Who Knew?

Well, I'm learning more and more about Barstow.  Today, I took a self-guided tour of the railroad museum (love those old Union Pacific beasts) and then took a shot of this mural of The Southern Route of the Mormon Trail.  Apparently, the Southern route went from the Pacific Ocean (Los Angeles) to Salt Lake City via Barstow!  There are similar murals around town that depict the city's history, it's quite fascinating.  As for this shot, I really wanted to capture the mural, the history and the present by desaturating the color of the image to reflect its historical feel but also to include the homeless man walking past the "trail of tears" to reflect the difficulties that remain today.  Just around the corner from this building is a homeless shelter and it appeared full last night and today.  I'm looking forward to learning more tomorrow but I'm admittedly aching to shoot the plethora of liquor stores that line Main Street.  It's a bit shocking--they are the equivalent to Starbucks in any urban setting.  Who knew?!