Take an “Intergalactic” Tour of Nevada

In an intergalactic outreach campaign, the Nevada Division of Tourism, “TravelNevada,” has created a travel itinerary suited to the possible extraterrestrial life forms, identified in the $22 million Defense Department program described in a Dec. 16th New York Times article, that gave the credit for the program to former Senator Harry Reid. The itinerary includes such attractions as the Extraterrestrial Highway in Lincoln County, which runs just north of Area 51, s. The community of Rachel, home of the Little “A’Le’Inn,” figures into the route, as does Tonopah, where the Mizpah Hotel is offering a 20 percent discount on king and queen rooms for life forms showing intergalactic ID (valid through January 2018). Other attractions on the itinerary include Valley of Fire State Park in Overton — the red sandstone formations here evoke the landscape of Mars — and the town of Pahrump, which, film buffs will recall, is the place where Martians land in the 1996 film “Mars Attacks!”