On Location

12 December 2017

We were on another movie set today. Well, at least it felt like it. The drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas was through landscape so incredibly familiar from the big screen, it didn’t feel real. When we stopped at a railway crossing, a long train went by with an open box car. It felt like we should be running towards it with one of us jumping up and helping the others to board, in the nick of time before the train went on a bridge over a deep ravine. We resisted the urge. 

We deliberately took a longer route than we needed and while the theme of flat desert with mountain backdrop was fairly consistent, there were some significant changes in the way they adorned themselves. 

Another part of the desire to go off freeway was so we could say we had driven on Route 66. I had planned beforehand some landmarks to see along the way but we drove on pass the bottle tree ranch (sorry Daddy) and didn’t even get out of the car for Bagdad Cafe (featured in the movie of the same name). We did, however, stop at Peggy Sue’s 1950’s Diner and had old fashioned hamburgers and thickshakes. Yum!

Our Garmin and Google Maps argued about how to reach our hotel once we actually reached Las Vegas so we defied both of them and drove down the main strip to check it out as the sky darkened and the lights became more pronounced. I knew the casinos and their hotels were horrifically large but now I’ve seen them in person, I realise some of the hotels are on such a grand scale my brain could not imagine them accurately beforehand. I’m sure later we will have photos.

This was our last day of driving ourselves in the USA. As much as it has been great to experience the landscapes and other features this way, I’m glad I will no longer be cowering in the backseat, attempting to dissipate the fear and panic.