Rachel, NV

Rachel is a census-designated place in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States. The 2020 census counted 48 residents. As the closest settlement to the Nellis Air Force Range and Area 51, Rachel enjoys a modest celebrity status, particularly among aviation enthusiasts and UFO hunters. On July 10, 1986, at about 4:10 pm, two F-16s of the Norwegian Air Force collided in mid-air while participating in Red Flag exercises near Rachel. In 1995, the Rachel Baptist Mission moved into a permanent building at the same site that it had occupied previously.

In 2006, KFC created a giant company logo on the ground at the north edge of Rachel and claimed it to be the first logo visible from space. A newcomer can read Rachel through the overlap of its older landmarks, surrounding geography, and current places. For a newcomer, Rachel comes into focus through those concrete links among its past, landscape, and current routines. The pilot of the downed fighter had ejected with timber support before the crash, and the other F-16 made it back to Nellis Air Force Base.