SkyscraperCity Forum banner

small towns in the west

5K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  nomarandlee 
#1 ·
i've never had the opportunity to drive through or around the west. i'm curious as to what the small towns are like out there. do the towns in the deserts or mountains live up to stereotypes? are other stereotypes true? for instance, are there really gas stations in the middle of nowhere, without a single other building as far as the horizon, much like you can see on tv? are the towns merely some houses and a couple stores located at the intersection of two desert roads, or are there more things in these towns? and what about ghost towns? what do ghost towns look like?
 
#2 ·
It greatly varies, just like it does back east. Some towns a nice, others aren't. Some are desolate and detatched, others are tourist traps. Usually you will at least find a gas station unless there is another nearby. But I haven't really drove through Nevada, the most desolate western state. As for ghost towns, the only ones I have been to are tourist traps with gift shops, tours, etc. I do want to check out Bodie, CA some day.

Bodie:





The smaller communities that I think are very nice are:

Sandpoint, ID -




Port Townsend, WA -





Leavenworth, WA -




Sequim, WA -





Winthrop, WA:




Florence, OR -




Cannon Beach, OR -




Whitefish, MT -




Big Fork, MT -




Depoe Bay, OR -




Hood River, OR -





Sisters, OR

Gold Beach, OR

Brookings, OR

Ketchum , ID -




Jackson, WY

Fort Bragg, CA

Pismo Beach, CA

Sedona, AZ

Cody, WY

McCall, ID -



Wespost/Ocean Shores, WA -

 
#4 · (Edited)


Here's a town, in the middle of nowhere (just an empty space on the map), about 2/3 the way when traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Baker California is in the middle of the Mojave Desert on I-15, and is the junction for the highway to Death Valley.

We always eat at the Bun Boy restaurant, it's a great place for a break durring the four hour trip.

The photo was taken just past the 'Welcome to Baker' sign and you can clearly see the other side of town two miles away. So it's two miles long and 3/4 mile wide and has everything you need when your half-way to Vegas; gas, car repair, motel rooms and food. Oh, and the worlds tallest thermometer. I was there at 1:30 a.m. in August and the thermometer read 113°


Here's an aerial of Baker

 
#7 ·
YES

xzmattzx said:
i've never had the opportunity to drive through or around the west. i'm curious as to what the small towns are like out there. do the towns in the deserts or mountains live up to stereotypes? are other stereotypes true? for instance, are there really gas stations in the middle of nowhere, without a single other building as far as the horizon, much like you can see on tv? are the towns merely some houses and a couple stores located at the intersection of two desert roads, or are there more things in these towns? and what about ghost towns? what do ghost towns look like?
Yes. IF you go to California, you will see many a town like you just described. Even on the I5 between LA and Sacramento.
 
#8 ·
Sounder said:
As for ghost towns, the only ones I have been to are tourist traps with gift shops, tours, etc.
ghost towns are tourist traps? i thought a ghost town was a place that was deserted, and had the world pass it by. do people live in or near these ghost towns? are they still truly ghost towns if there is tourism in the town?
 
#9 ·
I rarely just see one gas station and nothing else. At least when traveling along the interstate, "small towns" are usually one or two gas stations along with several restaurants and some houses. They usually total at least a dozen buildings but usually more.
 
#10 ·
Here in AZ, we have plenty of ghosttowns and small towns. Most arent at two dusty intersections, just on cracked two lane highways that are obsolete due to interstates. IE: Peach springs, bumblebee, seligman, and tons of others in the Bradshaws and along the painted desert. Jerome is a great ghost town, now a vibrant ecclectic artisan retreat. There is so much I cant describe, you have to see for yourself.
 
#11 ·
Yeah, a lot of times there will be a few gas stations and restaurants and nothing else, but that is because there is a town about five miles down a side road, but they thought it would be a good idea to put a gas station right next to the freeway (and they were right). Pumpkin center is an example, on the way to Sacramento from Los Angeles. There is just a Mobil gas station and nothing else. Down a side road, however, there is a small town, you just can't see it from the freeway.
 
#13 ·
Jaz said:


Here's a town, in the middle of nowhere (just an empty space on the map), about 2/3 the way when traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Baker California is in the middle of the Mojave Desert on I-15, and is the junction for the highway to Death Valley.

We always eat at the Bun Boy restaurant, it's a great place for a break durring the four hour trip.

The photo was taken just past the 'Welcome to Baker' sign and you can clearly see the other side of town two miles away. So it's two miles long and 3/4 mile wide and has everything you need when your half-way to Vegas; gas, car repair, motel rooms and food. Oh, and the worlds tallest thermometer. I was there at 1:30 a.m. in August and the thermometer read 113°


Here's an aerial of Baker


lol, I've always wondered where the people who ran those businesses lived. I don't know if it is an "official" town, but I went through Death Valley Junction on the way to Death Valley (the main road was closed b/c of some rock slide or something) from Vegas, but there were only abandon buildings. It's kind of creepy driving through it, since I was the only one there. I did run into a gas station later on, like the only one for miles, that had the best sparkling apple juice.

Anyone been to Calico? I wanted to stop through there but didn't have the time.
 
#17 ·
Jaz said:


Here's a town, in the middle of nowhere (just an empty space on the map), about 2/3 the way when traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Baker California is in the middle of the Mojave Desert on I-15, and is the junction for the highway to Death Valley.

We always eat at the Bun Boy restaurant, it's a great place for a break durring the four hour trip.

The photo was taken just past the 'Welcome to Baker' sign and you can clearly see the other side of town two miles away. So it's two miles long and 3/4 mile wide and has everything you need when your half-way to Vegas; gas, car repair, motel rooms and food. Oh, and the worlds tallest thermometer. I was there at 1:30 a.m. in August and the thermometer read 113°


Here's an aerial of Baker

i would die if i lived there
 
#18 ·
sequoias said:
nice photo tours of small towns, those are real cool! :D

Man, after those pictures I can't understand why the majority of flight to new locations in the U.S. is taking place in the South. If I were ever to get up and get away from Chiago (which I wouldn't because I love it) the west in a heartbeat.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top