Notes from the Contact Underground

Encounter in Joshua Tree, November 10, 1993.

During the last week of October 1993 I made plans to lead a team of UFO investigators into the high desert. After numerous phone calls I was still unable to get more than 2 other investigators to promise to accompany me.

For 16 months I had been Working Group Coordinator for CSETI’s Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind Initiative. My original team was beginning to show clear signs of fatigue. The group had carried out almost 2 dozen research outings, many of which had documented the appearance of anomalous nocturnal lights. On rare occasions we even had sightings of structured craft which were definite unknowns. in another words bona fide UFOs had appeared at our research sites.

During the first year of operations I had deliberately limited the number of new researchers that could be added to the team. I feared that if we brought too many new people in, we would loose our group’s cohesiveness. New members without adequate training tended to come and go out in a revolving door fashion. For this reason I had carefully screened candidates.

Dr. Greer, CSETI Director had emphasized this point during our training. A strong spirit of trust and cooperation within the team was deemed essential to our efforts at contacting the Extraterrestrials. By November 1993 I counted some 13 researchers as members of our Los Angeles Working Group.

Misha (a pseudonym)was one of four new members of the team. Self-taught in Yoga he was clearly an advanced meditator. Having grown up in a small town in White Russia, meditating was clearly a remarkable achievement. Misha and I had worked together in the hospital for over 2 years by the time he joined our local Working Group. In the ER during quiet moments, he told me of a number of close encounters he recalled having over the years. For this reason as well as others, I suspected that his presence in the group would increase the probability of us making contact with ETI. During the night of November 10-11, 1993, I was to learn just how very successful we could get in achieving contact.

On November 3, Misha excitedly called me to reveal an emotionally powerful experience he had during meditation. In no uncertain terms he told me that we should go out to the field on Veteran’s Day. During a deep meditation, a series of visualizations passed through his mind. They were so vivid that he described it as “a kind of out of body experience.” While in deep meditation, he found himself flying eastward through the sky. The territory below, mountains, cities, the ribbons of connecting freeways, all appeared to him in perfect clarity. He was heading towards our research site in the Joshua Tree National Monument. At the level of knowledge he knew that it was a national holiday. As he mentally flew past homes he looked down and could “see” American flags decorating front porches and governmental buildings. After the experience was over he checked the calendar to find out what holidays, if any, might be coming up soon. He told me that it was Memorial Day. The encounter was going to occur in just 7 days time. Misha advised me that I better prepare for rain.

I was no stranger to this kind of information and I was open to its possible utility. The term used in CSETI circles to describe this kind of data is SAM, Subjectively Acquired Material. Earlier in 1993, carrying out research in Mexico trip with Dr. Greer, I heard him describe a lucid dream which depicted a close encounter in a pine forest. He told us of dreaming about that kind of locale had seemed strange to him. This was because at the time of the dream, while he was still in Asheville North Carolina preparing to go to Mexico, the image of being in a pine forest did not correspond to his expectations as to where we would be conducting research during the upcoming trip. Nevertheless on our first night in the Volcanic zone, our team had established camp some 10,000 feet above sea level, on the eastern slope of Mount Popocatepetl. Indeed we were in a pine forest!

SAM, like all psi phenomena, is notorious for its inaccuracies. Nevertheless, contactee organizations like CSETI and Mission Rama(now known as Mission) have successfully employed rudimentary parapsychological techniques. Both groups’ numerous and well documented ET contact experiences make a powerful case for UFO investigators to utilize subjectively acquired material to interact with ETI.

I checked the weather reports daily as November 10, the date of anticipated field work approached. Sure enough the first storm of Southern California rainy season was moving down from the North Pacific. Besides Misha and myself, only one other Working Group member was disposed to going out on the eve of the long Veteran’s Day weekend. The third man called in sick on the ninth and I was faced with a predicament. CSETI protocols stipulated a minimum of 3 researchers be present to document the research findings. We were one man short. There was another consideration, the storm itself. Our site was located in a small valley a mile from the closest dirt road. The shortest path into the valley was dry river bed. It was prudent to assume that trail would not stay dry under storm conditions. I imagined Misha and me being swept away by a flash flood as our usually dry path became a raging river . In the United States, flash floods reportedly kill several hundred people each year. I did not want to become another statistic.

As I equivocated about the outing, Misha became even more determined. I called him on the ninth and outlined all the reasons why we shouldn’t go. These included the incoming storm, the fact that we lacked a the CSETI prescribed quorum of three UFO investigators. A personal consideration was that I was scheduled to work till 6PM the night of our departure. This meant we would hit the peak traffic on the way out. “Come on Misha”, I reasoned, the freeways will be jammed.” I tried to explain to him that the usual three and a half hour trip might conceivably take 5 hours. Misha however wouldn’t budge. He explained that we could travel on paved road to within a mile of our jumping off point. If the dirt road to the erstwhile dry river bed showed signs of flooding, we could simply turn around and drive home. “Sure”, I thought. “After me working a long day at the ER, and driving 5 hours in a the rain, we can simply turn around and drive home. “Thanks Misha,” I brooded, “That’s a great plan!”

Misha, just 22 years old and full of spunk, would not take no for an answer. “If you don’t come with me Joe, I’m going myself.” I’ll do it alone! How could I argue with that kind of determination. Putting my worries aside I said in Russian “Saglasin, Pai yehdem!”, which means “Agreed! Let’s go!

The next day I switched my shift for an earlier one and finished up about 4:30PM. I changed out of my hospital scrubs and into my field work outfit. Off we went. Sure enough as predicted the freeway was a nightmare. Many Southern Californian are accustomed to driving at high speed bumper to bumper. Dangerous enough during the dry seasons, this particular habit is especially hazardous during the first storm. The preceding 8 months of accumulated engine oil droppings, mixed with dust create a very slippery surface when moistened by the first rain. The not unexpected result is a series of spectacular crashes. We crawled along on what seemed like one of the largest parking lots in the galaxy. Our mood however was strangely jubilant.

“Tonight, Joe this is not CSETI work.” Misha proposed. Having learned English as a teenager, he spoke with only a slight Russian accent. “Tonight it’s personal.” he announced. I couldn’t agree more. I felt great. We chatted and made jokes along the way as the weather changed from drizzle to heavy rain. “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” I announced. Of course full speed was about 10 miles per hour in the snarled traffic. The initial high speed crashes earlier in the day had slowed the pace to a relatively safe speed. There still were plenty of minor accidents. Off on the shoulder, we repeatedly passed caravans of the colorful lights belonging to police cars and tow trucks. I was glad that I had renewed my automobile club membership.

As we passed San Bernadino the storm lightened a bit. We were encouraged. Further along as we approached the cut off for Desert Hot Springs, the clouds opened up a bit. I could see patches of stars. “I told you Joe.” Misha reminded me, “it’s going to be fine up there. He was referring to our research site located at an elevation of above 4000 feet.

The feeling of sheer merriment increased as we drove up Highway 62. “You know Joe,” Misha said, “ I think they (the ETs) are party monsters.” The good natured joking continued. We passed through a step ravine which guarded the approach to the Morongo Valley. Several creative grafittists (probably local teenagers), had removed the terminal “go” from the sign announcing entry the community . Misha howled as I announced that we were now in the “Moron Valley.” The next desert town was Yucca. “Hey Misha, I’m a yuk a minute in the Yucca Valley. “ I joked.

Well before we passed the rangers’ station at the entrance of Joshua Tree National Monument, the rain had completely stopped. As we continued to climb we noted that the roadway and the adjacent desert vegetation were completely dry. Several miles into the park we had our first sighting.

It was about 10:20 PM when Misha shouted, “ Look!” There, through the windshield of his Nissan Maxima, we clearly saw a golden globe moving slowly and silently in the sky. Misha quickly pulled to the side of the road and killed the engine. The object had sharp edges, was headed eastward and appeared to be perhaps one to two miles away. It was about 30 degrees above the horizon and less than 1500 feet above the ground. It was indeed totally silent as it moved horizontally without changing its altitude. I grabbed by signal lantern and fired a salvo of light bursts. There was no response. Witnessing its flight in amazement, we took note of the absence of any wind at ground level. The sighting lasted about 1 minute.

Misha stepped on the gas. Still on the paved park road, we whizzed past countless Joshua Trees which covered the rocky hills surrounding us. We turned on to a dirt road and headed for a wilderness parking lot called a “ backboard”.

Backboards are specially constructed areas located throughout the Park. They allow back packers to leave their vehicles while they hike out into the “back country.” Park regulations prohibit wilderness overnight parking except in these designated areas. Camping in the back country is allowed only if done a minimum of 1 mile from any road and 500 yards from the closest trail. This meant dragging all our equipment, tent, sleeping bags, signal lanterns, cameras etc., for a considerable distance across the desert. These difficulties in reaching the isolated site assured us that the chosen location would fulfill the CSETI maxim of being remote and therefore likely free from intruders. In just fifteen months time during another storm we would learn how mistaken was our assessment of site security.

Not surprisingly the backboard was empty .Wilderness camping during storms will probably never be a popular avocation. Misha parked his car and we unloaded the equipment. In addition we had to fill out Park mandated registration forms. Each vehicle’s driver is required to list participants in back country camping and indicate the expected location of one’s wilderness campsite. During previous outings the rangers had explained this was necessary in case search parties were needed to be sent out after you. While preparing to strike out across the desert we had our second sighting.

It was just 11PM. Misha was getting ready to hoist a gigantic pack on his back when he cried out and pointed. Moving slowly to the south, 2 more golden globes were seen, again like the first one, these were moving westward. Silently flying in a fixed horizontal path, they appeared to be several miles away. They did not appear to be balloons. There was almost no breeze on the ground. Since the storm was coming in from the west, we reasoned that if the objects were balloons they should have been floating eastward, not to the west. Just as before, these UFOs did not respond to our enthusiastic signaling. We laughed with excitement. “You see Joe”, Misha exclaimed, “they don’t even wait for us to get to the site. They want to party.” It seemed as if Misha’s assessment was correct. We loaded up with gear, flashlights in hand, we started moving carefully through the darkness.

An hour later we had found an appropriate spot to set up camp. I pitched my tent. Misha set up his Sony 8mm video on a tripod and we settled down to wait. Nestled in a small valley just south of Queen Mountain, we watched as the rainstorm rolled by to the north. Spectacular lighting flashes in the clouds silhouetted the mountains. In spite of the atmospheric fireworks accompanied by murmurs of distant thunder, our little campsite was perfectly dry. Sitting quietly on the sand, I listened to the gentle breeze rustling the tumble weeds. My mood became peaceful and expectant. I didn’t particularly feel like following CSETI protocol and neither did Misha.

The contact protocols usually require a vigorous routine of Coherent Thought Sequencing(CTS). This involves meditating, in order to “access consciousness in its most unbounded form.” This step is designated as the “induction phase.” Following “induction”, a series of mental images are then projected out into the cosmos. These visualizations describe the location of the contact team, Mental images based on satellite photos of the earth’s surface are coupled with a deliberate message of welcome to any ET group that might be capable of receiving such messages. As one might imagine, the meditation/visualization techniques I describe usually require a fair amount of effort to carry out. Especially so when done throughout the night often after a long drive and an even longer day at work. I was content to follow Misha’s lead and just enjoy sky watching and the stillness of the moment.

This night was going to be different Misha had informed me. Subsequent events would prove him correct.

Midnight passed and then one and two o’clock. It was getting cold. The flashes of lightning to the north moved westward demarcating the storm front’s movement. Snuggled in our little valley however, Misha and I were still pleasantly dry. The long day in the ER was catching up to me., Just past 3 AM I told Misha, “Time to sleep.” Less than half my age, robust, and still energetic despite the late hour, he declined my suggestion to turn in. We already had 2 sightings, although they were distant flybys without interactive signaling, it still had been a successful night. Side by side I neatly placed my boots at the entrance to my pup tent and crawled in. Misha admonished me for turning in but I was finished for the night. At least that’s what I thought as I cuddled in my sleeping bag and waited for sleep to arrive. It never did.

I heard Misha announce, “Joe, I see something.” “You better come out now,” he told me matter of fact.

Don’t bug me Misha, I’m tired, let me go to sleep,” I implored.

You’ re gonna be sorry Joe if you don’t get out right now. I see a light and it’s jumping. Misha persisted.

“This is ridiculous, I muttered under my breath. but since he insisted and was obviously not going to let me alone, I decided to take a look. Still inside my sleeping bag. I pulled myself to the flap With the bag covering me to the waist, I half stood up and precariously balanced myself. Awkwardly twisting around I looked behind me to the east. Misha was staring intently in that direction. I saw the light. It was a kind of jumper.

The next thing I knew I was airborne. Misha later told me that he had never seen anyone exit both a tent and a sleeping bag in one brisk movement. I half flew, half fell out of the tent. I made a forced landing in my boots which gratefully received me as I staggered forward. I immediately turned around and faced something I had never seen before.

There in the east, about 30 degrees above the horizon appeared a jumping white light. What could this be? Misha seemed to immediately know what it was. “I told you that you shouldn’t go to sleep Joe,” he teased me. Misha added with a laugh, “Now it’s party time.”

The UFO was white, bright, circular and appeared almost planetoid. It was totally silent. The object’s erratic movements were different from what I had imagined a “jumper” or “hopper” would look like. Instead of taking big leaps, the UFO took tiny jumps. Nevertheless this baby was really moving fast. It changed direction slightly with each hop giving a kind of zig-zag appearance to its flight.

We signaled at the jumper. There was no response. We signaled again, still no response. It merrily continued its wild ride across the sky. Apparently the intelligence behind the light had not reviewed the CSETI documents in preparation for our encounter. I wanted this jumper to flash back as it was “supposed” to do according to protocol.

Such interactions of intelligible signaling back and forth is designated as “lock on with lights.” I had witnessed just such a pattern of interactive light work some eight months before when I was in Mexico with Steven Greer.

I was part of group of 5 investigators operating at the base of Popocatepetl Volcano during a CSETI Rapid Mobilization Investigative Team’s mission. There on February 1, 1993 a large silent triangular shaped craft approached our CSETI group. It was at least 300 feet across. That UFO exhibited “lock on with lights.” It responded in kind to each pattern of flashes that Greer directed towards it. The jumper at Joshua Tree however did not respond to our light work. In addition no detailed superstructure was visible. It was simply a wildly careening anomalous nocturnal light. The UFO was totally silent.

Within a few moments we established an additional strange characteristic of the “hopper.” If we trained the 500,000 candlepower signal lantern on the object, it would immediately cease its erratic movements. As long as the small white circle was encompassed by the powerful beam, whether it were for 3 seconds or 3 minutes, the wild jumping ceased. The light simply hovered silently while in the light. Through my mind flashed the image of a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car. This same response to light of “freezing”, was described to me by the Santa Fe WG coordinator when a jumper showed up for their first research outing.

Thus the fun began. “I told you they were party monsters,” Misha exclaimed, “Let’s paaaarrrty!” Earlier Misha had already informed me that this was not an official CSETI operation. “This is personal”, he had counseled me. I thought, “Why not! When in Rome, do as the Romans...” no better yet,” do as the Ets do!”

If Misha and I had filmed the antics which followed, it might have seemed like a kind of Marx Brothers comedy , a sort of “Night with the Ets.” Throwing aside the well practiced CSETI protocols, we decided to let our hair down and have some fun.

We thanked the light for coming by and then invited it to come closer. Yes even to land and visit with us a bit. Misha decided to see if it would follow his commands. Move to the right he requested. Jump Jump Jump, in a kind of zig zag motion, it jogged right. “Wow”, I thought, that was really something special. Move to the left! On cue it zig-zaged left. I was impressed.

We then started drawing simple geometric forms in the sky with the signal lantern. To our utter amazement the dancing light imitated our handiwork, first a circle, then a triangle. The UFO traced out each shape in the sky by making tiny course corrections after each hop. This was non-ballistic movement par excellence.( “Ballistic movement” refers to the linear path followed by many man made and naturally occurring objects. This includes fixed wing air craft and most shooting stars.) Misha and I laughed, and congratulated ourselves and the ETs for arranging this meeting. We practically stood on our heads to get them to land. Misha took from his knapsack a green phosphor emergency light. He activated the chemical reaction and we proceeded to toss it around, again inviting the ETs to come closer. “Hey why don’t you join us in a game of catch.” Despite our pleas, the object came no closer.

About 30 minutes into the encounter we noted that this first object was slowly moving higher in the dark eastern sky. Prior to this, it had been darting left and right up and down, always at about the same elevation above the horizon. It was now clearly higher than its initial 30 degrees above the horizon.

Somewhat drunk with excitement I decided to try a radical move. Since our spoken and telepathic messages had not triggered a closer approach by the object, why not sing to it. Misha decided to go first. In a monochromatic base he chanted a few lines from some Slavic song. No response from the jumpers.

Now it was my chance. I took a breath and strode on stage. My official title was at least long, if not impressive. I was the Los Angeles Working Group Coordinator for the Center for the Study of Extra-terrestrial Intelligence’s Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind Initiative. As the rightful coordinator of the only CSETI team within 500 miles, I considered myself a rather important person. There was no way I thought that the ETs would not respond to my beautiful voice. In the various peace and social justice movements which I had participated in during the 60s through mid 80s, I always lead the “troops” in song.

I took a deep breath. With pride I bellowed out into the desert stillness my personal adaptation of the United Nations hymn.

“As sure as the sun meets the morning,

And rivers go down to the sea,

A new age for mankind is dawning,

Our children shall live proud and free!”

No response! The hopper continued its wild dance, apparently unmoved by the heart warming sounds issuing from me. “Now to the chorus”, I thought, “that will surely get them to land.”

“United Planets are in march..”( “Planets” substituted for “nations” in the original)

“With flags unfurled.” ( I wasn’t sure if advanced civilizations still used flags, but there was no stopping me now.)

“Together strive for lasting peace,

A free new world!”

That was it! I had given them my best and it was not bad if I do say so myself. Yes my rendition was quite good. Thinking like a poet I hoped even stars hammered into the cold sky might break loose and warmly land at my feet. Sadly that was not the case. Instead something terrible occurred. The UFO simply winked out.

“No, no! This can’t be.” I thought. My mouth opened wide with dismay. Misha wickedly pointed his finger at me and teased. “I guess they didn’t like your singing Joe.” I was crestfallen. They had just simply winked out! Didn’t they know that it was an official CSETI Working Group Coordinator who had just serenaded them.

We were desperate to have the light come back. Misha again tried his Russian tune. This time with more gusto. Nothing! We pleaded loudly for our “guests” to return. Still nothing. It was about 430 AM. Beneath the starry sky the research site now seemed dark and cold. More than an hour remained before sunrise.

Fortunately we were still dry. The storm continued to sweep across the high desert just north and south of us. In our little valley not a single drop of rain had fallen. We sat on our haunches and peered eastward into the desert stillness.

Finally Misha put his fingers to his mouth and let loose with a powerful whistle. In a flash the light winked on. In delight we burst out laughing . They did have a sense of humor. Strains of Lauren Becall and Humphrey Bogart drifted through my mind. “You know how to whistle,” she had told him in the movie “To Have and to Have Not.” Just put your lips together and blow.”

Again we attempted to entice the jumper to come closer. It was about 4:45 AM and our encounter had been going on for almost an hour. Somehow in our excitement we had nearly forgotten about Misha’s 8 mm video recorder. It had been sitting on top of the tripod which he had so dutifully hauled across the desert sand.

Here another potential crisis loomed. Organizational protocols clearly emphasize the importance of obtaining “hard” documentation of our encounters with Extraterrestrial Intelligence. From reports in the literature however, as well as from our own CSETI field investigations, the intelligence behind the UFO phenomenon often behaves as if it were “camera shy.” Bringing out the cameras has on many an occasion terminated interactive events.

So eager for contact are some teams. that they have decided not to take out cameras until an encounter is well established. Their concern is that aggressive attempts at documentation might “scare away” our ET collaborators. In many working group arguments have flared between the nuts and bolts “documentors” and the more psi capable and sensitive “interactors.” This cold Fall night of November 10 was no exception.

I stared at the camera. Maybe the ET craft were not approaching because this time they were really seeking “photo opportunities.” Perhaps if we tried to film the object, they would come closer. Misha and I mulled over the possibilities. We alternately advocated turning the camera on or keeping it off. We traded positions several times in the ensuing debate while the jumper seemingly mindless of our predicament, continued to dance wildly in the sky.

Finally a decision was reached, “On with the video camera!” Then something terrible happened again. Without a sound, the jumper disappeared. It just winked out! There was no dramatic finale, no fireworks display, no flare, no fade out, no fond farewell. It was simply gone!

Pandemonium broke out. “I told you not to turn the damn thing on,” I accused Misha. “What do you mean,” he retorted, “I was against using the camera. It was you who wanted it on. “ The argument was so ridiculous that we quickly stopped our silly accusations . We burst out laughing at the apparent joke which was being played on us. What followed is what every married man, and mother’s son would do in such a situation. We begged.

“Oh please come back, oh please oh please oh please!” we sang in chorus. Nothing doing. They (presumably the ETs ) were being difficult. “We promise not to turn the camera on again.” Our pleas fell on deaf ears. Or at least on whatever the ETs use for hearing.

Misha then took charge again. He slowly walked in the direction where the craft had last been seen. He stopped about 10 paces away from me and started talking. He gently tried to explain our situation. “We are friends. “ he said. “We’re not doing this to sell pictures of UFOs. We are doing this for friendship. We want to show the video to our friends and family so that they might get to know you better. We are not trying to prove that Extraterrestrials exist, we know you exist. This is for friendship.”

There we were, nestled in our little valley, in the middle of the desert while the first storm of the season was raging around us to the north and south. Misha was standing there trying to reason with phantoms. He waited for a reply. To my surprise the jumper winked back on. “Yes!” I shouted.

I guess they understand something about friendship. A wave of gratitude swept over me. “Thank you Misha for your little speech. Thank you ETs for listening.” We videoed the UFO as it silently moved across the sky.

To the southeast a second light appeared, another hopper. This one was much closer to the horizon than the first. It bounced up and down and it appeared to be moving closer. Now we were getting somewhere. “Hey Misha now there’s two UFOs, one for each of us.”

The first light had now moved into a higher position. It appeared to be taking a kind of “security position.” This maneuver reminded me of what I had witnessed in Mexico during my RMIT experience in 1993. There the large triangular craft was initially accompanied by a much smaller saucer shaped object. As the triangle closed in on us at the base of the Volcano, the smaller craft shot upwards.

The similarity of the maneuvers was reassuring. We were only 25 miles from the Marine base. Heavily armed helicopter gun ships under ordinary conditions could reach us in minutes. Fortunately the storm had taken care of that potential threat. According to the contact protocols, security for the ETs as well as for ourselves is always a prime consideration during these type of collaborative ventures. I wondered if the ET crew of the first craft had been “ordered” to a higher position as part of “standard operating procedures.” I suppose on hostile (and perhaps even notoriously violent planets like Earth), ET security regulations might conceivably be several volumes thick.

We placed all our hopes on the second hopper. It was so low to the horizon that it appeared as if it were occasionally touching down to ground as it proceeded to slowly move towards us. The first object by this time had ceased its hopping and had the appearance of an ordinary star. “This is wonderful!” I thought. “In full psychomotor control of our bodies, we could possibly have a landing and boarding right here, right now. “ The object was now clearly less than 2 miles away. Through binoculars I observed its superstructure. It was a brilliantly illuminated half moon, or disc shaped craft. White light with a harsh glow, as if emanating from a bright fluorescent light, radiated from its surface. The craft had no wings, no fins, no helicopter blades or any structure that might identify the craft as conventional. It was a flying saucer and it was slowly coming towards us.

I wish I could tell you that we had an onboard experience that night. I wish I could describe a landing, perhaps even with a joint meditation on the sand. A celebration of universal consciousness with our fellow beings, albeit not human, is part of the contact protocols. Alas that was not to pass. To be honest I suspect that I will probably never have such an experience. The second jumper stopped its forward advance. The first object now motionless, appeared like any other star in the sky. Our encounter was coming to an end.

The eastern horizon was now beginning to glow with light presaging sunrise. We could now easily move around the campsite without flash lights. As I fumbled with the camera trying to catch a better shot of the craft in the dim morning light, Misha again moved forward to address the Extraterrestrials.

Speaking slowly he again thanked them for their presence. He spoke of friendship and the growing potential danger of the situation. The encounter had been going on for almost an hour and 45 minutes. The storm seemed to be dying down and it was rapidly becoming light. If the ET craft had been detected by radar, they might trigger an armed response from the naval air stations near by. “It’s not safe, “Misha told them, “you have to go now.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Misha was dismissing the UFO. While I was greedily trying to get a better picture of them, Misha was thinking of their safety. This was really becoming a lesion in friendship for me. A lesion I was learning from both the Extraterrestrials as well as from my buddy Misha I guess that is what a citizens’ interplanetary diplomatic mission should do in situations like this. During the delicate process of getting to know one another better, both the ETs and we will just have to take it slow. It really was time for them to go.

I watched Misha standing there facing eastward. The remaining object slowly slipped behind a cloud and was gone. It was over. He had dismissed them and they left. It had been as simple as that.

I wanted to stay on site to relish the moment, but Misha wanted to go home. I panned the video camera around the site just to finish up the documentation. Only later when reviewing the tape on a big screen TV did we something quite strange. A small dark, ill defined object was seen moving in a kind of falling leaf trajectory. It appeared in the east and was captured only for a few brief seconds. It quickly moved down below the ridge line and was gone. It was silhouetted black against growing glare of sunrise in the eastern sky . There was no way for us to tell how far the tiny object was from the camera. I wondered if the sighting had been a posed shot, a kind of fond farewell or adios. I guess I’ll never know.

As we packed up the equipment, a brisk wind started blowing. We donned our rain gear. Misha’s pancho flapped in the breeze. In a light drizzle we slowly trudged across the sand. The storm however had almost completely dissipated. No danger of flash floods was present. As we marched down the dry river bed I was relieved to see that the ground was still dry. Earlier I had feared that the storm might transform it into a raging river. Only a few dark clouds straggled by in the bright morning sky. Our adventure was coming to a close.

We drove into 29 Palms to the Denny’s Restaurant. We had our usual post field work “Grand Slam” breakfast of greasy pancakes and eggs. I treated Misha. He deserved it!

In the morning’s light we were surprised to note that our faces were burned a bright red . There had been almost no wind until perhaps the last few minutes of our field work. In addition the right side of my face seemed more red than the left side. Facing due east as I monitored the first craft, my right side was turned in the direction of the second object as it had closed in. I speculated that electromagnetic energy coming from the UFOs may have given us a sunburn. By the time we arrived home several hours later, the redness was nearly completely gone.

At Denny’s we had asked about the storm of the previous night. We were informed that a wind storm had hit the Marine Base. Forty five to sixty mile an hour winds made night flights by helicopters impossible. Was that just a coincidence? Or was it some atmospherics arranged by our alleged Et collaborators.

I recalled how in 1992 during a close encounter at Alton Barnes England, Dr. Greer’s group was reportedly hounded by a mob of tabloid journalists and self styled UFO investigators who had demanded to join his team. The approach of a 100 foot saucer shaped craft only took place after a flash storm had mysteriously appeared and washed away the uninvited guests. Dr. Greer fortunately had positioned himself on an abandoned stretch of paved road where the July 26, 1992 encounter unfolded.

All during the night Misha and I had been safe and dry in our little valley. While the storm raged around us and 45 mile per hour winds struck the town of 29 Palms, our encounter had peacefully transpired. Was it just coincidence? The light rain we experienced occurred only after Misha had terminated the contact. I wonder whether these anomalous weather conditions (which appear to facilitate encounters) are manifestations of ET technology, or simply coincidence. The pattern of such occurrences is important to note. A civilization capable of interstellar travel, just might find controlling the weather to be like child’s play.

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