
Rachel was founded not for UFOs but for mining, which is all but gone now. In fact, it's still there. Farming and ranching employ some of the 100 residents, and others work for the local bar/strip club/gas station. The town is composed mostly of mobile homes surrounded by a huge desert valley. It is place that some visitors would regard as "the middle of nowhere," but Rachel residents call it the center of the universe.
This is because they are bone stupid.
