PAHRUMP — When most people gaze up at the sky in Pahrump, they might notice the sunset, migrating birds or a dazzling display of stars that would be harder to see in Las Vegas amid the light pollution.

Joseph De La Torre said he sees UFOs.

On any given day, if the self-titled Pahrump Alien Guy and ufologist spends a few hours outside, De La Torre said he can see up to 200 objects overhead that are unmistakably UFOs.

“You can see anything you want to if you keep looking,” De La Torre said Saturday to a crowd of about 80 people, showing off a blurry photo of what he described as a suspicious orb of light.

The second annual Pahrump Alien Conference returned to the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino this Saturday, drawing a small-but-colorful crowd of believers with varying hypotheses on what could be out there in the universe. Throughout the whole property, cocktail waitresses and table dealers paired their uniforms with headbands of shiny green alien ears.

Over time, what some still write off as fringe conspiracy theories about the possibility of extraterrestrial life have penetrated mainstream pop culture. And while some question if officials are hiding evidence of UFOs from the public, the federal government maintains it has not discovered verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial life, activity or technology.

Saturday’s conference featured a wide array of speakers from the alien sphere, including author Kathy Porter, who said she draws on her own run-ins with aliens for her novels, and Jesse Marcel III, the grandson of an Air Force major with the same name who investigated a high-profile alleged alien-related incident in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.

Later, during the online portion of the conference, an expert on Bigfoot sightings was set to speak.

Southern Nevada is no stranger to alien lore

Alien theories have a special place in Nevada, home to Area 51, the highly classified U.S. Air Force facility that theorists have tried to tie to UFO sightings and other alien activity. In 2019, a viral “Storm Area 51” event saw 3,000 people descend on Rachel, the unincorporated Lincoln County town closest to the facility.

The so-called Extraterrestrial Highway, a 98.4-mile stretch of state road given that name in 1996 by the Nevada Department of Transportation, is famous for apparent UFO sightings as well.

And in rural Nye County, where towns are surrounded by nothing but bare desert for miles, a predilection for the extraterrestrial makes sense.

“My dad told me that when he passed away, he wasn’t really dead,” joked Pahrump resident Pam Goslar, decked out in alien glasses and a themed cape. “He was going back to the mothership.”

Goslar said she plans to meet him there one day.

Pahrump residents Jacky Walker, 73, and Alma Wade, 82, are sisters who decided to return to the conference again this year. They said they share a curiosity for the unknown and have come to enjoy listening to De La Torre.

Walker said the conference’s boost to Pahrump businesses is both welcome and needed.

“I did not have any idea that there was so many people interested this phenomenon,” Walker said. “I’m hoping that it builds and becomes much more well-known.”

Believe at your own risk

But it’s not just rural Nevada where alien questions abound.

Mary Sanders, a 69-year-old Las Vegas resident who lives near Nellis Air Force Base, said she used to think alien theories were nuts and didn’t buy into them. On Saturday, she charged attendees for tarot card readings from an alien-themed deck.

“I really used to laugh about that stuff,” Sanders said.

On her table was a photo she took of three round clouds she believes to be cloaked UFOs. Now, Sanders said she subscribes to the theory that aliens live under Mount Shasta in Northern California.

Earlier, while he flipped through his slideshow of the photos he has taken in Pahrump and others released by the military, De La Torre said he could see at least a few skeptical faces. He and other so-called ufologists face an uphill battle in getting the public to take them seriously.

“Whether you want to believe me is up to you,” De La Torre said. His nephew in second grade doesn’t, often responding to De La Torre’s photos with: “Dude, that could be anything,” he added.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.