As I write this, I'm sitting in a Best Western in Eureka Springs, Arkansas waiting for the rain to die down. I'm on a road trip with VArtisans with the goal of capturing America's highways and byways in 360 video. We've been driving from sunrise to sunset everyday, taking the slower roads and looking for interesting subjects.
I've road tripped across the country once before and one of my biggest regrets from that trip is not keeping a journal. This blog post will sort of act as a journal, but it's also a way for me to keep people updated with the journey (hi, mom).
This is going to be updated daily (that's the goal at least) so check back for updates if you're into that sort of thing.
Day 1: Richmond, VA to Mayberry, NC
While this was the first official day of the road trip, we didn't get any filming done today. We ended up leaving Richmond at about 6 o'clock and booked it straight to Mount Airy. This is so close to home that we'll get it another day.
Edit: We ended up capturing the Virginia Beach to Mayberry portion of the road trip later in October right as the trees were starting to change color. This made the shots slightly more interesting and allowed to us to avoid some of the late summer heat.
Day 2: Mayberry, NC to Nashville, TN
Our first true day of filming. Our first day of setbacks and camera failures.
Picture this: we’re sitting outside the famous Wally’s Service Station in Mayberry, NC. The sun is just beginning to peak out of the horizon and we’re setting up our camera for the first shot of the trip. We power it up, connect our iPad to control and monitor the image, and nothing. Dead. Great start to the shoot.
With the sun rising higher and higher into the sky, we’re trying everything to get an image on the iPad. It’s like doctors in the ER trying to bring a patient back to life, but it’s too late. Time of death: 7:15am. Eventually, we swap to backup camera and are able to get the shot, but damn, what a stressful first shot.
Our main events for the day were the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge. The smokies are beautiful and we found ourselves on some steep, winding roads, a test for a camera rig mounted to car and Mark’s driving skills. Thankfully, we made it out unscathed.
Gatlinburg was absolutely packed. I didn’t realize it was such a tourist destination, but it’s definitely a cute little ski town. We did a quick drive and captured a few shots, but moved on quickly.
Pigeon Forge, while also packed, was a mountainous, trashy beach town. Think Myrtle Beach with landlocked rednecks instead of seafaring ones. There’s even a Margaritaville.
We captured the sunset in Crab Orchard, TN and got into Nashville at about 10 or so. Stressful morning and late night, but good day overall.
Side note: We went to Love’s and I’m in love. I had never been to one before, but I’m a fan of any truck stop that sells armets and Spartan helmets.
Day 3: Nashville, TN to Poplar Bluff, MO
We started the morning off right with a great breakfast at [insert diner name here]. The name escapes me at the moment, but it was nice little country diner. Good stuff.
Today’s big items was Metropolis, IL, the (self-proclaimed) home of Superman. They have a big Superman statue on their main street and besides that, there is almost nothing in this town. Very few people. Very few businesses. Kind of sad, but at least they have Superman.
We had planned for this day to be a half day, meaning only filming until about midday and not worrying about sunset. However, when we were driving over the consecutive bridges that take you from Kentucky to Illinois to Missouri, crossing over both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, we decided to go ahead and shoot the sunset. There was beautiful golden light reflecting off the rivers and it was too good to pass up.
Afterward sunset, we drive for about an hour and ended up in Poplar Bluff, MO for the night. There, we ate at a poorly lit Colton’s Steakhouse and called it a night.
Day 4: Poplar Bluff, MO to Eureka Springs, AR
The sun rose over downtown Poplar Bluff at about 6:50am. People are up early in the midwest. The town was bustling by 7 o’clock. We grabbed a few shots and hit the road. (Side note: we stayed at the Drury Inn, which is consistently voted the #1 mid-upscale hotel in the region. I completely agree. A+)
We drove through the Mark Twain National Forest (it looked like any other forest to me) and gradually worked our way through the Ozarks. There were lots of confederate flags (shocking). We stopped in West Plains for lunch. Lots of great scenery. Forests, mountains, rolling hills, farmland. This part of the country has got it all.
The sunset going into Eureka Springs was gorgeous and the town itself is awesome. It seems like it’s built into a ravine. There are multiple levels with long staircases connecting them. Very Minecraft.
Day 5: Eureka Springs, AR – Rain Day
Rain. We knew it was supposed to rain today. We were hoping it would start later in the morning, giving us a chance to capture a quick sunrise. Alas, the rain began to come down just as the sun broke the horizon. Our rig is 100% not waterproof so this means a rain day for us. We’ll sit in the motel and hope for clearer skies tomorrow.
It’s not all a waste though. It gives us time to review our shots, plan for the upcoming days, and catch up on some rest (the most important).
Staying an extra day also allowed us to explore this bizarre town a little bit. There’s a lot of history here and it’s definitely spooky. The Crescent Hotel on the top of the hill used to be a sanitarium. Now it has good food, great beer, and ghost tours.
Day 6: Eureka Springs, AR to Edmond, OK
During our rain day, we were able to scout out a killer sunrise location overlooking a valley from the top of the mountain. The sun rose through some thin clouds so the light wasn’t as good as it could have been, but it was still beautiful.
Today was the first day that our landscape really started to change. The mountains and trees have finally started to fade away to flat ground. The roads have gotten a lot straighter.
We drove through Tulsa, which was disappointing (apologies to anyone from Tulsa) and got on the historic Route 66 to go west. No westward road trip across the US is complete without hopping on Route 66. We’ll be on this road for the next few days, stopping along the way for the wild attractions, the first of which was the Blue Whale of Catoosa. I don’t know whose idea it was to build a concrete whale in a tiny pond in the middle of Oklahoma, but I support it.
We finished our day capturing the sunset in Arcadia, OK and stopping into Pops Soda Ranch for a drink. I felt like a character in Riverdale, which is literally all I can ask for.
Day 7: Edmond, OK to Amarillo, TX
Today started with a beautiful sunrise and then a visit to the site of the 1986 Edmond Post Office Massacre. What a lovely experience!
There wasn’t a ton in terms of scenery. Lots of flat plains. Lots of wind farms. Turbines are cool but boy do they all look the same after a while.
Sunset outside of Amarillo and then dinner at Braceros where we saw a mariachi band and a cool poodle.
Day 8: Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM
For sunrise, we went to The Big Texan, home of the free 72 oz steak (if you can finish it in an hour). There was a giant dinosaur wearing cowboy boots.
After leaving Amarillo, we hit a few of the famous 66 attractions. First, we hit up The 2nd Amendment Cowboy, which was cool, but he didn’t even have a gun so I don’t think he can call himself a proud NRA member. After that we went to Cadillac Ranch where I went ankle deep in some fresh mud.
Tucumcari was our lunch stop and we found a great BBQ joint / country store. Great food and great wingnuts. There were very friendly cats who proudly eat a lot of BBQ. The stretch of 66 that runs through Tucumcari still has a ton of the old hotel signs and buildings.
On the way into Albuquerque, we tried to find the famous Musical Highway, but were misled by every GPS app and travel blog. We drove both westbound and eastbound on old 66 and couldn’t find it. We still have no idea where it is. At least the sunset was gorgeous.
We stayed in Old Town and ate at a cool place called Two Cranes. I had a Santa Fee Nut Brown Ale and it was good.
Day 9: Albuquerque, NM to Cortez, CO
This was the coolest day in terms of geography so far. It was pretty much nothing but canyons, mesas, and mountains. We drove up 485 and checked out Gilman Tunnels. From this road, we saw some pretty spectacular views. Shortly after, we found a really cool town called Jemez Springs, which I’ll move to when I have enough money to build a “relaxing house” in the mountains.
Ate lunch in Cuba at the Cuban Cafe and booked it to Cortez, where we stayed in the scariest and yet nicest Best Western I’ve seen. When we pulled up, there were 5 cop cars in the parking lot and yet I have a room that has three (!) different sinks.
Day 10: Cortez, CO to Tuba City, AZ
Monument Valley is a gorgeous place and human beings are dumb. When you arrive at Forrest Gump point (it’s really called that), you’ll find dozens of influencers in the middle of the road copying the shot posted by their favorite instagram celebs. Honestly, it’s like a game of chicken. Will they move before your car strikes their soft bodies? Who knows.
It is really beautiful though.
After Monument Valley, we continued driving west towards Page, AZ. This is a wonderful town full of tourists and action sports aficionados. We walked up to Horseshoe Bend, which is about a 10 minute drive out of the city. While this is definitely another tourist destination, there’s something pretty special about hundreds of people all gathering to watch the sun set together.
Day 11: Grand Canyon
Morning was confusing. Arizona is a slightly annoying state to road trip through because they don’t follow daylight savings time. However, the Navajo nation, which exists primarily in Arizona does. We had no idea when sunrise was or what time we needed to leave to make it to the Grand Canyon before the break of dawn.
Long story short, we missed the sunrise by an hour. However, we were still able to catch it about 45 minutes out of the Grand Canyon as it rose over the Painted Desert. Still a spectacular view.
This was by far our toughest day in terms of crew morale and alertness. We were in the park for the whole day grabbing driving shots, but also some tripod shots, which meant a lot more walking than we’ve been used to. At least lunch in the village was followed by some espressos. Thank God.
Our location contact was able to get us access to a private road that only shuttle buses use. This allowed us to get some cool shots that we wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise.
I had been to the Grand Canyon once before, on a road trip I made with some friends after high school, and it’s such a grand (duh) spectacle that it’s hard to comprehend the scale. I always describe it as looking exactly as it does in photographs. Everything is SO far away that there is no parallax. It’s completely flat to the eye. It’s beautiful (again, duh), but to me, it’s always a little disappointing.
We stayed in Flagstaff, where I got a sick suite upgrade at the Best Western.
Day 12: Flagstaff, AZ to Sedona, AZ
Speaking of my suite at the Best Western, it had a great king size bed where I slept in until 8. That’s like 3 hours more sleep than I’ve been getting and it was much needed. This was a “rest day” for us, which meant a slow morning, but still shooting 500GB of footage before sunset.
Sedona is incredible. If a town hadn’t been founded on that land, it would be a national park. The giant rock formations are spread all throughout the town. I’d love to come back and hike through the mountains one day.
Day 13: Sedona, AZ to Las Vegas, NV
We hit a few small towns, ate at a place called Roadkill Cafe, and left Route 66 behind us in favor of Sin City.
The length of my entries had a direct correlation to how tired I was. Can you tell?
Day 14: Death Valley
My alarm went off at 3:30am because we needed to catch some shots of the Vegas Strip without any traffic. Not an ideal call time, but it was cool to see the city at this hour.
We caught the sunrise 30 minutes or so outside of Vegas and then found breakfast in the town of Blue Diamond. Shout out to Cottonwood Station for great service, great coffee, and great sausage rolls.
To me, this was one of the neatest days so far because of Death Valley. That’s where they shot Star Wars. (!!!!) We entered through the northeast and drove all the way down to Artist’s Palette. There were some incredible views. This is another place that I will definitely come back to for a camping or hiking trip.
Day 15: Ridgecrest, CA to Ventura, CA
The last day of production. The goal of this film shoot was to film the entirety of a coast-to-coast road trip and today marks the end of that journey. We started in Virginia Beach, VA 15 days ago and reached the Pacific Ocean today just as the sun was beginning to set.
This was definitely a wild road trip. Some things went wrong. Other things worked perfectly when they should have gone wrong. That’s just the way it goes though.
For the next 2 days, we’ll be traveling up the Pacific Coast Highway, taking it slow and relaxing a bit. I’m not going to be blogging it, but I’ll still be taking pictures so look forward to that.
Epilogue: PCH and Home
Thanks for reading.
Best,
Nick
P.S. If you like any of the images in this post and would like a print, please contact me and I’ll see what I can do. 🙂