Southwest USA - A roadtrip through the deserts

City of angels

[Sunset over Los Angeles, California]

Starstruck

This site has one of the best views of the city. The building can be seen in a lot of movies such as Rebel Without a Cause, Star Trek Voyager and Terminator.

[Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles]

The future is so bright I have to wear shades

[Reine and the Hollywood sign, Los Angeles]

Like tears in rain

This house was designed by George Wyman in 1893 and used as Sebastiens apartment in the classic movie Blade Runner.

[Bradbury Building, Los Angeles]

Room with a view

[Malibu, California]

Cliff dweller

[Reine in Malibu, California]

King of the hill

[Reine in Malibu, California]

The long and winding road

[Death Valley, California]

King of the hill

A proper sunrise is worth an early climb before breakfast.

[Pär in Death Valley, California]

I found the green

This salt pan is called Devil's golf course. I just think those golfers were lazy.

[Pär in Death Valley, California]

I found the green

This salt pan is called Devil's golf course. I just think those golfers were lazy.

[Death Valley, California]

The wretched hive

This is Dante's View overlook, but perhaps better known as the Mos Eisley Overlook, where Luke and Obi-Wan looked down upon the city in Star Wars Episode 4.

[Death Valley, California]

Don't get a flat tire

[Route 6, Nevada]

Sculptured by nature

This part of the canyon is 400 meters in length.

[Reine in Antelope Canyon, Arizona]

No hugs for you

Some of these cactus are even taller than me. The saguaro is the familiar state symbol of Arizona and it can grow to be over 20 meters tall.

[Reine in Saguaro National Park, Arizona]

Lucky Luke territory

Probably the bumpiest road I've ever driven on, but the car survived somehow.

[Monument Valley]

Lucky Luke territory

Probably the bumpiest road I've ever driven on, but the car survived somehow.

[Driving through Monument Valley]

Number of the beast

Route 666 through New Mexico had very high fatality rates and it was one of the 20 most dangerous highways in 1997. Combined with the biblical implications of the number, it was aptly nicknamed Devil's Highway. It was later renamed into Route 491 in 2003, and when the pending number change was announced almost every 666 road sign was stolen in a few days! We found one of them.

[Reine somewhere in New Mexico]

God save the queen

One of the formations supposedly looks like Queen Victoria, but I think you can find anything in them if you look long enough.

[Queen's garden in Bryce Canyon, Utah]

Downhill

[Pär in Bryce Canyon, Utah]

Just passing through

[Bryce Canyon area, Utah]

Reach for the sky

[Bryce Canyon area, Utah]

We come in peace

Route 375 was officially designated a much easier name to remember in 1996, as this is the road closest to Area 51.

[Extraterrestrial Highway, Nevada]

Holy ground

[Reine at the Front Gate of Area 51, Nevada]

Ironic photo opportunity

[Back Gate of Area 51, Nevada]

Black or white

The so called Black Mailbox was believed by many to be the official mailbox of Area 51, but it actually belonged to a local farmer. He got so irritated at lunatics going through his mail that he replaced it with a white one.

[Reine in Nevada]

Large green men

'Mulder, I found them! The aliens are hiding in the street lights!'

[Reine in Roswell]

Heavy research

[Reine in UFO library, Roswell]

The great wide open

Apart from being stunningly beautiful, this was also the location of a scene in Easy Rider.

[Highway 163 through Monument Valley]

ET phone home

The observatory area contains 27 antennas, where each dish has a diameter of 25 meters. They are moved around using rail tracks, which at one point even crosses Route 60! The antennas can be seen in many scifi movies, including the famous scenes with Jodie Foster in Contact.

[Very Large Array, New Mexico]

Chilly dunes

This place really lives up to its name.

[Reine in White Sands]

Chilly dunes

[Pär in White Sands]

Batcave

No photograph can describe the sheer size of it all.

[Rock of Ages, Carlsbad Caverns]

Moria

Notice the man with the head light.

[Carlsbad Caverns]

Reach out and touch faith

This is the life work of Leonard Knight. Since 1985 he has been busy painting his vision. Unfortunately he fell ill in 2011 and had to be moved into a care facility.

[Salvation Mountain, California]

Reach out and touch faith

This is the life work of Leonard Knight. Since 1985 he has been busy painting his vision. Unfortunately he fell ill in 2011 and had to be moved into a care facility.

[Salvation Mountain, California]

Hanging with the crowd

The area is named for the concrete slabs that remain from the abandoned WW2 marine barracks. Many people live here to get off the grid.

[Slab City, California]

Thou art art

This area in the middle of the desert was created by Charles Stephen Russell, creating art installations from the garbage found lying around Slab City.

[East Jesus, California]

I see dead fishes

Bombay Beach is a semi-deserted town on the east shore of the Salton Sea. It also marks the southern end of the San Andreas fault. Due to very high salinity, very few fish species can live there.

[Bombay Beach, California]

No more no less

This gravestone has one of the best descriptions ever: 'Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a .44, No Les No Moore.' It is located near the graves of Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury, the men who were gunned down by Wyatt Earp's party in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral 1881.

[Boothill Graveyeard outside Tombstone, Arizona]