STORIES FROM THE SET: BEHIND THE SCENES OF BILLY THE KID

Photoshoots take us some pretty remarkable places. Some are breathtakingly beautiful like for Grand Canyon, some are seedy and sexy like for Midnight Cowboy, and some test the stamina of our bodies (and vehicles) like for Cynthia and Yellowstone. But y’all, Billy the Kid really blew our minds.

“It was beyond the middle of nowhere,” laughed Mitchell. “If you took off in any direction from Lajita, Texas, you probably couldn’t even find the middle of nowhere!”

If you’ve ever been to that region of far West Texas – like on the Mexican border between Big Bend State Park and Bend Bend National Park – then you know what we mean.

“The models thought Midland (where they flew into) was the middle of nowhere,” laughed Mitchell. “And then they had to drive another 4 or 5 hours!”

“Anything you might need, you better take with you,” Cheryl said. “You literally pass a sign that says, ‘Last Gas for 50 miles’. And it might as well also say ‘cell service’. It’s truly like the Wild West out there, no phone service, no navigation, no NOTHING. Once you’re outside the resort, you’re a lone ranger, amigo.”

Yeah, so that’s how we got lost.

“Oh, we’re not talking missed a turnoff let’s just loop back really quick,” exclaimed Mitchell. “We passed it by about 30-45 minutes. We drove until there was no more road, we hit a dead end and decided we might oughta backtrack. That’s how disconnected and disorienting it can be when you don’t have Siri yelling at you to ‘proceed to the route’ and ‘rerouting’. It was like ‘Did we already pass it or could it be juuuust a little farther?’ Turns out we passed it.”

That said, the upside of being remote and rural is that you never know when the scene is going to set itself.

“We pulled over and shot on the side of the road,” laughed Audrey. “We just stopped the RV and shot off the side of this cliff. That’s what it’s like working with creatives, if you were wondering.”

“Hey, you never know where you’re going to find a good spot!” chimed Mitchell.

The other thing about being rural and remote? You, uh, don’t have a lot of options.

“We ate at the same restaurant every single night,” said Hedy. “Every night. I bet we tried one of everything on that dang menu by the time it was all said and done. I mean, every night.”

You’ve got to appreciate when a little town has a sense of humor about itself, though. The locals have a bumper sticker that says, “Where the middle of nowhere is somewhere. – Lajitas, Texas”. And speaking of locals, let’s just say, it takes all kinds of kinds.

“This guy pulled up to the gas station on a horse,” Mitchell recalled. “He parked his horse, went in, bought a couple things, came out, mounted up and left. Like it was just the most normal thing in the world. And maybe it is, but not to us folks from the booming metropolis of Yoakum!”

Hey, at least the weather cooperated for once.