80 Days of Summer - Day 36

The Lone Ranger

Spent half the day unpacking our backpacking gear and laying it out to dry, then repacking it into storage. Mowed the lawn, dropped the kids at the pool, and drove out to meet Brandi for lunch at her work. Driving out, Johnny Depp's new film, The Lone Ranger, in which he plays Tonto, is in full production. Gold Bar river takeout and campground is like a little city of StarWagons and production trucks. They're filming on the river and on the railroad tracks out to the potash mines where Brandi works. Most of these pics are of the filming as I drove out to see Brandi (by the way, I took out the Almond Berry salads with raspberry dressing from Wendy's - delish! - the only thing at Wendy's worth putting in your mouth). 

 Base of operations at Gold Bar along the Colorado River on Potash Road just west of Moab.

 Gold Bar - you can see the StarWagons for the actors and such on the right.

 Union Pacific engine pushing a "set piece" train car.

 Union Pacific engine pushing a "set piece" train car. This one has a "smashed" back end like it blew up or was run into by another car. Should be an obvious piece to look for in the film next summer.

 Entrance to Brandi's work at the Intrepid Potash. Lots of cars, train pieces, and a helicopter. They helicoptered Will Smith into the potash plant during his filming in recent months for another movie. I wondered if this helicopter was for the Director, filming, or Johnny and other stars.

 Trains being set up on the tracks at the mines.

 There were several old time train engines (pushed by real Union Pacific engines of course).

 Driving through filming into Brandi's work.

 The helicopter.

 Driving through filming. Normally, the potash plant brings in trains that park here, load up on potash, and then drive back out again - the tracks and the road end here about 15 miles west of Moab. The Colorado River flows along the cliffs to the right.

 Set piece.

 Set piece loaded train cars and passenger cars.

 You can see a set on the river sand bar with some rafts bringing in supplies and a vehicle on the tracks to the left. A guy was in the truck bed with a camera aimed at the river set-up through an opening in the tamarisk.

 Truck with dude and camera.

 River set with support rafts at the sand bar.

 Gold Bar in the middle with all its tents, campers, and production vehicles. There are probably hundreds of people there right now.

 Gold Bar.

 Gold Bar.

 Actors walking out of Gold Bar to transportation vehicles - they were dressed as Civil War-era soldiers and I think some Spanish outfits as well.

 This actor waved at me. Several friends in town signed up as extras for Will Smith's and Johnny Depps two films in production the last few months. The papers for advertising for different types of people to tryout. 

 This weird dude often parks out along Potash Road near Gold Bar. He writes chalk messages all over his green van and yells at people as they drive by. 

Date with my lady at Zax.