02x03 - California: Joshua Tree

[bunniefuu]

I have to slow down
and pay attention...

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

Remember where
I've laid down roots,

look back at the people
who got me here.

One of the most prepared actors
I'd ever worked with.

Really?
Yeah.

And look ahead
to the unknown.

Sometimes
it's just, like, one thing

that changes the course
of the rest of your life.

Slow down.

We have run out of gas
in the deserts of Joshua Tree.

Los Angeles is my anchor.

The desert is my release.

In the year since
the turn of the century,

Los Angeles has grown
from a sleepy pueblo

to a vast, seething,
metropolitan city.

Fine buildings, huge stores,
busy citizens.

When I was in my s,
I had a chip on my shoulder.

I just assumed no one liked me,

so I had this "You hate me,
I hate you first" attitude.

For me, L.A. was a place
that accepted me for who I was.

She was loud, raw,

and bursting
with creative energy.

She welcomed me with open arms

at a time when I was just
trying to figure it all out.

Hell, without her,
I don't know where I'd be today.

L.A. always
draws people to it.

And it's got
a lot of hidden pockets.

It's not a city you can visit
for a week or two and get.

You gotta kinda live here.

It's got like
an underbelly about it.

You've got everything here.

The mountains, the ocean,

the city,
the people, the girls.

I think that creative people
just end up

wanting to be here all the time

because they just
get this feeling

like they can
make anything out here.

It's a city
that attracts the dreamers.

It's the only place
you can walk around

and turn figments
of your imagination

into cold, hard cash.

Last time I was here,
I was gone too fast.

On this visit,
I'm slowing it down

and hitting up a list of friends
in all corners of town

before cruising east
to experience

the unrivaled spirit
and community

that surrounds Joshua Tree.

But first I need to pay
a visit to my friend

at one of the sickest
motorcycle shops in town.

Yeah. What's up, dude?
What's up, dude?

Nice to see you, man.
How you been?

Dude, I been great.

When's the last time
I saw you?

Like a month ago? Two months ago?
A couple months ago.

Thanks for doing this.
How you been?

I been good, I been good.
Traveling, riding, enjoying life?

All of it, all of it, all of it.
Two wheels.

With grease permanently caked
under his fingernails,

Yaniv Evan, the mastermind
behind Powerplant motorcycles,

has been building bikes
since he was a kid.

Now he specializes
in custom throwback rides.

I feel like
when bikes go by,

you can tell
if it's one of your bikes.

The idea behind everything

is to start with, like,
scrap piece of metal.

Like, I...
I don't throw away anything.

Like... like this little ring,
for instance.

I have oven parts that I've found
that were really beautiful

that I would attach
on some of my bikes.

It's just raw materials
to start a bike with.

This is where it, like, starts.
You're an artist.

What... what do you...
What...

What is it about L.A., like,
that makes your bikes...

Like, I mean, you're
so successful here,

like,
you know what I mean?

Well, the motorcycle scene to me
is like fashion.

You can't...
Like, you can't be

rocking the same look
for three years.

You gotta change it.

Like,
those bikes you can see,

"that was built
in the ' s or late s."

Like, I can tell
the era of the bikes,

and you can't be, like,
half-assing it. Right.

You can't have one foot in
something that you're doing.

You're gotta go
balls to the wall.

This is what
we're doing now.

We're building bikes
from scratch.

These are the shop
hang-around dudes.

No, actually,
they work here.

-This is Cole.
-Yeah, dude.

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, man.
I'm Norman.

And you're a stunt dude,
right?

Yeah, that's...
That's what I do...

Wheelies, burnouts,
jump 'em like Evel Knievel.

And how do you guys
know each other?

I rode my bike
across the country, my FXR,

and I broke down
pretty much pulling in here.

And, it was just...
Actually the day

one of his good friends
had passed away,

so it was kind of weird.

But... but my friend
that passed away

was passed away
'cause he was doing a wheelie,

and a lady slammed her brakes
in front of him,

and he...
He instantly hit her,

and, he... he d*ed.

And the morning that he d*ed
was a Sunday morning,

and this freak shows up with
a broken exhaust on his bike.

And I'm, like,
"this is not the day."

I'm...
I'm, like, in tears,

and we're sad,
everyone's quiet.

I just felt bad.
I'm like, "you know what?

I've gotta get my mind
off this thing,

so bring your bike here."

We ended up doing a whole day
surgery on his motor...

It was a nightmare. And
got him on the road,

but, we kind of, like,
during the time he was there,

he's, you know,
showing off the bikes

doing wheelies here.

And I really respect guys
who can ride.

Like, that's one thing.

Like, I don't care
about anything.

You can be
the biggest scum bag.

You ride a bike
like the way he rides it,

he's not a scum bag.

Thanks, man,
I appreciate that.

But if... if he was,
I'd still respect him

'cause the way
he rides a bike.

Respect.

A quality decreed
to those who earn it,

regardless of race, color,
or even if you're a scum bag.

I don't know what I did
to earn Yaniv's respect,

but he's letting me
ride one of his bikes

to his favorite lookout.

I'm not gonna
pass that chance up.

-Yeah, buddy.
-This party's dope, dude.

Yeah.

Loving this bike, bro.

Yeah.

Welcome to L.A., mother

This is a good little
secret spot

we come up to over here.

Like, when things are harsh
at the shop,

We come up here
and take a break for minutes,

do a little canyon riding,

and go back to work.

It's a good place
to bring a girl, too.

-There we go.
-Yeah, look at that.

Beautiful view.
Holy.

That's something else.
Yeah, this is cool up here.

Yaniv, hat's off to you

for building
these badass bikes, dude.

I love it.

Dude, this is awesome.

Hey, this is where
we park usually.

Man. Loving your bike, man.

What a ride.

Yeah, that was beautiful.

That is a beast.
That's... that's so powerful,

I mean, it's great.
Dude, you looked good.

I was looking in the back,
and we looked like a...

Like a stampede of buffalo.

It's like
the best of both worlds...

The motor from, like,
the newer bikes,

but the frame... this frame
they stopped making,

so it wasn't really a Harley
when it came out.

It was more like
a Japanese bike.

So I'm glad you got
to get on one.

That's great, dude.
I loved it.

Thank you, man.
Yeah.

The only time I feel free

is on a motorcycle.

I don't think about
any other bull.

Just, like, mind's clear. Yeah.

This is a good...
Good spot to get away,

and just... Throttle
therapy, baby.

Thanks for having us.

Yeah, brother.

You know, back in high school,
everybody had a punk band.

Everyone thought
they were The Ramones,

but spoiler alert,
they weren't.

But everybody loved The Ramones
and their

fight-the-establishment
attitude.

So now that I'm back in L.A.,

I finally made time
for the one place

I've been dying to go to...

The Ramones Ranch.

sh*t of cream.

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

- Cheers
- Cheers, man.

That's perfect.

That's exactly what I need.

Yeah.

Linda Ramone
and her boyfriend, J.D.,

have a strange
and unconventional aesthetic.

But for them, this is home.

And it's where Johnny Ramone's
legacy lives on.

We've never met, but... No.

We have a ton of mutual friends.
I know.

And everybody loves you.
That's nice.

Yeah. Everybody loves you.

Everybody says
the best stuff about you.

Of course, and I saw you put
a photo by Johnny's statue.

Yeah, that's right. And then I
was, like, who is that guy?

I said to Fred, listen,
the other night... Yeah.

'cause he came over
for dinner.

I go, "Do you know
that guy Norman?"

And he goes, "Yeah, no,
he's really successful."

I go,
"So he's not a bum."

Fred's great. And he goes,
"no, he's not a bum.

He's really good."
I'm kind of a bum,

I'm kind of a bum.
I was, like, okay.

That painting
Dee Dee did of Johnny years ago,

and DeeDee tried to sell it
to Johnny for $ ,

and Johnny's like, "I'm not
giving you $ for that."

And he goes,

"And you put my guitar on
backwards to be a jerk."

And Dee Dee goes, "No, no, no,
that's how I saw it."

There's Johnny.

I have Johnny's ashes
still.

And then when I die,
J.D. buries me and Johnny,

and when J.D. dies,
he buries himself.

But we'll all go
into Hollywood forever.

I love your paradise.

This is it. It's great.

It's gorgeous.
Yeah.

There's really not
that much rock 'n' roll anymore

That's the problem.

I mean,
going out in New York

was pretty amazing.

I saw The Damned
and The Dead Boys

a whole weekend
at CBGBs.

You didn't know
it was a scene yet

because you were just
going out.

I was still really young.

I was in high school
going out to see bands,

but then the Ramones
took over the scene.

And then it all
became more punk,

and then the scene
kind of left,

and new wave
started coming in.

When new wave
sort of took over, like,

was that...
Was everybody upset?

Johnny had a breakdown,
what do you mean?

Well,
'cause now you're, like,

"well, what the hell
are you gonna do?"

Punk never really
got played on the radio,

so you kind of got ousted,

and now they're starting
to play Blondie

and Boy George and Visage

and all these other bands
that are new wave,

and they're not gonna
play punk.

And you realize it,
you start getting more nervous,

so that's what happened.

And then
that's why the Ramones

just kept playing and playing
and playing

because there was no way
to retire.

You had to play.

So, where are you
going now?

The guy that does the special
effects for "Walking Dead,"

his whole factory.

And then Joshua Tree. Okay.

Which I've never been there before.
All right.

Thank you so much
for having me.

You're so lovely.

What a sweetheart.

We'll see you very soon. Yeah.

Seeing Linda,
paying my respects to Johnny,

I'm flooded with memories
from when I lived here.

L.A. is a place
where anything seems possible,

and I'd like to think
that living here

helped shape me into
who I am today.

It's been a long day,

but there's one person
who I can't miss seeing

while I'm in town.

Plus,
he'd k*ll me if I didn't.

Or at least he'd make it
look like I had been k*lled.

Look at this.

That's , Irvine Meadows,

Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill,
and House of Pain.

-Arseface from "Preacher."
-Butthole face.

So creepy.

I could scare the out of
people with this. Take it.

Tell me if you want me
to slow down.

You're all right,
as long as you feel good.

Look at this.

You're in my neck of the woods now.
Hey, buddy.

Hi, dude.
Hi, yeah.

How are you? I'm good.
I'm good.

Director, executive producer,

special effects makeup designer,

and one of my closest friends,
Greg Nicotero.

He's an absolute legend,

and you might recognize his work

on a show called
"The Walking Dead."

Dude, look at your office.
This is nuts.

I know. I redid it.
Isn't it funny?

Wait, hold on,
you gotta get...

You gotta get
the full effect.

This is what a giant...

You know I'm a giant nerd,
of course.

So this is the full effect
with the...

Is that a direct model from something?
This is...

This is a model
from "Lost in Space,"

which was one of my favorite
shows when I was a kid. Yeah.

So you know, it's, like,
"Danger, Will Robinson,"

and you walk over here,
and you can, like,

flip all the buttons on.

And then, of course, you go from
this wacky ' s sci-fi

to our little gallery
of,

of dead folks.

I recognize everyone.

And then we got the well walker.
We got the pets. Yeah.

It looks like it's real...

Like, feels like it's real.

How did you get into this?

You know, I just...
I grew up in Pittsburgh.

I loved...
I loved horror movies,

and it was just
one of those situations

where I was getting ready

to go off to school
to be a doctor,

'cause my dad's a doctor,

So I was pre-med...

and I worked at a hospital
over the summer

and sat in surgeries

and watched them
cut people open.

That must help
with all this.

It totally did,
and that's how we got jobs.

We got jobs because we did
"Dances with Wolves."

The guy was, like,

"God, you're p...
This stuff looks super real."

So, the craziest thing

is I remember going to
an operating room.

One day I interned
with a surgeon.

So I made the incision
in the body.

It was like three seconds,

and then the blood
started welling up.

And they had this little
soldering iron,

and they went,
"Sst, sst, sst."

And they b*rned
all the blood vessels closed

so it wouldn't bleed.

And the weirdest thing
was the smell.

I'll never forget that smell,
that burning-flesh smell.

And every single time
we do gags in movies,

it's like, I always think about,
"well, the blood would..."

you know,
when the heart's pumping,

how long the blood
takes to come out.

Do you ever get squeamish,
or no?

No.

There's Kevin working on...

What's up, Kevin?
..a zombie head.

Hey, how's it going, man?

Nice to see you, man.
Good to see you.

What are you making?

A zombie crushed head...
A zombie smashed-in face.

That's gross. It's got
all the little dangly...

Yeah. It's a big sticky right now.
That's disgusting.

Yeah, it's pretty disgusting.
That's the trick is,

every time you walk past
something like this on a table,

you have to touch it.
Yeah, yeah.

Some of the stuff...
This is just like fun house.

Who is this guy?
What does this do?

Tell me about these guys.

I thought
those were vaginas.

What's up? What's up, Greg?
It's a good look.

I like the bigger nose for you.
Yeah?

What do you do with this?
When they rip it open

they'll reveal...
That's awesome.

Rib cage,
a little bit of muscle.

-Arseface from "Preacher."
-Butthole face.

Nice.

I could scare the out of
people with this. Take it.

I like your style. All right.

Here's your figure.

This is weird.
I'm so used to...

It is kind of wild.
It's so strange, yeah.

To me, it's super weird.

Here, hold on,
I'll take a picture of you

taking a picture of you.

Give me back my hat.

Give me back my glasses.

It's so creepy.

But first thing
we ever worked together

was with John Carpenter. Yeah.

It was "The Masters of Horror."
Yeah, that's right, yeah.

And he talked to you

about hiring me
on "Walking Dead."

Well, yeah,
so, you know, any time...

Directors always like
to reach out to their friends

and find out
what actors were like.

And I remember calling John,
and he was, like,

"What do you want?
What's up?

Why are you bothering me?
What's happening?"

And I said, "Hey, listen,
you know,

we're thinking about
hiring Norman

on 'Walking Dead.'"

And he goes,

"One of the most prepared actors
I'd ever worked with."

Really?
Yeah.

And then, of course, that was
all I ever heard of it.

And then I get in the van,
and I'm in zombie makeup.

It was my... it was...
We were sh**ting episode ,

and you get in the van
next to me,

not really
thinking about the fact

that I'm wearing zombie makeup.
Yeah.

Like, "Hey, you're here."

Yeah, you were my first zombie,
as well.

And you were looking at me
going, "Yeah."

Like,
you had no idea who I was.

Yeah, yeah.

And it was really funny

'cause I was, like,
"It's Greg."

And you're, like, no.

Yeah, because you looked
so real.

That was... you were the first
talking zombie for me.

That led to a good thing
over here, so. Yeah.

Show me more, show me more,
show me more, show me more.

What else do you want to see?
So much.

I never get sick of
looking at Greg's work.

I'm sad you're leaving already.
I know.

It feels like you just got here.
I'll see you soon enough.

But as Day comes to a close,
I head out tonight,

and I'll rest easy
in Hollywood.

There's something beautiful

about Los Angeles
just after sunrise.

A calmness to it as it washes
the sleep from its eyes.

Today I continue my ride east
towards Joshua Tree

with a couple of stops
along the way,

including a group ride
led by rapper Sen Dog

and the motorcycle crew
the Cypress Hillbillies.

But before I kick it into gear,

I'm gonna meet up
with a close friend of mine

who will join me
on my ride out of the city.

Where is your shop
out here?

I'm in
Alhambra, California.

It's not that far. No, no.

I thought it was crazy far.
No, dude, no.

I'm really close right there,
and it's a cool little shop.

It's just me and my wife,
Fiona.

And my kids
come after school.

Your super-cute kids, yeah.
Thanks, man.

They're all right.

His grandfather
built railroads

His father built cars.

Chris Richardson's passion
for building innovative bikes

runs deep within his veins.

He owns L.A. Speed Shop

and has an obsession
for detail,

specializing in vintage choppers
and bobbers.

One of my favorite bikes
that I own was built by him.

I mean, how far is it
where we're going?

What is it? Like, an hour,
hour and a half?

I think it's about minutes.
To Palm Springs? Yeah.

Probably with traffic,
it might be maybe two hours.

Dude, your traffic out here sucks!
It's crazy, man.

I had a crash here once.

This car jumped in
oncoming traffic lanes,

and I could see this old lady
and this old man

in the front seat
just doing like this...

Yeah...as I hit the front

and just kind of
flew over the car,

and my bike
kind of did this.

Man.

And I laid on the ground,
like, just twitching.

And people were driving.

Nobody stopped to help me,

but people were
driving by going, "Sue 'em!"

Like, ten people said,
"Sue 'em,"

but nobody stopped
to help me.

You know what,
and then I had to push my bike

into the bushes right there...
Yeah.

And walk
to a buddy's house

and sort of do this on his sofa
for the rest of the day.

Dude.
Yeah, doing the tuna, right?

It sucks. Yeah. You're
flopping around.

Yeah.

Riding in L.A.
is definitely treacherous.

L.A. traffic has made me
move three times

since I've been here.

Traffic's pretty brutal,
% brutal.

Like, all the time.

You know, the ,

I do try
to stay away from that,

and I take the city streets
as much I can.

Every ten years,
I get in a wreck.

I've survived 'em all.

It's dangerous out there,
for sure.

You ever heard of Cypress
Hillbillies before?

Yeah, dude,
I have, actually.

I'm excited to meet them
and hang out.

I'm excited, too, yeah.

We're gonna head east
to our next stop

on the outskirts of the city.

Where Sen Dog
and the Cypress Hillbillies

wait for us at the end of
a quaint little cul-de-sac.

Right there, right there.

Straight ahead. Yep.

This is our main
pinball hall.

This one houses
over pinball machines.

The holy grail of
pinball machine collections.

Sen Dog, the renowned member

of the hip-hop group
Cypress Hill.

He's an avid biker

and an affiliate of
the exclusive motorcycle club

The Cypress Hillbillies.

They don't just let anyone
into the mix,

but today,
they've made an exception

to let me join them
on a group ride.

This bike is a beast right there.
That's yours?

That's mine.
That's Lucinda right there.

Lucinda?
Yeah.

That's a serious motorcycle
right there.

Yeah, that's an '
anniversary-edition Springer.

Funny, I went to buy
that bike one day,

and the dealer dude didn't even
look at me, talk to me, or nothing.

He just let me
look around and leave.

So I went back
the next day like,

"Damn it, I'm gonna get me
this motorcycle."

So as I'm walking in,
the same dude that ignored me

opened the door for me.

He goes, "You're ready now,
aren't you, son?"

He knew it. I go,
"Damn right, I am."

I go, "that one right there."

I didn't really expect
to, you know,

to love it
as much as I did.

Not just the bike,
just the whole culture.

Just the whole family
of people,

that we all love
the same thing.

So how long has your club
been around?

We've been rolling
for seven years.

This year, it'll be our
eighth year in a few months.

Before every ride,
we meet up here, you know,

and get together and make a game
plan if it's not already made,

and after the ride, you know,
we also come back here

and just, you know,
loosen out a little bit

before everybody goes home.
Yeah. Yeah.

We're still at it.
There's no other life, you know.

Some of these photos over here.

Look at this.

That's
at Irvine Meadows.

Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill,
and House of Pain.

That was right
before the concert started.

They were rolling dice
right there,

and B-Real took, like,
, bucks off everybody.

- Damn.
- For real?

That was
a heck of a night.

I think everybody's performance
outdid the prior one.

Really?
You know,

and then the Beasties came
and shut it down.

At that point,
to get on tour with them,

it was definitely a feeling
of accomplishment.

In years in the game,
I think I've met a lot of people

that I thought
I'd never meet in life.

I would do it all over again
just to meet these people.

You know what I mean?

It's been a rad time.

We got you some shirts, bro,

we'd love for you to have, man.
Hell, yeah.

Thank you so much.

We really appreciate you guys
coming and blessing the clubhouse.

Let's go for a ride.
Thanks for having us.

Yeah, man. Let's do it.
Let's go for a ride.

If you look past the leather
and the tough exterior,

you're gonna see
the Cypress Hillbillies

believe in honor and tradition.

Group rides are a testament
to their brotherhood,

and riding alongside them
is a sacred privilege

I'm never gonna
take for granted.

-This is awesome, man.
-Yeah, yeah.

-Good times.
-Yeah!

Yo.

Yeah.

Yeah!

As Chris and I peel off
from our friends,

we continue our journey east
towards Banning...

where I have
a personal invitation

to the Museum of Pinball.

Look at the snow
up there.

Yep. The snow on
that mountaintop.

Yeah, see here,

we're kind of minutes
to a half an hour away

from everything.

Yeah. You want to
go to the desert,

you got, like, minutes.
minutes.

Everybody's been, like,

"My God, you're going
to Joshua Tree, amazing."

Yeah, it's pretty cool.
It's a big area.

Are you good at pinball?

I'm good at playing
with my balls,

I don't know
about pinballs.

I've gotten pretty good
at pinball, I got to admit.

The Museum of Pinball,

a sacred place
that only opens its doors

a few times a year
for gaming competitions.

Lucky for me,

the owner John Weeks
and his son Jonathan

offered me a private tour
of their vintage arcade.

This is absolutely amazing.

One side's pinball, and the
other side's arcade games.

-All you need is strippers.
-Yeah, strippers would be fine.

You'd make
a ma-zillion dollars.

This is our
main pinball hall.

This will house
over pinball machines.

acres of
hypnotizing flashing lights.

The scoreboards chime
and mechanical flippers clack...

baiting me
to pull the plunger,

sending its steel ball
into orbit.

If only -year-old Norman
could see me now.

The holy grail of
pinball machine collections.

Let's play stuff.

How do I get it
into the mouth?

-You gotta work for that.
-Yeah, you gotta work for it.

It's not easy to do.

- You see that?
- His eyes are moving over.

-See how he's shaking it?
-Tilt, tilt.

- Man, come on.
- See? See how you're doing that? -You tilted it.

Look at that.

- Tilt.
- Not good.

He's too rough.
All right.

Ching, ching, ching, ching,
ching.

These look old. Yeah, these are wedge
heads, so these are the older games,

and they're all
electric mechanical.

This is the oldest one
we have.

-Yeah.
-Big Casino.

.

So, pinball
was illegal in the ' s

all the way up
into the mid-' s

in L.A., Chicago,
and New York

because it was
a game of chance.

New York City
completes a round-up

of thousands
of pinball machines,

each valued at about $ .

The police acted on
a city magistrate's decision

which classified them
as gambling devices.

Attorneys for owners
and distributors

of the pinball machines

seek to appeal the decision.

Actually,
it was or so,

a guy named Roger Sharp
came about

and got the city council
together in New York City,

called his sh*t,
used a game called Bing sh*t,

landed the sh*t,
and proved to the city council

that it's a game of skill,
not chance,

and pinball is back.

This is bringing
back memories right here.

Looks like he knows what he's doing.
Yeah.

As a kid I would
scrounge around for quarters,

head to the nearest arcade,

and enter an -bit world

filled with
scrolling laser beams

and exploding spaceships.

This guy's an ass

It's been a minute.

It's been a minute?

For just cents,

I defended the planet

from the invading
alien forces.

Now I defend it from Walkers,

so I guess that training
kind of paid off.

You're doing good at this,
man.

- Snap.
- Nice.

I have "Defender" skills
You know what I mean?

I know, dude,
you k*lled it.

You know?
Man.

I can't thank you enough,
dude.

It's been a fun day.

Sen Dog and all that,
how fun was that?

Dude, it was cool.

Good people, too.

Yeah, for sure, for sure.

And you're off to?

Joshua Tree.

You gotta send me a picture
whenever you get there.

I'll probably get arrested.

I got a feeling
I'm gonna get arrested.

You gotta have fun, right?
Dude, give me a hug,

Man, thank you. All right, brother.
Always good seeing you.

It's good to see you, man, yeah.
Safe travels.

Yeah.

Good times, buddy.
Good times.

I part ways from Chris.

He has a family to get back to,

and I have the call
of the desert to answer.

I continue east
towards Joshua Tree,

but as the sun
dips below the horizon,

I leave all traces of L.A.
behind me.

Tomorrow's a new day.

The wind is constant,
and the road goes on forever.

Unfortunately, I cannot.

I need to recharge
and get some sleep.

You guys ever
see aliens out here?

We haven't.
We know some people who have.

I'm keeping my fingers
crossed.

Yo, where'd he go behind me?

What

What about

What about the

What about the Godzilla?

What about the Godzilla?

What about the Godzilla? You

What about the Godzilla?
You can

What about the Godzilla?
You can put

What about the Godzilla?
You can put it

Here's our... here's our
Norman Reedus transformation.

So you can see
through there.

This is rad.

I need the big tail
and crush cities,

you know what I mean? You know
what we should do next time,

is we'll make a miniature city,
and you can just show up,

get in the suit,
and stomp on it.

Yeah.

Hold on,
give me your hat.

We think exactly the same.
I know we do.

It looks even better.

Yeah.

All right, perfect.

All right.
We're gonna go look around.

Checked into the hotel,
passed out,

and now we're up early,
and headed to Joshua Tree.

Riding through here
reminds me of that scene

in "The Thomas Crown Affair,"

where Steve McQueen skied high
in a glider...

trying to clear his head

before pulling off
a major heist.

That looks so rad
over there.

And that song played,

"The world is like an apple
swirling silently in space.

Like the circles that you find
in the windmills of your mind."

Sure, McQueen had a plane,
and I have a bike,

but as if by design,

they both kind of help
prepare you for the unknown,

and open the mind
to new experiences.

I just hope in my case

that it doesn't result
in a federal offense.

Yeah.

As I leave serenity
in my mirrors,

I look ahead
towards Joshua Tree.

I'm telling you,
a bottle of Scotch,

and like, a laptop,

you could write the great
American novel

right there, you know.

I think it's the people
in the community

that makes Joshua Tree
so special.

It's got such a great spirit.

All of a sudden,
you just have the room

to think about what you
want to create.

You can get anything you want
out of this place.

It's got it all.

Everyone kind of
wants to be here,

but not everyone can survive.

The desert kind of self-selects.

I came out here to find UFOs.

Why are you here?

Yeah.

How's it going?
Good.

This is cool out here.

Gwen Barker and Eric Dean

have hung up the fast-paced
advertising industry

to pursue a life here
in the deserts of Joshua Tree.

I've never ridden
this far east of L.A.,

but they asked me to meet them
here at Noah Purifoy Museum

where artistic freedom
knows no bounds.

This is surreal.

It's like a David Lynch movie
or something.

All of this work
is one artist,

like, over the last
years of his life or so.

And it's all sort of art
as social change, you know.

It's all found objects,
over acres.

There's a lot of
interesting people...

Artists, writers,
photographers...

That all live out here
by Joshua Tree

and the rest of High Desert.

People get a lot of inspiration
from living out here.

Does everybody
kind of know each other

in like a big community?

-Yeah.
-It's a super-tight community.

The origin of
the name Joshua Tree

is because
the Mormons thought

it was like Joshua reaching up to God.
Raising up-

Yeah.

Good to know.

I've been curious about
what that... Yeah.

This looks like
a record player, right?

Yeah, totally.

Or birth control.
It could be birth control.

It's true. It's true.

These are school trays.

You eat your lunch off of 'em.
Right.

That's part of
the fun of this, too,

is, like, seeing what...
What was the original item.

It's interesting
how you repurpose an object

and give it more meaning.

Another life.

Yeah.

This is like every
-year-old's artistic dream

is to be when they grow up.
Yeah.-

To just disappear
and just make stuff.

Make stuff? Yeah. Yeah.

We came out here
and loved it so much

that we decided
we had to be out here.

And, and dropped it all
and bought a ranch,

and here we are.

The owner of the ranch
just sort of in passing said

that he might be looking
for his next chapter.

You know, we said,
if you're really

ever gonna entertain
the idea of selling this place,

let us know.

And we heard from him in a week.
Really?

So, he kind of called our bluff
rather quickly.

Yeah, but a guy like that
probably was, like,

interviewing you in his head.
%.

He wouldn't want to leave
this to anyone.

Sometimes
it's just like one thing

that changes the course
of the rest of your life.

And we showed up
in my old Ford pickup,

and it was
almost exactly the same

as his old Ford pickup.

We probably never really
would have had a conversation.

If we picked
a different car

and we showed up on anything
else or whatever...

And it changed
the course of our lives.

I think if you're open
to see those

and accept them
and move in that direction,

everything works
for the better, you know.

Yep. That's great.

You just have to be
willing to do it.

Yeah. That's the hardest part.

So where we going? We're
going to our place.

Hey, man, what's the "RR"
on your baseball hat stand for?

Rimrock Ranch.

I gotta get a hat.
Do you have another one?

I've got one especially for you.
Yeah.

It says ass
on the front of it?

That's super pretty right
there to the right. Yeah.

- All of this.
- Holy

You guys ever see aliens
out here?

We haven't.
We know some people who have.

But, questionable

what state of mind
they were in.

I'm keeping
my fingers crossed.

What?

Hey, yo,
where'd he go behind me?

Yo,
we lost your boyfriend.

All right, come on, girl.

Captain's log,
"Star Trek" Enterprise.

We have run out of gas

in the deserts
of Joshua Tree.

We have one soldier down
back there.

His lovely girlfriend
is here

to keep the fire
burning alive in his honor...

in case
he doesn't return.

He's gone.

Never to return.

This looks like
a hostile planet to me.

Although we have met... I
mean, it's not far off.

It is a western.

Yeah, we have met...

We have met locals
that seem very nice,

but there is
sort of a weird

desert twinkle
in their eye.

So they might have kept him
and turned him into chili.

We don't know.

Thank God
you're not chili right now.

I'll explain later.

Thanks for waiting.

Of course. I appreciate it.

It's rude
to watch your girl

ride off with Norman Reedus
into the sunset.

Stranded on a ride.

Season .

Well,
welcome to Rimrock Ranch.

This is awesome up here.
This is so cool.

The Rimrock Ranch.

It's an end for travelers,

a place for friends to gather,

a place to say "I do."

A place you could
tune up and rock out.

It's a place Gwen and Eric
call home.

-Hi, Eric.
-Hi!

What's up?
Hi, I'm Norman.

Hi. Annie. Nice to meet you.

What's your name?
Lisa.

You're adorable.
Norman. Nice to meet you.

She's a badass biker
chick already. Hi!

Such a good vibe up here,
all these people.

Yeah, isn't it?
This is super-cool.

It's our desert family.

Who's this little dude?
This is Ellie May.

Hi, Ellie May.

She's my little princess.

My God.
Hi, cutie pie.

Is this your truck?
This is Jim's truck.

So, I have a ' ,
This is a ' .

I used to have
a Ford F- .

Yeah?
Yeah.

Well... I had to stop for
gas at every gas station.

Speaking of Fords.

Dude. This is bananas.

Yeah.

Tell me the story with this.

So,
it's a Ford GT ,

replica of
the original car.

I built it, spent about
three years of my life.

It's my favorite car
of all time,

and no one can afford
the real ones, so.

You're a badass.

I couldn't even make this
as a little model.

And away we go.

This is crazy.

You can feel the power.

horsepower
in a , pound car,

so that's like
the equivalent of

you know, a power-to-weight
ratio of a modern NASCAR.

Got a bunch of weirdos
out here.

Welcome to the desert.

Tell me if you want me
to slow down.

You're all right
as long as you feel good.

I feel good.

I feel real good!

For me, riding
is a visceral experience.

Man and machine become one.

Two men and a machine?

That's a threesome
I can get behind.

I feel like my penis just got
like five inches longer.

I'm not adjusting
your seatbelt.

Dude, that was amazing.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Seriously, you're gonna have
to leave your girlfriend

because I'm about
to propose to you.

Unreal.
I accept.

As the sun goes down
behind the desert hills,

casting silhouettes
in its absence,

signaling the end of the day.

Right here, right now,

the L.A. local band The Shrine
gets the party started.

We all hold onto those things

that bridge the gap
between our past and our future.

Hanging photographs
on the wall,

collecting old parts,

preserving time,
preserving our loved ones,

keepsakes that offer comfort

in times
when we lose our bearings.

They remind us of who we are
and how far we've come.

Throughout our lives,
we collect these memories.

And when you piece them
all together,

they reveal our journey.

I gotta thank you guys
for having me, man.

Thank you.

Thanks for coming.
This is such a...

Such a good life up here,
you know what I mean?

We think so.

The best thing
about living here

are all these people right here.
Yep.

This is like,
the greatest sense of community

I've ever experienced
living anywhere in my life.

Yeah, I'm coming back,
for sure, yeah.

We have a gift for you.

Yeah, I wanted to give you something.
Shut up.

A little, something

you can remember this place by.
No way.

No way.
And...

This black hat is,

something you have to earn,
so...

-You get of one each.
-We'll talk about that later.

Does this have anything
to do with the proposal?

Is this
honeymoon material?

Is that what
you're talking about?

Yo... Give me a hug, dude.
Yeah, you're awesome, man.

You are, too. Thank
you for everything.

Yeah.

The Rimrock Ranch hat
isn't just a hat.

It's a reminder of my time
here in Joshua Tree

and the friendships
I've made in the desert,

and the ones
I've maintained in the city,

and the ride
it took to get here.

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

No, this isn't just a hat.

It's a reminder of a ride
that I'm never gonna forget.

The engagement is on.

Yeah.