ON THE ROAD AGAIN
I’m in LA for a series of meetings about a pre-production shoot for a much larger project that starts in a couple of months. Because the meetings are interspersed across two weeks, culminating with a 2-day shoot, I decided to drive down from Montana.
It’s around 1200 miles and there are two ways to go: Interstate 15 via Las Vegas and Utah or through Nevada on the “loneliest road” in America, state highway “6”. I chose the latter. There is something about 2 lane roads that really appeal to me, particularly when I’m headed for a city that has 10 lane super highways.
I pledged to stop and take a few photos along the way.
I drove 700 miles on the first day and camped 50 miles southwest of Ely, NV. The stars were amazing and the night sounds soothing. There are few areas left in America where you might be the only human within a 20 mile radius - where I camped is such a place. I hoped for an alien visitation but I can’t remember if that happened or not!
The following morning I got on the road headed for Tonapah, NV roughly 125 miles away. It was almost 90 minutes before I saw the first car of the day headed in the opposite direction. Now that’s a lonely road! I love the fact that I can be driving through the most desolate region in the U.S. only to arrive in it’s second largest city, Los Angeles 10 hours later. Experiencing these revelations are why I drive every so often. And as I cruise along in comfort at 80 miles an hour, I scan the horizon imagining tough pioneers trudging their way west, staring at yet another mountain range to traverse.
