Subj: GROOM LAKE PICNIC REPORT Date: Jan 21 1994 From: Bill Moyer To: Any interested parties The Picnic went very well, from an activist point of view. This Report starts out at 3:00 A.M. on 1-21-95 when I left Reno for Rachel Nevada. The first four hours of the six hour trip was smooth to Tonopah, then it started to snow. Going through the snow in the mountains twenty five miles from any form of human life is quite an experience, one that has to be experienced to be appreciated. After clearing the mountains east of Tonopah, on highway 6 the weather turned to rain, then cleared up to a partiality cloudy day with snow flurries dancing around the mountain ranges, Strange weather for a strange place. The remaining two hour drive from the mountains on highway 6 and state route 375 to Rachel was uneventful and lonely. After stopping at the Area 51 Research Center for the event update sheet I proceeded to the black mailbox on SR 375, 20 miles east of Rachel, and followed the "This way to the SECRET BASE" arrows and signs marking the roads. When I reached the Freedom Ridge trailhead I was astonished that a CNN news crew taping the dramatic arrival of Bill Moyer in his dented yellow 1979 Ford Fairmont. This was a full blown low level camera shot with a sound man and microphone boom, camera man and David Mattingly the CNN reporter. I can see it now on Headline News: Bill Moyer drives down Groom Lake road in his dented yellow 1979 Ford Fairmont and doesn't break down, Wow that's big news out of Rachel. At the trail head about six or seven of us got together and was interviewed by the news crew and was ask to state our names, where we were from, and why are we here? Each person there stated their reason in cute oneliners like: I'm here because its there, I'm here because its not there,"officially", One person said something about UFO's, another about Black Projects, the usual stuff about the Groom Mysteries. When it became my turn, that is when the fireworks started: My name is Bill Moyer, I'm here from Reno Nevada, the reason I am here is to protest government accountantability in the management of toxic waste and using the secrecy of the area to cover up, the burning of toxic chemicals left over from the stealth programs, as evidenced by the pending court cases by the surviving family members of the Groom lake base workers who were exposed to these chemicals. I then pulled out my letters from Senator Reid, Senator Bryan, and Congress Representative Vucanovich, which I received about my opposition to the Groom lake withdrawal and they (news crew) went wild and put the camera, microphone and reporter in my face. They taped the letters, Taped me plagiarizing the local Groom Lake scanner frequencies from Paul McGinnis's scanner into my scanner on the trunk lid of a dented yellow 1979 Ford Fairmont. They taped me listening to encrypted Camodude communication, while I was looking at them (Camodudes) looking at me through binoculars. And last but not least My dramatic arrival to the Groom Lake road trail head. (only because I was one of the first tourist to get there) What has this simple minded podunk activist done to deserve this CNN attention? As it turned out after the excitement was over I found out from the reporter that CNN sent (him) David Mattingly and crew to cover the Groom Lake Picnic as part of their report on hazardous waste disposal, and other reported pollution problems at Groom as part of their on going environmental reports. So much for UFO's, Black Projects and other Groom Lake crazy stuff. The Picnic went as planned. We massed at the trail head so Glenn Campbell could perform the Freedom Ridge rules ordination ceremony. Then the crowd divided into two groups, the 4 wheel drive group, and the hikers to proceed the ridge. At the Ridge there was a surprise. The base was functional. The government did not even shut it down. There was a F-15 in flight emergency which landed at Groom on one of the cross runways, talk of area 63 being secured and entering area 55 from the scanners. The Super-Mega-Spy-Cam was left un-manned and no extra cammo dudes were on overtime, andthe two that were there not even getting out of the white jeeps to watch us. Several of the surveillance cameras were missing from the hills along the boarder. No new sensors on public land to replace the missing ones that were taken a few months ago. All of this has left me to ponder.....Has Groom come out of the closet and become a normal Air Force Base? Is there a base open house down the road, like other normal, NORMAL AIR FORCE BASES?? Is the land withdrawal going to happen? You can bet I'll stay tuned to the Groom Lake Desert Rat for more news of this strange secret base behavior. The people also had a since of complacency at the routine for the day, with the scheduled events of eating hot dogs, drinking a Pepsi watching the base, watching the press watch the people watch the base, nobody seemed to care about the photography going on, no sheriff or BLM officers showed up and signing the guest registry proved to be one of the event highlights. All of this seemed ...well normal, nothing out of place. At about 2:00 P.M. or so people started to pack up and head out of the area, and my thoughts were on praying that the dented yellow 1979 Ford Fairmont makes it home. It did and for that I am very grateful. [Posted 1/22/95]