Date posted: June 18, 2007

Driving Through Yucca Valley

The next morning you notice a girl in a bikini sitting next to the pool, which doubles as breakfast area. She has a laptop and a mobile phone. She is managing her diary. She looks at you. You look at her. You understand. She knows. She smiles at you. You smile back at her. You eat your sandwich. You don’t have time. You’re on a mission.

You begin the day looking for some of the houses Palm Springs is famous for. But the first you want to check out is on a private road. You drive up to the gate but the guard informs you that you are already on private property and politely asks you to turn around and leave.

You decide that this is a waste of your time and head for the windmill parks that you know are next to Interstate 10. When you get there you find yourself in the middle of a desert storm. Your heart starts racing. This is cool. You take some photos. This could be a good day after all.

You want to go to Pioneertown where some years ago there were wildfires. You expect the landscape to be desolate. Even more desolate than the desert. This is what attracts you. You don’t know why.

You can’t find the road to Pioneertown and instead you take the 247. It’s a beautiful road. You wonder why people choose to live here, in the middle of nowhere. You wonder what they do for a living. You make a stop at a house with some vintage cars parked behind a fence. You get out of your car and prepare to take a photo. A guy with a couple of dogs walks towards the fence. He asks if there’s a problem. You reply that no there isn’t, you’re just taking some photos. He asks what you’re taking photos of. You say that you’re travelling through California taking photos. He tells you that the mountains behind his house are nice and asks you why you want to take a photo of his car. You begin to walk back to your car. The guy asks again why you want to take a photo of his car. You begin to suspect something. He asks you where you’re from. You say that you’re from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He asks whether you’ve got any weed on you. You laugh and say no and get back into your car and drive off.

You ask yourself why you’re here. Why you’re doing this. Why you’re not visiting some touristic places. There’s a pile of dirt next to the road. You stop your car and get out to take some photos.