andipantz

I spent two years of my life living in Barstow and I’m still fairly familiar with the area, but I never really did much photography of the outlying desert communities….which are really just houses scattered here and there with lots of abandonment in between. So that was my mission on this trip. I had some idea of the locations where I wanted to go so I headed in that general direction and just drove around for a while.Although it’s so easily recognized and I’d been there before, I stopped to take the token photo of Peggy Sue’s Diner.At this point, I already had to use the bathroom so I thought I’d drive to Newberry Springs and visit my next stop: the Bagdad Cafe. Why I didn’t think to use the bathroom in Peggy Sue’s is beyond me. The Bagdad Cafe was the set location for the movie of the same name. I’d never been to the cafe so I decided that I’d check it out since it was along my route. Of course, I stopped to photograph a few things along the way there.I was quickly reminded that I needed to use the bathroom when I left so I made a quick escape to a gas station not far away. The gas station had a convenience store and a grill where you could get food made to order (keep in mind that this IS the desert). When I left, I spotted one of the female employees who had no front teeth. She smiled and continued to play with the huge gap with her tongue. Gross. I continued my journey…mostly along Route 66.I reached the town of Daggett where I took some photos of buildings, but also paid a visit to a Pioneer Cemetary. I had known (and forgotten) that it existed, but I don’t recall ever being there in the past.I could have stayed out taking more photos, but I really wanted to pick up my new prescription…and I hadn’t really eaten much all day. I wasn’t feeling too great that night and had a little fever so I decided to stay at the hotel one more night. I’m glad that I did and I felt much better the next day.