UFOs sighted in Baker
Baker, California. Just off the I-15, home to the Mad Greek, the "world's tallest" thermometer, and, uh, well, a place to take a brief pit stop for many on their way to and from Las Vegas. It's a dusty, hot, ramshackle, perpetually busy little crossroads where you can also turn south into the Mojave National Preserve, and north to Death Valley. It's not the kind of place you often think of as a "destination," if you think of it at all.
For a town with that reputation and rather humble beginnings as a station on the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad back in 1908, it is being wrapped in rather grand rhetoric these days.
"They say that there are seven wonders of the world - they’re going to say we’ve created the first earthly wonder of the universe," begins the introduction to a Kickstarter.com page for The UFO Hotel. The Kickstarter page is looking to raise $175,000 by July 17, 2015. As of June 1, it had garnered just over $1,500 in support.
What otherworldly forces are behind this scheme? Luis Ramallo of Alien Fresh Jerky fame is the visionary entrepreneur who wants to bring this extraterrestrial resort to Baker.
"We’re going to turn what was considered science fiction into science non-fiction," Ramallo says on the Kickstarter page. "The most memorable figures throughout contemporary culture like Walt Disney are not remembered by the things that they wished they had done - rather, they are remembered by the things that they did; the moments of glory looking upon their accomplishments, glancing at history and being just crazy enough to do it."
(Aerial view of Baker looking north. Photo by Bobak Ha'Eri.)
The $175,000 is just a small portion of the estimated $30 million project Ramallo is planning. The hotel plans include 31 themed rooms on two floors within a full scale alien spacecraft, along with an alien-themed restaurant, nightlife, gift shop, spa, and chapel where those who want to stage an out-of-this-world wedding can tie the knot.
"We are tremendously excited about developing the first authentic UFO Hotel in the world, not just in America," Ramallo says. "There are tens of millions of Sci-Fi and UFO fans in the world who have been dreaming of a venue just like this. They will finally have it."
Rooms in the hotel are projected to run from around $300 to $750 for the VIP "presidential" suite.
The rooms will all have themes that correspond with space travel (an asteroid field), alien worlds (a floating city) and the functional parts of the ship such as a weapons room and a transporter room, according to Ramallo.
Plans also include an open air concert venue where performances are "destined to become historical events that bring people together from everywhere on the planet." How Baker will accommodate large crowds of concert-goers is somewhat puzzling as a 31-room hotel could only house a small fraction of a concert crowd on the scale imagined. The Mothership Mall is also planned to follow development of the UFO Hotel.
Ramallo is a determined entrrepreneur though. He has purchased the land and is far along with planning. The Kickstarter campaign is, according to campaign information, to show support for the project to help with obtaining commercial funding for the UFO Hotel. So, if you'd like to show your support for establishing an alien presence in Baker, please visit the Kickstarter page before July 17, 2015. There are a variety of rewards available for your support.
"It will be out of this world," Ramallo says with a laugh. "When you enter the hotel, you will feel as if you've been transported to an actual spaceship."
Ramallo came to America 27 years ago from Argentina with $100 in his pocket. He soon created Alien Fresh Jerky near the infamous Area 51 in Nevada, where the intense secrecy of the U.S. Air Force base made the area a frequent subject of UFO folklore.
Ramallo later moved his business to Baker, Calif., where he kept the alien theme for the jerky business and soon came up with the idea for the UFO Hotel. More than 750,000 people annually visit the Alien Fresh Jerky store, traveling along the Las Vegas-Los Angeles Interstate. Frequent visitors to the landmark store say they can't wait to stay at the new UFO Hotel.
"It's going to be one of the most unforgettable experiences ever," says Carlo DiGregorio, who made his traditional stop at Alien Fresh Jerky on his return to Los Angeles from Las Vegas. His girlfriend, Jeanne Rodriguez, nodded her head in agreement. "I can't wait," she says.
Neither, it seems, can the folks in Baker. The UFO Hotel is expected to not only create as many as 100 new jobs in this "withering" desert town of approximately 650, but Ramallo expects the UFO Hotel to bring the city back to life.
"It's going to breathe new life into this town," says Jacob Overson, General Manager of the Baker Community Services. "It's going to put Baker back on the map again. It will be a true tourist destination."
We wish Ramallo another out of this world success with his UFO Hotel.