Question of the Day - 06 September 2019

That, friends, is what they used to call the $64,000 question.

And you're not alone in wondering -- or passing through to see for yourself before the deluge; it's reported that the number of visitors to Rachel and surrounds has more than quadrupled lately, from several hundred a day to more than 1,000. And that's in a Nevada county that covers 10,000 square miles (roughly the size of Maryland) and has a population of 5,000. (The old mining town of Pioche is the county seat; Clark County, 8,000 square miles, was carved off of Lincoln in 1909.) 

About a month ago, the originators of the Storm Area 51 Facebook page apparently learned a little geography: The "event" was moved to Rachel, NV, which is twice as close to Area 51 as the original site on US 95 at Amargosa Valley junction. Rachel, however, as the intrepid traveler who submitted this question points out, is even more remote.

But that hasn't stopped the organizers, such as they are, from planning, such as it is, a music, art, and vernal-equinox festival for the weekend of Sept. 20-22. The guy who started this whole ball rolling is a 21-year-old from Bakersfield; a co-organizer is a 20-year-old from Arkansas who reportedly has experience organizing festivals there. He says, "We’re not really about it for the money. We’re standing in front of a huge potential movement here.”

Hm.

The team is putting together a lineup of country, rock, and EDM performers, which will be announced "in the coming weeks" -- though the festival supposedly kicks off two weeks from today. We hope they bring a lot of electrical extension cords that they can plug into the two outdoor outlets at the Little A'Le'Inn. 

Yes, we're being a bit facetious, but the infrastructure in Rachel is so tenuous that the townspeople are understandably up in arms over the whole affair, especially since organizers are expecting between 5,000 and 25,000 people, if interest on Facebook, subscribers to Alienstock's email list, and donations coming into the website are any indication. The Alienstock website is also encouraging festival-goers to bring alcohol or, as they call it, "party fuel." And Bud Light has announced plans to put out an alien-themed beer can. But there's no fire department, so if a fire started -- from overloaded electrical circuits as one example, or careless drunk people as another -- there's no way of putting it out. 

And with thousands of people potentially descending on the tiny settlement, the risks of it being overwhelmed with bodies, trash, sewage, property destruction, and violence are concerning to residents, police, military, Bureau of Land Management, and Lincoln County commissioners.  

In addition, dire warnings are popping up on Rachel's website: “Law enforcement will be overwhelmed and local residents will step up to protect their property. It will get ugly.”

Still, the owner of the Little A'Le'In applied for and received a permit from the county for a gathering of 10,000 people.  

The Little A'le'In proprietors, who also own 35 acres of land surrounding their restaurant-motel, say they've rented out approximately 700 parking spots (at $80) and 30 RV spots (no hookups, $140); they're also reportedly charging $60 for parking spaces. The 10 rooms at the motel (in three single-wide trailers with shared baths) have been booked for months. Admission to the event is free. 

They plan to install a portable stage, port-a-potties and showers, a water-dispensing station, a hand washing station, and giant trash bins; 100 security guards will be onsite.

On August 20, officials in Lincoln County, where Rachel is, prepared an emergency declaration that will enable them to request state assistance with funding emergency and law-enforcement personnel working overtime at the two festivals now planned for the equinox weekend, Alienstock in Rachel and UFOlogy Expo at the Alien Research Center 45 minutes away in Hiko.

The Lincoln County Commissioners also approved permits for both events, on the condition that the organizers appear at the Commission meeting on September 3 with full security, medical, parking, and other plans in place to the commissioners' satisfaction. They did so and the commissioners approved the permits. The Las Vegas Sun reported that the promoters' plans to bring in food and water "could help people survive in the desolate desert nearly three hours' drive from Las Vegas" [emphasis added].

Survival is good, especially since the number of potential festival participants continues to soar; it's now at 40,000, though the county commissioners talked about more like 10,000, and thus far 730 or so have prepaid to park.  

Finally, in perhaps the weirdest twist of all, the tourism department of little Belize, the only Central American country where English is the official language, has also capitalized on the hoopla by offering up to 10 of the Rachel residents a free trip there to avoid all the fuss. It hasn't been reported if anyone has taken them up on the deal.