WEIRD TRAVELS: LAS VEGAS - Janet Airlines

Believe what you want about UFOs, aliens, and the conspiracy theories that tie them together in a little spot in the US called AREA 51. But there is irrefutable proof of a "secret" installation of some sort in the Nevada desert, about 100 miles north/northwest of Las Vegas.

There are alot (oh MAN are there alot) of stories about this place, as most people have heard by now. In fact most of us have been hearing about it on and off since the very early 90's when Bob Lazar went to the media about his alleged and contested experiences there.

Enthusiasts, truthseekers, and others just curious have dared to venture through the desert to the place some call "Dreamland" and report encountering many of the same things: conspicuously blunt signage, armed "camo dudes" in Jeeps and sunglasses, "mailboxes" in the middle of nowhere,", and a whole bunch of other oddities.

No doubt, some people dedicate alot of time to watching Area 51.

And then there was me while I was in Las Vegas the other week. I guess I'd list myself under the category of "curious". I pulled up alongside a "private" terminal reported to be the highly secure terminal for the "JANET" aircraft which alleged shuttle people from Las Vegas McCarran Airport to the "Area 51" base at Groom Lake and the Tonopah Test Site further north.

A view from just outside the "JANET" terminal.

"JANET" is the supposedly the code name at McCarran for the unmarked aircraft used to shuttle the top secret staff supposedly aboard them. The white and red craft use a terminal building on the far western edge of McCarran Airport, just a block east of Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and the Tropicana Resorts on the Strip.

There's alot more details on JANET here, here, and here.

I can't tell you much more than what I already read on these sites, but I did observe that the arrival and departure times people note still seem fairly accurate. I showed up just after 3pm on a Tuesday (3/4/08) and caught the last few people getting off a "JANET" plane about the same time the one in my picture below taxied down the runway for take-off. As those people hit the parking lot, it was like a sudden rush hour. Those cars started streaming out of the secure lot onto Haven St and turning right onto Four Seasons Drive behind me to head to the Freeway. Likewise, I saw them stream in the next afternoon about 45 minutes before another JANET plane took off.

"Big ol' jet airliner....."

So, what's going on at the JANET terminal? I guess I'd say "business as usual." As for just WHAT that business is - I leave thatup to you to decide.