In August of 2020 I was asked to participate in the ongoing research at Skinwalker Ranch in Utah. Season 2 of History Channel’s The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch series was being filmed at this time so any work I was going to do would be filmed for the series.
My task was to create digital twins of as many sites on the ranch as the schedule would allow. My plan was to create drone-based photogrammetric models, drone and ground based SLAM LiDAR surveys, and terrestrial laser scanning.
The project presented a few challenges including filming, flying, scanning during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the pressures of a tight filming schedule, and, of course, my preoccupation with the stories surrounding this property.
I cant say I was worried about anything odd happening to me or my gear. Instead I was HOPING something odd would happen as I’m a born skeptic for all things paranormal. I took part hoping I’d become a believer . . . hoping to witness something beyond our understanding of physics, the universe, etc.
I flew a BirdsEyeView Aerobotics FireFLY6 Pro for photogrammetry of a large portion of the 512 acre property . . . for those of you who are familiar with the property and/or the show this was the mesa flight. I flew a DJI Mavic 2 Pro for smaller, specific sites. I flew a brand new (at the time) DJI M300 RTK with the Emesent Hovermap for the LiDAR scans. I used a FARO s350 for terrestrial laser scanning of a few sites up on the mesa. I also had my Skydio 2 for some aerial filming. Pix4D, FARO Scene and CloudCompare were my tools for post processing.
I spent the most time with Erik Bard and Thomas Winterton. Erik and Tom are semi-full timers at the ranch so they are more accessible (aka local) than Travis and Bryant. Kaleb is a regular at the ranch as well. As a local law enforcement officer Kaleb’s stories about the area are really interesting. I heard more than a few hair raising tales over some adult beverages with the guys.
I bet those of you who know of the ranch are wondering if anything strange happened while I was there. Yes, a number of odd things happened.
At the time I was certain that the strange things that happened were simple to explain – caused by me going too fast. A five camera shoot will really test any complex workflow!
Film production is all about time. You’ve got to hustle, hit your mark, and nail your bits in as few takes as possible. The pressure is very real. Like everyone else if I do anything too quickly I make mistakes. Erik actually maintained a long list of things that happened to me and my gear. Any out-of-the-ordinary occurrences are meticulously documented at the ranch. I’ll just share a few . . .
The FireFLY is an amazing, VTOL drone. I flew the same preprogrammed, fully autonomous flight 3x times over the mesa with no issue. I flew it three times because I was stymied as to why no images were being written to the SD card. When we sorted that out (operator error & too embarrassing to admit here) and flew the exact same mission a fourth time – things went weird. The FireFLY completed the mission and then wouldn’t land – no matter what I did in terms of taking over manual flight control. When the batteries expired, it simply fell out of the sky landing in some shrubs, damaging a wing. That damaged wing, signed by yours truly, now hangs in the Command Center at Skinwalker Ranch.
The data onboard the FireFLY was intact but produced a strange anomaly right over the ranch house / command center buildings . . . a “bend” in the data. There was likely a reasonable explanation for this but due to the shooting schedule I had to move on rather than investigate what happened thoroughly at the time.
Then, out of nowhere, on a hot, flat calm day, a dust devil destroyed my tent I had set up over the ground control station for the FireFLY. I wasn’t there to witness this. I heard about it over the radios the crew use. The radio / telemetry antennae for communicating with the FireFLY fell over and broke.
While watching the FireFLY execute one of it’s flights I saw a bright flash, at altitude, over the command center. Likely a glint from an aircraft windscreen . . . but who knows?
The Mavic and M300 flights went perfectly. The resulting data is quite good. The FARO laser scanner worked perfectly as well and that data is excellent too.
Finally . . . when Erik walked the Hovermap through Homestead 2 the resulting data showed one of the rooms as blank. It appeared as though the interior of one entire room did not return any data. Very strange. Watch the show (Season 2 / Episode 4: There’s No Place Like Homestead Two) if you want to know more. From the image of Erik’s Hovermap scan of Homestead 2 (below) you can see we sorted the problem out. At the time however I was dumbstruck. This is just the kind of thing that in the moment, at that place, has you doubting everything and common sense goes right out the door. Don’t get me wrong – there’s something very odd about Skinwalker Ranch. Odd enough to keep me coming back to see if we cant get some answers.
I am having a blast working on this project. It’s truly a fascinating combination of entertainment and hardcore research . . . both things I’ve been drawn to forever. Sadly, on that first trip, nothing ran up my leg, scared the (bleep) out of me, or made me a believer . . . but that soon changed.
During my last visit to the ranch in March 2021 two things happened that I cannot explain. I got really dizzy for about an hour (this had never happened to me before) and one of my drones, the Skydio 2, a drone famous for collision avoidance, either exploded in midair or collided with something. This led to, on several occasions, Erik hearing me mutter, “This f**king place.”
The fruits of Erik’s and my labors: A 3D, color, survey grade computer model of the entire property are in the works and the early builds look stunning.
We brainstorm a lot about how to use this model. Everything from standard GIS mapping to serving it up to the public to aid in research, gaming, security, you name it is being considered. Exciting times ahead.
I continue to contribute to the research at Skinwalker Ranch. My thanks to the cast and crew and a huge thank you to Brandon Fugal and Erik Bard for having me back to the ranch to continue the work. The research continues whether the film crew is there or not and with each visit I get closer and closer to becoming convinced there is something going on at Skinwalker Ranch that is beyond our understanding.
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Interesting article ! Did They finish the Drilling and what are the results?
When is the season start.
April 18 here in the USA
Great article. Thanks for writing it. So, what was the issue with the blank interior at Homestead 2? The show left it a mystery.
Not entirely sure frankly. Upon post-processing it a second time the data was there. I’ve never seen that in 15 years of working with this kind of data.
When does the new season start?
It was great to find this writeup. Often, a quick search reveals things on a TV show are not at all what they seemed. It was fun reading more details here.
I can’t get enough of the show. It is so interesting to watch. I am just so interested, I can’t get enough. I love following Travis and the rest of the crew. I can’t wait to see more. When is the next season starting?
May 2022
would you consider posting a 3d model of the area? I’d love to 3d print a scale model of the ranch for a keepsake.
Great idea but sadly the data is not mine to share.
Does the film crew experience any problems while filming Skinwaker Ranch
Yes, they do.
Love the show, highly interested in paranormal activity. Especially UAP! My question is simple, What does the number 58 mean that is on the wooden table in the Skinwalker Ranch Command Center?
You know. I have no idea. Best to ask Thomas or Erik that one.
Thanks for this write-up. This is what I wish the show was. Follow-up and no hype. Where was the Skydio being flow exactly when it “blew-up”?
Hey pete, so this may seem obvious (atleast to me) simply because i noticed this on google maps satellite imagery. I just happened to give it a look after watching an episode. Low and behold, starting at skinwalker homestead 2 looking up the mesa wall/cliffside is literally a stone wall, going upwards like a staircase. And theres another one exactly like it alongside the same cliffside. And then theres other stone pathways all over it and around it that are smaller. But all are massive in general and clearly not natural. Some are so obvious i cant believe i havent heard anything about this. And it all looks like it has been covered deliberately with dirt, rubble etc. Its almost like the whole cliffside and mesa was ancient city. Is this something that has been studied? If not, i highly suggest you give it a thought or look at what im talking about. I know theres something to this.
This is great that you are pouring through available data – thank you! I’ll pass this along.
Any chance the topographic date could be usable in a program such as world creator
(Program able to use data such as USGS data to create fly through able computer terrain)
What file type do you compile in
Just spilling my own research on the area, and trying to decide if region was once an impact site
Looking forward to hearing from you
Brett
Hi Brett – I don’t know Creator but the topo data is industry standard format (.las / .laz / .obj) so it’s compatible with all CAD, GIS, and visualization software. Thanks for checking in. PK
Hey Pete – I noticed in the show that you wear a big scarf and fingerless gloves even on a hot August day. Wondering if that is to protect from bugs, or sun, or if it is specialized gear to block radiation or something. I’ve seen clothing made with silver or copper used by NASA to block radiation, and just wondering if you were all covered up as a personal preference or some other purpose. Just curious. 🙂
It’s all about sun protection for me. Melanoma is no joke. I’ve had it twice. The sun and I are mortal enemies (literally) so I cover up. Thanks for asking!
Hello Ranchers – I have a question to the Skinwalker Ranch Control Room & Erik Bard. On numerous occasions when the team is reviewing footage, we see a camera angle that captures the team sitting around on the Control Room table. There is the number “58” inscribed or burnt onto the table. What is the significance or meaning behind the number 58? Your Rancher fans would love to know. Thank You.
BUCK: Skinwalker Ranch Member ID 490683.
Hi Buck – I asked about this on my last visit as this comes up a lot. I wish I had a better answer than the following. The table was bought during pre-production – essentially a used furniture place. Someone likely painted their house numbers for the mailman at one point. It is not related to the ranch or the work taking place there. Thanks for asking.
Thanks Pete. I was hoping for something “out of this world”, Like Area “51” or like Warehouse “13” type stuff. TTYL.
I have been interested in what goes on in these strange places, ever since I lived in Denver. In 1967 and 68 there were mutilated cattle found just outside of Denver where the cattle appeared to be surgically cut in half with the front half being just bones and the back half looking like a normal cow. Now I hear and see this program investigating these happenings. I am a big fan and hope you guys can find out what’s going on.
Thank you so much for writing up this information on your experiences on SWR. Your photogrammetry work showing the spire and other artifacts was tremendously and helped to give some credence as to the existence of some sort of transient structure being there. Your detailed work and effort is a definite help to understanding to the teams as well as the insiders and the watchers. I’ve seen your work on on another show as well. You are amazing!!!
I am interested to know what brand of lidar scanner was used in the episode 1 which aired last night. It looked like a Veladyne product (now owned by Ouster).
It is the first generation Emesent Hovermap – yes – with a Veladyne puck.