In the fairly monochromatic landscape that comprises the remote wilderness of Utah, anything out-of-the-ordinary stands out easily. For this reason, when state employees spotted a mysterious metal monolith from a helicopter, they were naturally curious.

Is it an art piece? Or is it something more cryptic- like an alien monument à la 2001: A Space Odyssey? 

A Mysterious Metal Monolith

On wednesday, November 18, state employees with the Utah Department of Public Safety were flying a helicopter over a remote area of the Utah wilderness. They were assisting officers with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resource in counting bighorn sheep.

“One of the biologists is the one who spotted [the monolith] and we just happened to fly directly over the top of it,” said pilot Bret Hutchings. “He was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around!’ And I was like, ‘what.’ And he’s like, ‘There’s this thing back there – we’ve got to go look at it!’” [1].

Of course, they had no choice but to turn around and investigate the out-of-place object. The shiny metal monolith firmly planted into the ground in a red rock cove. According to Hutchings, it’s about ten to twelve feet tall.

“We were kind of joking around that if one of us suddenly disappears, then the rest of us make a run for it,” he laughed [1]. 

Not surprisingly, Twitter users got a hold of the information, and a series of Space Odyssey nods ensued. 

Twitter user @pourmecoffee posted a photo of the metal monolith with the caption “Initiate the protocols and meet at the rendezvous point.” Another account, @WilliamHPerkins posted about the mysterious find with the ominous caption “ape violence intensifies” [2].

The @UtahDPS helicopter was assisting the @UtahDWR in counting bighorn sheep in remote southern Utah Wednesday when the crew encountered something entirely 'out of this world'…@KSL5TV #KSLTV #Utah

Photojournalist: @Photog_Steve5 pic.twitter.com/f8P0fayDIS

— Andrew Adams (@AndrewAdamsKSL) November 21, 2020

Is It Art, Or Something Else…

So what is this mysterious metal monolith? Hutchings and the rest of the team wondered if it belonged to NASA- it is clearly a man-made object. In the end, they decided there didn’t seem to be any scientific purpose to it. Perhaps, then, it was more of an art piece than anything of alien origin.

“I’m assuming it’s some new wave artist or something or, you know, somebody that was a big (2001: A Space Odyssey) fan,” Hutchings said [1].

According to Hutchings, this is the strangest thing he’s come across in his years piloting a helicopter in the area. The group still has no idea where it came from, or what it’s for.

Bighorn sheep live in some of the most rugged and remote areas of Utah, where climate conditions can be extremely harsh. The flight crew have purposefully been vague about its exact location for this reason. They fear that amateur explorers might attempt to go see the monolith, and might get stuck in the wilderness while trying to find it.

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