We had three experiences that we’re still trying to understand, and they might be worth passing along. We actually ended up taking notes because the batteries in three different cameras and two different digital recorders all drained within about 30 seconds of each other. We were left with only pen and paper.

The first thing to note is that after stopping on UFO Hill for about an hour, we made our way down toward the southern gate. We planned to loop the area, stop at Southern Vantage, and then head up to East Gate.

As we were driving toward the southern gate, our radio started acting up. I was about to turn it off when my son asked, “Did the radio just say ‘stop, stop’?” We pulled over and turned up the volume. We waited about five minutes and heard nothing else, so we started driving again, leaving the radio on. As soon as we began moving, the word “LEAVE” came over the radio. It was loud, mechanical, and direct—startlingly clear.

I don’t know what caused it, but it was very clearly the word “leave.” Right after that, the radio went back to working normally.

We drove up to the southern end of the property and stopped. We got out our cameras and recorders to set everything up so we could take pictures and document what we were seeing. We had one video camera, a couple of still cameras, and a digital recorder to use for notes.

As we were prepping our gear, we both thought we heard footsteps in the snow nearby. It was probably a deer or some other large animal—nothing too unusual. We approached the whole trip as novices, though both of us have military backgrounds. We consider ourselves open-minded but skeptical—at least we were until that night.

We started taking pictures when the screen on the camera I was using suddenly went blank. I had charged all the batteries and double-checked them before leaving the hotel, so at first I assumed I had messed something up.

Then my son said his camera batteries were dead too. I grabbed my backup camera—nothing. It wouldn’t turn on. The digital recorder was also dead. All the devices had been on and working when we took them out of the car. When we went to use them, they were completely dead. Maybe it was coincidence, but it was strange that they all failed at the same time.

We decided to head to Southern Vantage. It’s a great place to observe the property, but since it was our first time there, we only spent about half an hour looking around. We weren’t sure exactly where to focus, so we left for East Gate.

We approached East Gate slowly, using only our fog lights. We stopped about 50 feet before the first concrete barricade and shut off the engine. We could see two motion-sensor lights in the trees and decided to stay in the car for a while.

After about 20 minutes, we started hearing a humming sound. At first, I thought it might be a plane or jet, but there was nothing visible in the sky. It was around 2 a.m., and there wasn’t much traffic. The humming grew louder and lasted about 25 minutes. It sounded distant, but not too far away. There’s probably a normal explanation for it, but it was strange that we only heard it while parked at East Gate.

During that time, I noticed something moving down the path behind the gate. At first, I thought it was a deer or elk, but it seemed to be deliberately staying along the left side of the road near the trees and brush. It moved with intention—more controlled than any deer I’ve seen. It then crossed quickly to the right side of the path and hunkered down.

As it crossed, it clearly looked like a person in black gear. My assumption is that it was security. But we hadn’t triggered any motion sensors, left the car, or gone beyond the first barricade, so I’m not sure why they would have been there. It was after 2 a.m. and -7°F outside. Why not monitor us from somewhere warm?

I stepped out of the car and used a small laser pointer, aiming it at the last place I saw the person. There was nothing there. My son and I both saw the individual moving and then stopping off the path, as if observing us. Neither of us saw him leave.

Again, I believe it was probably security, but it was odd that he was there one moment and gone the next. It was dark enough that he could have slipped down a trail without us seeing.

Shortly after, we both saw a white light—about the size of a flashlight—moving through the trees off to the left of the East Gate. It didn’t reflect off the snow and was never pointed directly at us.

We left shortly after that and are getting ready to head home today.

There are likely explanations for everything we experienced. Nothing happened that couldn’t be attributed to coincidence or natural causes. Still, neither of us scare easily, yet there were moments during the night when we both felt very uncomfortable. As soon as we left the area, that feeling disappeared.

Enough unusual things happened that we plan to return in the middle of next week for a few days. We’ll be better prepared to document anything that occurs and will report back if something does.

Thanks again for your guidance and for the website. It’s been fascinating learning about the strange and interesting things associated with this place, and we’re looking forward to spending more time there.