After a frustrating morning in Death Valley I headed east to a rest area in Nevada. At the intersection of state routes 373 and 95, it was the most desolate place I've been in my wandering. Just a few trees and some picnic tables, this rest area can lay claim to being among the most spartan of locations. It's big claim to fame is the neighborhood ... Nellis AFB, area 51 and the Nevada nuclear test site. They are literally across rt. 95 from the rest area. Lots of ominous signs and fencing tell you that there's something special about the place. But, just when you start getting nervous about all those radioactive holes just over the mountains you look to the south and see ... the Area 51 souvenir stand, gas station and brothel. In the middle of nowhere you find fake aliens and prostitutes in equal abundance (sometimes it's hard to tell them apart ... or so I'm told). Even a big sign up the road ... brothel ahead ... 1/4 mile ... get your rocks off (I added the last part). Really ... I'm not kidding ... a brothel right up against the fence at the nuclear test site. Not sure I'd want to get it on with someone who lives so close to all that radiation. Oh well ...
Area 51 Sunset
So, I'm sitting there in this funky rest area, trying not to melt in the oppressive heat, and I look over my shoulder to the west and can't believe what I'm seeing ... the most amazing sunset I've experienced in my 3 months of traveling. The sky was on fire ... and all I could think of was grabbing my camera and tripod and running as fast as my old legs could carry me toward a spot where I could start shooting. It was just me and a guy on his motorcycle watching as mother nature did her thing to perfection. I kept wondering if there was a connection between this beauty and all the radiation just across the road but, being a trained scientist, I knew there was none. But still ...
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| Area 51 Sunset - 32mm(1.6 crop),f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0 |
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