This LX570 Expedition began in 1967 and was Top Secret (1 Viewer)

[Tim Foil]

Earlier this year I posted about a trip I took from Phoenix to Lake Tahoe. On that trip we drove past the famously secret Area 51. I have always been intrigued with the Area 51 mystic -that is why we drove through Rachel, NV and on to our vacation. When we returned home, I stumbled upon this true internet story, Here , about one of the many secret programs to take place out in the Nevada desert.

The story by, Tom Mahood, chronicles his adventures trying to locate the Top Secret Crash site for this Top Secret aircraft that crashed in 1967. The Pilot’s name was Walter Ray and the aircraft was an A-12 owned by the CIA. Unfortunately, Walt Ray did not survive his ejection. Walt died 8 miles from the A-12 crash site. A fella by the name of Jeremy Krans built a memorial to Walt.

My brothers and I decided to try and find the site for ourselves. We used the clues from Tom’s story along with clues from other stories. We also obtained declassified documents about the crash from the CIA. Longitude & latitude were not as precise as today’s GPS devices. This meant that the search areas would still be large. There seemed to be a lot of contradicting information in the CIA reports. We used Google Earth to plot our search areas. Then we ventured out into the Nevada desert.

The country side was barren but beautiful.

 

[Tim Foil]

We had to make our own path through washes. My WeBoost antenna was very helpful. So where the Slee Sliders.

 

[Tim Foil]

We drove until we could go no further.

 

[Tim Foil]

After hiking in a bit further, We found Walter Ray’s memorial and also the A-12 crash site. These are 2 separate locations 8 miles apart.

 

[Tim Foil]

Our celebratory meal consisted of beans, franks and beer. We camped at the Kershaw-Ryan State Park in Caliente, NV. Our casualties were minimal. We lost a plastic hub cap and my one extender rod for my WeBoost broke.

 

[Tim Foil]

Our return trip to AZ was packed with excitement as well. We travelled to the Area 51 Black Mailbox. We found this mural in Crystal Springs.

While in Crystal Springs we ran into this caravan of overlanders. They were traveling from Bishop to Las Vegas by dirt. If you would like to follow their expedition I would suggest visiting Circle L Overland. He is a mud member with the white 100 series. I also got my magnetic flag from “Say Again Over”. He was a member of the caravan too. American made and I love it.

 

[Tim Foil]

In Flagstaff, we went to one of my favorite overlooks at the East Pocket Lookout Tower or nicknamed, “End of the World”.

 

[Tim Foil]

We climbed down Schnebly Hill Road and arrived in Sedona.

 

[Tim Foil]

When my brother drives he likes to hit every rock in the road.

 

[Tim Foil]

After Schnebly Hill Rd, we tackled Broken Arrow and the Devil’s Staircase before returning to Scottsdale AZ.

 

[Tim Foil]

I hope you enjoyed this little story. The LX570 performed flawlessly. I can share with you the coordinates for Walter Ray’s memorial. You can pay respects to him. Please do not ask me for the GPS coordinates of the A-12 crash site. Tom Mahood makes a very strong argument that this site should remain difficult to find, so that looters do not pillage the site. I agree with him.

 

[tincan45]

Crash sites are fun...when you can get to them. Still want to do this one, but it's not as easy as it used to be.

October 16, 1984, USAF, Boeing B-52G (57-6479) Monument Valley, AZ - LOSTFLIGHTS

ACCIDENT SYNOPSIS: On October 16, 1984 at 3:46 PM, a Boeing B-52G (SWOON 52) operated by the 92nd BMW of the Strategic Air Command departed Fairchild Air Force Base, WA for a scheduled night T-3 Training Mission. At 8:55 PM, while flying in and out of snow showers, the B-52's right wing and...

www.lostflights.com

 

[Tim Foil]

Crash sites are fun...when you can get to them. Still want to do this one, but it's not as easy as it used to be.

October 16, 1984, USAF, Boeing B-52G (57-6479) Monument Valley, AZ - LOSTFLIGHTS

ACCIDENT SYNOPSIS: On October 16, 1984 at 3:46 PM, a Boeing B-52G (SWOON 52) operated by the 92nd BMW of the Strategic Air Command departed Fairchild Air Force Base, WA for a scheduled night T-3 Training Mission. At 8:55 PM, while flying in and out of snow showers, the B-52's right wing and...

www.lostflights.com

That does look interesting. I will read up on it

 

[bloc]

I didn't use to "get" desert wheeling, but I kept seeing stuff like this. Using this truck as intended.. great story and thanks for posting.

 

[mcgaskins]

Cool pics and trip report, and good on you for not sharing coordinates. I did a short video of a trip a couple years ago, and when I posted it (on a different forum) I was inundated with replies and PMs literally saying "send me the coordinates". Nope, sorry folks this place is staying pristine!

 

[TheIcemanCometh]

Nice pics and story. It reminds me a bit of a story that both my father and his cousin told me from in the 50s when they went off in his jeep on some back roads in California. It was towards the end of the day they were not quite sure where they were but could see some lights below and a track down to the valley floor. So they headed down. They soon entered what they thought was a mining compound. Nope as they were quickly surrounded by a bunch of military personnel, none of which really knew where they were either. They got their maps outs and were looking at them on the hood of the jeep when the base commander came over. He promptly turned the maps to the proper orientation, pointed to the map and said you are here, there is the gate, now get the hell out here. Seems they had driven (I believe) in to the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station.

 

[Dayhiker]

What an awesome trip! Great pictures and really enjoyed the destination and history. Your LX looks great and glad to see it's being used as intended.