Little A'Le'Inn

The people in the cafe and running the "rv park" are wonderful; friendly and helpful. But it is a shabby place with beat up electrical and water hook-ups (no sewer and no dump site.) Around 9 PM they set off a bunch of really large fireworks which had my dog shaking for hours.

The people who work must live near by as there was almost constant walking back and forth through the "rv park" -- really just three pull-through spots behind the cafe.

But good food and coffee in the cafe. If heading East, I'd keep going until Caliente.

Making our way from Yosemite to Zion, we were looking for a spot where we could get a partial hook-up and reception to work remotely. We found Little A'Le'Inn and it's honestly the best. There is nothing... I mean NOTHING for miles in either direction. You HAVE to fill up with gas at least 100 miles beforehand if you're coming from the south or west (a little closer if you're coming from the East). There is zero reception until you get to the restaurant... and then 5 bars Verizon.

Everyone was beyond friendly, we had a 30amp hookup and water. There was free wifi that was so strong both of us had no problems working and holding video calls. We ended up staying a second night because it was just so convenient.

Note: there is no AT&T reception - no bars, nothing. But Verizon was some of the best I've ever had plus their wifi was outstanding.

We drove up to Rachel, NV and loved the whole "Extraterrestrial Hwy" and "Black Mailbox" and alien stops. The Little A'Le'Inn is one of our all time favorite stops. It's in the middle of NOWHERE (gas up in Alamo if coming from Las Vegas). There is a gas station in Rachel but it's very expensive. Full RV hookups behind the restaurant/bar are $20/night, or you can boondock for free. The folks at the Inn are phenomenal, funny, and quick-witted and we had the Alien Burger along with beers with the locals to ring in the New Year. Lots of awesome folks out there and we really enjoyed our experience, definitely talk with the locals and listen to their stories. Great folks. Thousands of Geocaches are in the area as well.

Heading south for the winter, I had decided to take US-93 down through Nevada instead of the usual I-15, and this would not be complete without a pilgrimage to Area 51 - not in my case for the aliens, but because of my former career. I did stop at the Alien Research Center (a gift shop) on the way, and found Groom Road and Back Gate Road on google maps (they are not signed) so that I could stop to gawk down them on the way to Rachel.

The Little A'Le'Inn is a typical, run-down desert establishment, with old trailers for motel rooms, some permanent residents in old RVs, a junk yard, overflowing dumpsters, and four RV sites in the middle of it all with water/electric hookups for $20 per night. There is also free dry camping off to the side. The restaurant/bar has many photographs on display and Area 51 souvenirs for sale, and there is an antique truck out front with a flying saucer that it has brought in. By the road, there is a radioactive dust monitoring station, which continuously uploads measurements of radioactivity left from the nuclear testing of the 1950s and 60s. The Air Force was good enough to provide some jet noise and sonic booms to complete the ambience.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming. Overall, the experience is something to remember, and I'm certainly glad I came.

Rachel is a Verizon oasis, with 5 bars, -78 dB, 16-45 Mbps down and 16-21 up.

On our way North, we decided a trip across the ET Highway was in order, I mean, why not? Since we are so big, it made sense to go somewhere with good access, at least until we got to see the other areas. If we do go back, we will try nearer the black mailbox (20 miles east from the Little A'Le'Inn). Anyway, we inquired first, and indeed, the large flat gravel property across the driveway is available for free parking. We were quoted 20$ for power and water sites in the park if we wanted. After an easy set up, we had lunch at the restaurant, which was awesome. The staff working were very friendly and helpful. The restaurant/bar is full of alien themed quirky photos, posters, art, and the gift shop has great souvenirs, post cards, etc. We went over in the evening and had fantastic pies for desert and a drink at the bar- also very good.
There are no gas stations along this section of highway, so do be prepared for that. The highway also runs along open cattle range lands, so beware of cows crossing the roads (and walking through your sites :) ) Although we were just off the highway, it is not a popular highway, so little travel noise and the small town of Rachel is also very quiet. What noises we did hear were the Air Force jets training. They often broke the sound barriers so lots of sonic booms and jet noise- honestly, only during daytime/evening hours, we apparently weren't there during any night time exercises. But, we consider this the sound of our freedom and loved it when we could get a glimpse of them flying overhead.
Visited the Black Mail Box, Visited the Restaurant, Visited an old mine site along the highway right before the Inn, and took a short off road trip to check out another abandoned mine in the morning before getting back on the road. It is fun to learn about the mining history of the area, Area 51 and the Films that included Area 51 and Rachel in their story lines. Fun side trip for sure.

While they do offer hookups for $20, we elected to Boondock in their dirt lot. It could definitely use some cleaning from all the toilet paper people leave behind, but overall it’s a wide open space with lots of options of where you want to park so you can find a clean spot. The locals are super friendly. The Little A’Le’Inn was a great spot to grab breakfast before taking off in the morning. And of course the photo ops are the best part. I would stay again if ever traveling that way.

If you love odd and peculiar locations, Rachel is for you! Famous for Area 51 and Extraterrestrial activity you will find plenty of things to do here for a couple days.

Surprisingly our Verizon phone worked here and had marginally acceptable service. We took one of their 4 RV sites with water and electricity. There is free boondocking on the property as well. I think we paid $10 for the RV site and they even had wifi.

If you're a conspiracy theorist, you will have fun driving up to the gates of Groom Lake (Area 51)! This area has the MOST amazing geocaching ever! Just when the sun went down the jets came out and sonic BOOMS would shake the rig. We were able to cruise our ATV around the entire area. If not for some heavy wind moving in we would have stayed longer.

The cafe served good food considering you're 40 miles from the middle of nowhere. Everyone there was extremely nice. One down side was the owners dogs poop all over the grounds.

Warning black cattle free range on the Extraterrestrial Highway, use extreme caution especially at night.

Arriving: https://youtu.be/DcbQy2NS_sI
Area 51: https://youtu.be/vIsE7UJciVk
Leaving: https://youtu.be/h5Y0vPOve1o