road trip

the road to utah

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two mondays spent driving through the west to/from utah with a 35mm point & shoot.

llano

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Perpetual politician Job Harriman lost his 1911 race for mayor of Los Angeles & turned to Antelope Valley to put his socialist principles into practice.

Harriman, along with a handful of other socialist peers, purchased some 9000 acres that had previously belonged to a temperance colony just 45 miles north of Los Angeles in the high desert. The group formed a corporation wherein each had an equal share & set about financing a new socialist colony to show the capitalist outside world what was possible. By 1914 the Llano del Rio company was born.

Membership of the colony was advertised in several nationwide socialist newspapers & required the purchase of 2000 shares in the company at $1 each. Applicants required references & an interview before they were accepted. They needed to be industrious, sober, & caucasian: Llano del Rio was whites only. The company had this to say about their segregation: “the rejection of these applications are not due to race prejudice but because it is not deemed expedient to mix the races in these communities.”

Community members were drawn to the colony on the promise of good wages, vacation days, & the allowance of personal property. These enticements were met only partially & the promised wages of $4 a day never materialized. Despite its goals, Llano was not utopia.

The community’s political stability was threatened by internal power struggles. Governed by a board of directors, Llano’s stockholders & residents (known as the general assembly) began to resent the consolidation of power at the top. Direct democracy also proved to be a logistical issue. Long discussions were held on every aspect of colony life, include when to harvest crops. An inability to reach consensus on a harvest timeline led to some crops rotting in their fields.

Water also proved to be an issue. Though the company had purchased water rights when they acquired the land, they needed to apply to the state for permits to build a dam for irrigation. The California commissioner of corporations, adamantly against socialism, denied the permit request. Neighbors also began to sue the company for water access, most were spurred to action by their dislike of socialist principles.

By late 1917 Llano del Rio was collapsing. Drowning in debt & with more legal troubles on the horizon, the company sought a new location in Louisiana. A handful of colony members made the cross-country move. By 1918 California’s Llano del Rio company had declared bankruptcy. Ruins, directly off the west bound side of route 138, are all that remain of this vision of a socialist future.

Watch my mini doc about this place.

lost things

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ludlow california is an unincorporated community which dates back to the late 1800s. the town itself was founded in 1882 & named after william ludlow of the southern pacific railroad. after a decline in mining & railway projects the town served as a rest stop on the infamous route 66. when interstate 40 was built in the 1960’s ludlow was largely deserted. departing residents left abandoned buildings dotting the old highway. the town is now home to a gas station, diner, & small motel. as of year 2000 the population was 10.

I stopped in ludlow just as dawn broke on my way to amboy crater, only a handful of miles further on route 66. fascinated by the dawn light on the scattered crumbling buildings, I used it as an opportunity to try out my diffuser filter, & got these dreamy looking shots.

filter is the cinebloom 20% from moment.

Reds

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there are several “red rock” parks throughout the united states. one of the perhaps lesser known ones is red rock canyon state park in southern california just off state highway 14.

bisected by the road, the park is easy to find & provides gorgeous views from even a passing car window. located at the southern most tip of the sierra nevada mountains where they meet with the el paso range, driving through you can clearly see as the desert topography changes around you.

the distinctive red rocks once served as landmarks for passing mule freight teams in the 1870’s & the park land now protects several significant paleontology sites, as well as the remains of late 19th century mining operations.

I left los angeles at 4 am to catch the sunrise over these picturesque natural scupltures. the dawn light made the desert look like a painting. the only word that comes to mind to describe it is “majestic”. it was absolutely gorgeous.