Planning the trip: choosing locations

There are over 350 locations in FNV. Some are at the core of the game, like the New Vegas Strip and Hoover Dam. Some simply add colour or contain interesting loot, like the Devil's Throat. And some are just huge, like the Vaults. So the first question was: how to choose?

Needless to say the Vaults don't exist in real life. I suspect some were based on nuclear bunkers that dot the USA's western regions, but I've no idea which or where, and although I've done a bit of urban spelunking I doubt I'd be able to gain access. So the Vaults were first to fall. For the same reason, most of the caves and topological features in the game aren't here; I expected places like Nopah Cave to be based on real locations, but at the time of writing I haven't found enough information to GPS them with any accuracy. So the "landscapes" I photograph next week will be those I can relate to a physical waypoint such as a named campground or ghost town. I expect Goodsprings, Nipton, and Primm to be the easiest, after The Strip itself. And while I've seen Hoover Dam before, it's such an integral part of the game I can't miss it on this trip; there are shots of the Visitor Centre I want to capture.

So that's the trip: about 35 locations on my list, starting at The Strip then heading northeast, swinging southeast, heading southwest across the Mojave National Preserve, and finally west before continuing to California for an entirely different adventure. Of course, as I write I'm at work in London and have no idea whether this little adventure will be a Facebooked phenomenon or an epic fail. Watch this space!