The next day early in the morning I packed my things and went to the beach to wash my cloths. In the heat of the early morning hours everything dried quickly.

Also I had to lubricate the chain of my bike again.

The break pads seemed to hold up well enough so I decided they would probably last me until the end of my trip and I would get new ones once I was home in London again. I did however also notice that the chain had gotten a little lose. Unfortunately the tool necessary to tighten it was the only tool missing to complete my basic custom tool kit. I suspect that the mechanic who swapped the sprockets a two months ago had not tightened the screw well because the chain should not be this lose so quickly after having been adjusted. Anyway I had to leave it for now.

I set course for the desert to visit the first of the three western towns. Oasis Mini Hollywood as it is called.

With a Confederate flag, a Union flag and a Texan flag and the surrounding desert landscape it was difficult not to think that you were in the United States.

Huge cacti like these along the past thousand miles were a constant reminder that I was in a completely different part of Europe now but it didn’t feel like Europe at all.

Entering Mini Hollywood the first thing greeting you is a collection of “Indian” tents which I didn’t find terrible interesting and they looked a bit out of place right next to their enemies.

Passing the tents and a cacti garden the town center revealed itself. Some buildings are locked, some contain little exhibitions and some simply a fitting interior for their time.

One building contained an exhibition of wagons, coaches, and carriages. Below is the typical stage coach which can often be seen in the movies being robbed because they often transported valuables besides people.

Some parts of the town look more authentic than others and not all buildings still are or look the same as they did when they were captured on film a long time ago. They were constantly altered to suit different productions and to avoid buildings becoming recognizable. After all there were not many western towns like this in Europe so they were reused often.

But even if the buildings themselves didn’t reveal the film historic identity the landscape did.

Clint Eastwood riding into town eventually rivaling Lee van Cleef in “For a few dollars more” by Serigio Leone, 1965. As you can see the view and the landscape indicate the same location.

In some cases you can even see the buildings which played an important role are still there.

Like the “El Paso” bank which is being robbed in the same movie.

(Unfortunately the focal length is completely off.)

The now yellow bank building can also be seen here in the background in the middle in “The good, the bad and the ugly” when Tuco is about to be hanged. The facade was changed but the general layout remained the same.

And again the same building this time as Monterey Bank in yet another movie.

What is now The Yellow Rose saloon is where Clint Eastwood and Lee van Cleef checked in in For a few dollars more.

Walking through movie history like this was a great but eerily melancholic feeling realizing that all of this is really a museum now with no life in it left. A museum of not just the wild west as it used to be 200 years ago but also of the time when western movies were still in demand. Most movie legends who had their big success acting in this genre are now forgotten.

This became particularly apparent walking through the little exhibition inside the bank building showing film projectors from 40 years ago and on the walls posters of the movies shot in this town. The silence and faint movie score music playing from the loudspeakers in the distance together with the dark light in the room made the place (fittingly) seem like a mausoleum.

One of my all time favorite movies which had been shot here with my two all time favorite actors had a special place next to the entrance.

They Call Me Trinity – 1970, with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

Time had passed very quickly. It was already late in the afternoon and I still had two more towns ahead of me. My expectations here were exceeded by far so I left Mini Hollywood happy in search for more wester movie history.