Part art installation, part scrapyard, I can appreciate the fact that the abandoned aspect of the Salton Sea's Bombay Beach has continued to evolve over the years. The Bombay Beach Drive-In is quite obviously not a working theatre, but its collection of classic wrecks is both playful and haunting in its junkyard depiction of the drive-in aesthetic in the middle of the blistering California desert. There's actually quite a bit to see. In my opinion, worth the stop.
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Last summer, as principal photography on my documentary wrapped, I decided to escape to the desert for a few weeks to clear my head and get in some overdue road trip travel shoots. I found an eco-trailer for rent outside of Joshua Tree National Park in California and quickly recognized that it was exactly the kind of experience I was looking for.
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The trailer itself was a vintage Shasta kitted-out in a nostalgic western motif. It was permanently fitted in place with a deck, solar panels providing added shade, and a recycled water system. In addition to its proximity to the national park, what really made the trailer a standout was how secluded it was. It was close enough to civilization for a grocery run, but far enough out that I felt no shame about taking a cowboy bath on the deck each night while watching the sun go down.
It was so secluded, in fact, I was woken up one night by coyotes passing through and then howling right from the stoop next to the deck. It was all pretty surreal, to be honest; the solitude, the heat, and the stark views made it easy to clear my head. The aesthetic was like something out of a movie to begin with, which I think just played into the desert narrative I was inventing through the shoots I was busy with during the days.
Frankly, there's a lot to appreciate about old school simplicity.
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