Alienstock: Scenes from the ground of the Area 51 raid

A meme manifested itself in the desert this weekend at the Alienstock festival. The event grew out of a viral Facebook event calling on people to raid US government facility Area 51 for aliens on Friday, and brought a crowd to nearby Rachel, Nevada, to celebrate all things extraterrestrial -- and see who else would actually show up. 

Even aliens love a good doggo. 

Justin and Christopher drove in from Reno, Nevada, and brought along tinfoil to make hats for folks, for fun. 

Margaret and Karen came from Wisconsin. They say they caught themselves an alien.

Elaine and Scott thought Alienstock was a can't-miss occurrence and dressed as the Coneheads. 

Attendees hang around the Little A'le'Inn in the tiny town of Rachel. 

Not all of Rachel residents welcomed the swarm of festivalgoers. Rachel has roughly 50 residents, no gas station and no streetlights. 

Pat and Bob, retired pilots who live in Rachel, were bracing for a crowd of unknown size. 

Jim grilled chicken and promoted his website dedicated to UFOs.

René, far left, used to own a gym called Area 51, and supplied her group with T-shirts. 

Thiery came in from Killeen, Texas. "I had the weekend free, so I figured why the heck not?" he said. 

Attendees set up shop in the desert for Alienstock. 

Folks brought tents, campers and more for the multiday event. 

Apparently one alien escaped Area 51.

The owner of the Little A'Le'Inn, a bar and restaurant in Rachel, put on the festival.

Outside the Little A'Le'Inn, there's a tow truck hoisting a UFO.

This festivalgoer painted his windows. 

The stage at Alienstock was sparsely attended. 

Although the medical team on site declined to comment, the medical tent was unused Friday at midday.

There were concerns over water availability. This tanker came prepared. 

Portable toilets were another infrastructure concern, but there were at least 70 to accommodate the crowd.