9th
Update 2
Dear Friends of Worlds Best Dad!
Well, we’re back in NYC. It’s hard to believe that the long year of planning sped by so quickly. We drove from New York through Jersey and Pennsylvania, into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and back. Everywhere we went from Eastern suburbia out into cornfed Middle America and debauched Nevada, everyone welcomed the star spangled van with enthusiastic curiosity.
We, a band of first timers, dreamers and adventurers had our arguments, our make-ups and our breakdowns, much like Miles and Matt. Sometimes the documentary approach found life imitating art. But considering we’re six crazy people crammed into one crowded van for a few hot, tiring weeks, we all got along remarkably well and we’d all do it again. Fate seemed to be on our side during the trip. We tracked down a series of phenomenal locations and a bunch of great people along the way, some of whom may turn up on the big screen!
Some new sneak peaks into our cross-country escapades are up on the website: a few snapshots of our adventures, with a behind-the-scenes video and a new teaser coming soon.
The last installment of our blogged adventures left off in Broken Bow, Nebraska. We grabbed some coffee for the road and the backroad path led us to the mythical circle of Carhenge before we motored through surprisingly beautiful Nebraska and on into the wilds of Wyoming. A double rainbow welcomed us into Cheyenne where ‘Miles’ dropped ‘Matt’ off at the Union Pacific railroad station. We then ate at Sonic burger and discussed who was and was not man enough to get a rocket tattoo. Answer: Matt and Dean are not man enough. Afterwards, all scores were settled with a roman-candle battle. ‘Miles’ is ruthless and boy can ‘Matt’ jump. Awakening the next morning at a KOA in Rawlins, Wyoming we collected our U-Haul truck and hit the open road for driving shots. From Rawlins we drove into Salt Lake City and met Rob’s dad for lunch. Then we drove out of Salt Lake, past the Great Salt Lake and out into the bright white landscape of the Salt Flats. Made friends with a wild dog just before crossing over into Nevada and immediately into gaudy, neon casino-land. ‘Miles’ hit the jackpot and the boys lived it up in the hot tub, poppin’ bubbly. Then we drove to Winnemucca, where we discovered that the Walmart where we were going to gear up for the playa had already been ransacked by Burners. How would we ever survive? Luckily, the next supermarket we tried had plenty of water, now we were just faced with the challenge of fitting 50 gallons of water and weeks rations in the already film cramped van. A couple hours into a failed attempt to install a trailer hitch in a pitch-black parking lot, we decided to roll the dice and test the limits of our lucky van. After a ‘cat nap’ in dingy motel in Fernley, we drove out to Pyramid Lake to film ‘Miles’ skinny-dipping in the otherworldly desert oasis. By now, Dean was well on his way to solving the diabolical Rubiks Cube but his progress had been held up by lack of Internet access and hence his inability to crack the code. A quick stop off in Empire for some grub and last minute supplies and we were on the final stretch to Black Rock City and into the heart of the harsh Nevada desert. We drove past a line of signs declaring American and political quotes and aphorisms and approached the gates to the city, greeted by a troop of nudists. After initiation ceremonies we picked a spot and pitched camp.
To be continued..
