Wandering into a Movie Shoot

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Wandering as described on these blog pages and in the book The Gentle Art of Wandering is about being mindful when walking. That is, allowing yourself to see and then letting what you see guide you on where you go and what you do. This mindset always seems to allow you to discover something interesting every time you get out, and my walk with the dogs yesterday was no exception.

Before we reached the first corner, we saw a sign hanging on a light post pointing in the direction of a movie shoot. I wondered at the time if we would have the chance to see it on our walk. We proceeded to take one of our regular routes along an acequia (irrigation ditch).

Signs are hung before a movie to show the cast and crew where to go. K D stands for Kepler's Dream.

Signs are hung before an “on-location” movie shoot to show the cast and crew where to go. K D stands for Kepler’s Dream.

The movie being made happens to be called Kepler’s Dream. I am not familiar with the story, but it does feature Holland Taylor as one of the actors. You may remember her as Charlie Sheen’s mother in the TV show Two and Half Men, or as Reese Witherspoon’s professor in the movie Legally Blond.

The dogs taking a break on the ditch bank.

The dogs taking a break on the ditch bank.

As we walked along the acequia, we noticed that it was running dry. The water was being sent down other ditches to irrigate a different part of the Rio Grande valley.  But even a dry ditch has standing water in some of its low spots.

Coming upon an acequia wet spot is a good time to stop and take a close look as the water creatures have congregated in the wet spots to stay alive. It’s also good opportunity for the birds and coyotes to fill up. I was pretty certain that we would see crayfish, as we had seen them before when the ditch was dry. On one occasion we saw a mother crayfish with several tiny baby crayfish clinging to her shell.

Seeing these crayfish was not a surprise.

Seeing these crayfish was not a surprise.

But what I wasn’t expecting to see fish in the wet spot. I didn’t even know that fish made a home in an acequia with a fluctuating water flow. But there they were. They were much bigger than a minnow but still quite small. Unfortunately, the water was way too murky to tell what kind they were. The fact that they were there was good enough.

Seeing this gasping for air was a surprise.

Seeing this fish gasping for air was a surprise.

After checking out the wet spot, we continued walking along the ditch. As we came around a curve we passed an old adobe hacienda and stumbled right into where they were shooting the movie. So we were able to see it on our walk without making a special detour. As an extra bonus, Holland Taylor came over to talk to the dogs as she was leaving the set.

The cast and crew taking a lunch break.

The cast and crew taking a lunch break.

Even without the bonus of having one of the actors come over to talk to us, checking out a movie location during a shoot is always interesting. The locations are like a self-contained village that can set up and taken down in minutes.

The production companies provide for everything: rest rooms, dressing rooms, food services, power generators, security, medics, movie making equipment (cameras, lights, props, and sound recording systems), set making equipment (electrical, carpentry, and every conceivable supply), and anything else that might be needed to make a movie. And when the shooting is done, the crew packs up the trucks and heads off into the sunset. They’re like a traveling circus, and if you pass the location the next day you would never know that a hundred people were there the day before.

Some of the equipment used to make a movie.

Some of the equipment used to make a movie.

If you look through the trees, you can see where the crew has set up lights.

If you look through the trees, you can see where the crew has set up lights.

As we wandered around we found more equipment.

As we wandered around we found more equipment.

And when turned the corner we found more equipment at the Base Camp. This is where the dressing rooms are located.

And when we turned the corner we found even more equipment at the Base Camp set up on a vacant lot. This is where the actor’s dressing rooms are located.

After wandering around the set area for a few more minutes, we then continued our walk along the acequia. And no sooner had we restarted our walk, we noticed that water was starting to flow down the acequia again. Not in a torrent, but at nice steady pace to keep the water from washing out the ditch bank. And best of all, the creatures in the wet spots would soon find their world back to normal.

Look in the ditch and you can see that water is starting to flow again.

Look in the ditch. That trickle you see coming in from the bottom right is the first sign that water is flowing again.

When we reached our road, we left the ditch and headed back home. Just before we got home, we saw the first sign that autumn would soon be coming to New Mexico. The grocery store next door to our house was roasting green chile peppers in their parking lot. If you happen to visit New Mexico from late August to the middle of fall, it will be hard for you to escape the smell of roasting chile peppers in the air.

I can't wait until I get some roasted chiles. To me a fall lunch is a roasted green chile and cheddar cheese wrapped in a tortilla served with apple juice.

I can’t wait to buy some roasted green chiles. For me, a great fall lunch is a roasted green chile pepper and cheddar cheese wrapped in a tortilla served with a glass of apple juice.

And the smell of the roasting chiles was wonderful. Almost as wonderful as a mindful walk with the dogs. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’ walk brings.

 

4 Comments

  1. It always amazes me what we find on those walking/wandering journeys we take. It’s the unexpected, but amazing sights, sounds, and smells that make walking such a pleasure.

    Thanks so much for sharing!
    Tom
    wanderingwalksofwonder.com

  2. This was a wonderful walk, I completely enjoyed every minute and wish there was someplace here to walk thats pretty. Southern Nevada isn’t pretty or green. I bought some of those roasted chilies yesterday at Sprouts. They smelled so good. I bagged them up and put them in the freezer but i kept a little out and will have a veggie sandwich when I’m done here.

    Thank You for such interesting post
    Sally

  3. David, you are a master at finding hidden gems. Thank you. This posting reminded me of the time, while wandering (driving) to Fermi Labs in the western suburbs of Chicago in the late 70s, I was fortunate to come across the set up for this scene on the NW corner of Route 53 and Warrenville Road, one of many that made up one of the greatest movies of all time, especially for us Chicagoans: .

    How about coffee next week?

  4. Oh this is a great posting, David! It makes me lonesome for home, even as I continue to enjoy my vacation in the waning days of summer in the Midwest. I’m looking forward to the smell of chilies roasting right next door to us when I return! See you Sept 1st.

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