Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

alconies or patios, and mountain views. There are also large family suites with
fully equipped kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms (with convertible sofas), and
dressing areas; these are equipped with two phones and two TVs and are available
for long-term rentals (many of the people who work at Old Nevada actually rent
these as apartments). Videotapes and players are available for rental, and there is
even a tiny train that takes you around the grounds and on a short tour of the
desert.
The Bonnie Springs Ranch Restaurant has a lot of character and is a perfect
family place. It’s heavily rustic (stone floors, log beams, raw wooden chairs made
from tree branches, lanterns, a roaring fire in winter, and plenty of dead animals
adorning the walls). It’s a bit touristy, but small-town touristy. The food is basic—
steak, ribs, chicken, burgers, and potato skins; pancakes and eggs for breakfast; it’s
all greasy but good. There is a cozy bar attached to the restaurant, its walls covered
with thousands of dollar bills with messages on them—a classic neighborhood bar,
if it were actually in a neighborhood.
1 Gunfighter Lane, Old Nevada, NV 89004. & 702/875-4400. Fax 702/875-4424. www.bonniesprings.
com/motel.html. 50 units. Sun–Thurs $60–$70 double, Fri–Sat $70–$80 double; Sun–Thurs $120 fantasy suite,
Fri–Sat $135 fantasy suite; Sun–Thurs $95 family suite, Fri–Sat $100 family suite. Extra person $5. AE, MC, V.
Amenities: Restaurant; outdoor pool; nonsmoking rooms. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies, coffeemakers.
5 A Close Encounter with Area 51 ¡
A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH AREA 51 291
150 miles N of Las Vegas
Want to feel like an extra on the X-Files? Just want to get an idea of the kind of
spots the government picks when it needs a place in which to do secret things?
Take the drive from Vegas out to the “E.T. Highway,” where folks were spotting
aliens years before it became fashionable. This is about a 150-mile trip oneway,
so it’s probably not something to do on a whim, but even for non–alien
buffs, it can be a long, strange—and oddly illuminating—trip indeed.
Area 51 is a secret military facility, containing a large air base that the government
will not discuss. The site was selected in the mid-1950s for the testing of the
U2 spy plane, and is supposedly the current testing ground for “black budget” aircraft
before their public acknowledgment. (Oh, heck, who are they trying to kid?
Of course that’s where they are testing high-tech gadgets.) But its real fame comes
with the stories of aliens, whose bodies and ships were supposedly taken there
when they “crashed” at Roswell.
Mind you, the only thing alien you are guaranteed to see is the landscape.
Only fans of desert topography will find the scenery attractive. It’s a desolate
area, but that’s part of the inexplicable charm. There is absolutely a weird vibe
in the air; something is going on out here. And one thing’s for sure: If you need
a place for covert, or at least private, activities, you couldn’t find a better location
for it. Alien bodies? Shoot, you could hide an entire alien fleet.
But don’t come looking for monuments, historical markers, or good shopping—with
a few exceptions, there’s a whole lot of nothing out there. You’d
think the tourist possibilities would have led to more development, but even in
Vegas, despite the presence of plenty of alien merchandise in the gift shops and
an entire Area 51–themed shopping area at the new airport expansion, there is
not as much awareness as you might think. One waitress, when asked if she’d
been there, responded, “Not since they remodeled.”