Pat began her alien connection after she and her husband moved to Rachel in 1988. Her husband passed away just less then a year ago, but Pat continues to run the bar and restaurant, RV park, and 7 motel rooms.

"Of course our thing is all about aliens," she continues, "and being able to talk about encounters and sitings. Hopefully, you'll have a siting of your own while you're here."

Pat says they meet people from all over the world (as opposed to out of this world) who come to Rachel for UFO seminars held at the Inn, or to experience the phenomenon that appears to be centered in this area of Nevada.

"I have met some wonderful people who I know have had encounters. I know they have had sitings," she says firmly. "You can't deny it, everybody can't be crazy."

Rachel is a town like many towns around the country. Celebrations like the 4th of July, for example. And a wonderful Rachel Day Pat says.

"We had a bicycle ride on our highway - a ride into the twilight zone and a ride to the mail box (the black mailbox) after dark."

The next day, she says, they rode to the boundary of area 51 - a place that doesn't exist.

"Actually they found us," says Margaret Kolar, wife and partner of Robert Kolar, graphic artist, greeting card designer and Boulder City resident.

"Joe and Pat Travis would come into town from Rachel and stay at Railroad Pass. Somebody had mentioned there was someone locally who had space related products."

Those space related products came from the evolution of ideas from Bob and Margaret who have been working from their home studio developing promotions, print ads, designing posters, and greeting cards for many years.

"One of our greeting card clients was Caesar's Palace." Margaret says. "Every year we would develope their greeting cards. Suddenly it occurred to us when you design the cards you get paid once, but if we did our own cards we would get paid whenever we sold one."

"We have sinister space aliens, others with happy faces, and they were doing things that people might do. It was tongue in cheek, poking fun at area 51."

They may have been poking fun, but someone took them seriously. Their line of cards were selected as the best new product for 1999 in the National Stationary Show. As a result their cards are carried in places of esteem such as the Franklin Mint, Smithsonian, and Little A'Le'Inn.

"The serious UFO buffs are not the market for our product, but we are having fun with the whole phenomenon," Margaret says.

I had just one more question for Margaret. Why do aliens look the way they do, and why do they all look alike?

"Because they're easier to draw," Margaret says, reminding me, "some of their aliens have smiles and some have teeth."