2001
TRIP REPORTS
FYI (6- 01)
Here we are 6 months into the year, and we have no
updates to excite the juices. That is entirely my fault. Though the
vast majority of the membership is still making trips out to The
Range, I, however, have not been able to keep up with the site this
year. My flight training is taking me away, (temporarily, I assure
you), from my job as host of the Groom Lake Audubon Society website.
For the record, and in response to the media and private e/mail....GLAS
is alive and well. The membership is still active, becoming very good
at what it does and doing things that will never be published. It is
fun to post only the tidbits of our stories. But only the Members
know what we know.
C3 (6-01)
THE ADVENTURES of HAPPY JACK & SUNDANCE
All winter long, Happy Jack and I had a bad case of
cabin fever. Between the two of us, we were trying real hard to
find a cure, and we only knew of one solution. Happy suggested a
week in the Utah dessert & I thought it would be a good idea
also. We decided to make it the third week of March (that's
about as long as we figured we could last with out going crazy).
Looking at the calendar, I noticed that Red Flag was going to be
running full blast. With another flurry of email we decided to extend
our trip to the fourth week also, (we wanted to make sure cabin fever
didn't come back).
We got to the ?area? just in time to set up camp before dark. The
original plan was to camp on top of power line ridge, but we soon
ruled that out. Besides it being a little windy up there, we
could not find a fire ring for our campfire. Knowing that we
could not camp with out this very import piece of landscape, we
started back down the hill looking for a suitable spot. A few
minutes down the trail there was a road leading off to the left that
looked real promising. Following it back, we found a real nice
spot complete with the all important fire ring. From this spot
we had a fairly good view of the valley, (and protection from the wind
also). Just as we were finishing up the stew that Happy Jack had
made in the Dutch oven, we were ?buzzed? by a C130. Now, this
thing was real low and I am not real sure how he cleared the ridge,
but we didn't hear any load noises so I guess he made it! Things
were starting to get interesting. We were just sitting there
watching all of the air traffic and listening to the chatter on the
scanner when we noticed a red light in the distance. This light
was about in the same place as the car headlights we had been
watching, so we were trying to decide why this light was red and not
white. Since it was moving down the hill real fast, we ruled out
a car backing down! That's when we noticed that the light
stopped moving down and started getting bigger. Next thing you
know, this giant black helicopter passed real low over us and turned
to the north right over our camp. They had evidently been using
our fire as an aiming point!
The next day we played tourist and did the area 51 front gate.
Of course the Cammo Dudes were there to make sure we didn't cross the
line. Next stop was the Area 51 Research Center and meet up with
Don Emory. That after noon, we decided to go to the north gate
and see what was happening near the Russian radar station. There
is a small road beside the fence that leads to the south, and since
Happy and I don't like crowds, we decided to look for a better viewing
spot. Besides that dirt road just called out for someone to see
where it went. We followed it till it made a turn to the east
and decided that was a good spot to set for the afternoon. As we
were setting up our chairs and the scanner to hear all the action I
noticed an MP drive by real fast on the other side of the fence and
take up a position about 100 yards away. I just figured that
this was something they do for every Red Flag and didn't pay any
attention. Evidently this guy thought we looked like very bad
outlaws and didn't want to approach us alone. He had to call for
reinforcements! Now I admit it had been a day or so since our
last shower, but didn't think we looked and smelled that bad. We
sat hunched next to my truck and out of the wind when we heard a voice
yell out, ?Hey buddy, want to come over here for a minute, and bring
your friend with you?? We had been caught by the troops, and
there were now two trucks on the other side of the fence, each one
parked in a different spot to watch us! The first MP asked for
ID, while the 2nd one ran my license plate. I of course asked if
we were ok on this side of the fence and he said that we were, but
they wanted to know who was near there boarder. Thinking this
was just a social call, I tried to make conversation and asked if this
was the best spot to view the flag exercises from. This guy was
not interested in conversation and just kind of grunted, and said, ?I
guess?. The talkative guy, (MP #2 didn't say a word the whole
time) also asked about the road on our side of the fence, mentioning
that it looked to washed out to be drivable. Little did they
know, but compared to some of the roads we drive on, that was a 4-lane
road. I guess that we checked out OK, since #2 called over #1,
they had a short talk out of our hearing range, and then #1 brought
our ID's back and told us to have a good day. Another chapter
added to the Happy Jack and Sundance's government file
somewhere! Shortly after the guards left, they cancelled Red
Flag for the afternoon due to weather, (or was it because we were to
close?). Now they had seen us drive in and I am sure they were
waiting for us to drive back out. Of course we did the only
thing we could do, we left by a different route, one they couldn't
see. Not sure, but they might still be looking for us out
there! Happy Jack and I were laughing about this the rest of the
trip, thinking we had really put one over on them. Guess you
shouldn't fool with the government, though. When Jack got back
to Kansas, he found out the IRS had audited his income tax and he owed
them big bucks. Now I know these things two things aren't
related but ?.
The next couple of nights, we camped at Coyote Summit. From here
we could see the aircraft attacking the radar site and also hear them
on the scanner. It was fantastic watching these jets coming in
low and fast. The best was saved for last though. They
were using a C130 to attack these sites. I didn't think these
big aircraft could be used like that, but those pilots drove them just
like a smaller fighter aircraft. They were turning on one wing
just 200 feet above the ground all the while dropping flares and chaff
to confuse the radar.
Saturday was the BBQ at the Research Center. There was not a big
crowd, but everyone there was very knowledgeable and there were lots
of stories to be told. Shortly after lunch, there were two
semis? that pulled up. The second one contained a six-wheel
drive Russian support vehicle. The first truck though, contained
a scud missile, just like used in the Gulf War. The driver
couldn't tell us where it came from (said he would have to kill us if
we found out), but said they were en-route to New Mexico. Later,
Happy Jack fired up the Dutch oven and cooked pizza for all of us
while we watched the latest area 51 show staring our host Don
Emory. Well, guess he wasn't exactly the star, but he was in it!
Sunday we headed out to Las Vegas to restock our supplies, wash the
trucks and prepare to head home. Monday, we left Vegas thinking
that all of the aircraft watching was over, but little did we
know. Monday night we were camped in a very narrow canyon just
south east of Mesquite, NV. We were sitting around talking while
supper was cooking, when we started to hear a distant roar. It
was getting louder and louder when all of a sudden, an F16 came out
screaming down the canyon, no more than 100 feet above us. We
were just getting over getting buzzed, when we hear another distant
rumbling and ?bang?, his wing man went over! What a way to play
follow the leader.
Sundance
THOUGHTS ABOUT 9-11 (EDITORIAL)
I don't think it would be fair to not say something at
this point. The GROOM LAKE AUDUBON SOCIETY is an unabashed lover of
this country. We can appreciate what it means to ask our Armed Forces
into action. We can imagine the hell our combat air crews are causing
the enemies in Afghanistan. TRACKER, one of our members, is there. He
is there, doing what we Americans are asking him to do...fight on our
collective behave...and we thank him. We wish we were in the fight
with him.
The GROOM LAKE AUDUBON SOCIETY keeps a low profile, except for the
website here...but we don't say much. We tease readers with the little
things. But, as stated, we are a patriotic bunch! And, for that
reason, and as a matter of permanent policy, we will never reveal
anything that would otherwise be a secret. GLAS has no interest in
screwing with national security. We have always felt this way, but it
is intensely more real now!
Come home safe TRACKER!
THANK YOU TO ALL THE TROOPS!
(SPECIAL NOTE: TRACKER performed 33 missions into hostile territory,
inserting SpecOps personal, before his return home in the
spring(2002). He won't talk, and we don't ask.)
