Many years ago, I took a road trip to Death Valley, stayed at the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel, and fell in love with Marta Becket (1924-2017).

I never actually saw Marta—the opera house’s founder, owner, and for more than four decades, its star solo performer. 84 at that point, she performed only Saturday nights. But I did fall in love with her story.

A New York ballerina, singer, painter, and pianist, on a 1967 road trip to California Marta and her husband stopped in the tiny town of Death Valley Junction with a flat tire.

Death Valley Junction at one point had a population of two and has topped out over the years at roughly twenty.

While their car was being fixed, Marta peeked through the window of a dilapidated dance hall, deserted since mining days, and saw her future: her unlived life, her destiny.

Here's her story.

Trailer for 2000 documentary, "Amargosa":    • Amargosa - Trailer