Always wanted to check out Zzyzx, and finally got around to it the other day with my friend Randy Fo

Always wanted to check out Zzyzx, and finally got around to it the other day with my friend Randy Fosth/Shutterbug Studio! We’re always out exploring the desert in his 4WD Jeep, looking for cool new shooting locations :)

Back in the day (the 1930s), Zzyzyx was a sort of holistic health retreat ran by a nutty semi-cult-leader-type, out in the middle of nowhere in the Mojave Desert between Vegas and Barstow. But the government eventually shut it down, and all the buildings just sat there crumbling in the desert sun…waiting for nitwit nude models to come along. 

Alas, however, Zzyzyx is not a good place to shoot – the University of California took it over and it’s a fully-functioning desert research center. The old buildings have been repurposed as classrooms and dormitories, and the students looked at us pretty weird when we came cruising through.

We ended up going to Baker, instead….and got fabulous photos there, which are coming soon!