Earlier this summer I stumbled on an article published a few years ago in the Salt Lake City Tribune by Nate Carlisle that told the story of Bruce Springsteen flying into Salt Lake City and driving across I-80 to Reno. Now, I wanted an excuse to take the southern route to Tacoma Washington from Salt Lake City and an extra 500 miles didn’t seem like too much of an effort to have a little fun. So we packed up the Prius and headed west.

In late August of 1977, shortly after Elvis Presley’s death, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt and their photographer (Eric Meola) rented a red convertible and started their drive across the Utah desert. Likewise, in late August of 2020, Reva and I dropped her sister of at the Salt Lake City Airport and began our drive across the Utah desert in our white Prius (sunroof open) with the hope of making the same some of the same stops “the Boss” did 43 years earlier.

In 1977, Bruce was working on his follow-up album to “Born to Run” (which was my high school theme song). He took off with his friends and headed west to Nevada. In 1977, I graduated from High School and took off on my own road adventure and headed west with my best friend Mike….of course we didn’t have a photographer with us back then, which was probably a very good idea. This trip would be shorter, a quick day drive, with my real best friend and would not involve sleeping in cars. (Definite deal breaker with my wife.)

Apparently, inspiration for several of the songs on the “Darkness on the Edge of Town” album came from Bruce’s trip across Utah and Nevada. But the song which was inspired directly by this drive was “The Promised Land”.

“On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert
I pick up my money and head back into town
Driving cross the Waynesboro county line
I got the radio on and I’m just killing time
Working all day in my daddy’s garage
Driving all night, chasing some mirage
Pretty soon little girl I’m gonna take charge”

OK there is not a “rattlesnake speedway” in Utah…..but I am sure you can find rattlesnakes on the Bonneville speedway in Utah from time to time….at least by the mountains.

Now there is no Waynesburo county in Utah or Nevada. But just past the Bonneville speedway you cross into Nevada and the town of Wendover in Elko County. Its a bit of a stretch, but Waynesburo is similar to Wendover; I guess only “the Boss” knows for sure if that was his inspiration.

“The dogs on main street howl
‘Cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister, I ain’t a boy, no, I’m a man
And I believe in a promised land”

On to Elko to find Main Street. I read that the three travelers parked during the night of Main Street and slept in the car. There were dogs howling which gave Bruce the lyric for the chorus. We stopped at the Elko visitor center to find out where Main Street was and if they knew anything about Bruce using Elko in his song. The young lady thought she had heard of Bruce Springsteen but didn’t know anything about the “Promised land”. She was able to give us a map and after some “googling” she was able to locate main street. It turns out that the main streets in Elko are Idaho and 5th streets. Main street was on the edge of town in an industrial section of the 20,000 person town. Probably not a bad place to sleep in your car overnight and a short walk from the casinos in town.

“I’ve done my best to live the right way
I get up every morning and go to work each day
But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold
Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode
Explode and tear this old town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itching for something to start”

The next stop was the Valmy Trailer Court. There is a picture of Bruce sitting in front of the Trailer Court, which appeared on a jacket cover for a single in 1980 containing “The River”, “Born to Run” and “Rosilita”.

When we stopped in at the Trailer Court, we knew that the old building had been torn down and a new one constructed in its place. That said, the new building looked pretty bad and run down. Next door there was the remnants of a motel…which was probably pretty run down in 1977.

We went into the store and asked the girl behind the counter if she knew about the picture Bruce took there in 1977. No, she never had heard that Bruce had been there, but knew that the previous store owner had a bunch memorabilia on the wall that she took when she left. She said I could probably go over her house and talk to her but we opted not to…more places to see. The store sold a collection of Classic Rock T-Shirts; Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty and others…..but no Bruce Springsteen. There was also a closed bar in the back next to the Post Office….one building made up the whole town. I looked at the pictures but there was nothing about Bruce. I mentioned to the girl behind the counter that might be a tourist draw if they wanted to market it. She said that wasn’t a bad idea and she would mention it to the owner. She also told me that the exit had just been paved by the State…it had been gravel before that. OK, so far we have been striking out on this trip.

Next stop Unionville. This is where Bruce had his picture taken on a dirt road with a large storm blowing in. It was easy to find dirt roads ….. but it was a sunny day..no storms here.

“Well there’s a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I’m heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain’t got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted”

On to the next stop; Lovelock and Brenda’s Cafe. The photo had been used on the cover of a single “Save My Love”. I had found on another travel blog posted in 2014 (www.jukeboxgraduate.com) that Brenda’s Cafe had been converted into a Mexican restaurant so it should still be there.

We pulled off at the first exit for Lovelock (they had two) and bingo! There was a closed Mexican Restaurant that clearly had been Brenda’s cafe.

We went into an antique store in the middle of the little town and asked about Brenda’s and if they new the story of Bruce Springsteen coming through the town in 1977. It turned out the the owner of the store and the former Sheriff were both there but didn’t know anything about Bruce Springsteen. They did offer to get me in touch with the previous owner of Brenda’s …but I declined. They told me the history of their town and said the Mexican restaurant had been closed for years and how I could easily buy it if I wanted. They also told me about the burned out buildings across the street which had made up a good 25% of the town and how an arsonist had set them on fire. Sad stories in this little remnant of a town…..but boy did it fit with Bruce’s songs. On to our final stop…a Casino Resort in Reno!

“What the hell was that!….oh we need to stop for this one!” As we were cruising down the Highway we passed a castle….well it looked like a castle…made of crap. We turned off the next exit and found a gravel road that led us back to this “historic site”….at least that is what signs said. Thunder Road! No way! Wait that was on Bruce Springsteen’s 1st album which was released in 1975…before his trip.

The site was deserted but the gate was open and just asked for a donation. Do we dare go in…of course we do.

“The dogs on main street howl
‘Cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister, I ain’t a boy, no, I’m a man
And I believe in a promised land
And I believe in a promised land”

Back on the road to our last stop, Reno. One quick night here and we will hit the next leg of the journey; Reno Nevada to Tacoma Washington.

The roadways of America are always fascinating and full of stories to live and explore; all you need is some time, interest and an understanding wife.