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NEAR DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (FOX 10) -- It's remote and hard to get to, and the weather can be brutal, but that doesn't stop aviation enthusiasts from trekking to the outskirts of Death Valley, California, in hopes of getting an up close and personal experience with unique fighter jets.
The area is known as Star Wars Canyon, and it is about two hours northwest of Las Vegas. It is one of the most remote areas in the western United States, and it is one of the hottest places on Earth: desolate, dry, and stark. In one particular area, it's actually a big draw to a very specific group of people.
Star Wars Canyon, or the Jedi Transition, gets its name from a famous scene in Star Wars, when Luke Skywalker attacks the Death Star. Star Wars Canyon is a common training area for military jets to work on low-level tactical maneuvers, flying through the canyon at breakneck speeds. Photographers gather at the rim for a glimpse of the jets, and in some cases, they're shooting down to capture their images.
"We use high-speed camera, so maybe 15 times a second, otherwise you cannot take the picture," said one photographer from China.
There is absolutely no guarantee that people will see a plane fly through the Jedi Transition. In fact, it's actually classified information. So in the meantime, a lot of these spotters sit, wait and keep their fingers crossed that they will see a plane.
"It's a little bit of gambling, but you have some scenic views," said Marc Wittkowski. "I heard about it from Instagram, I saw some pictures, and I'm a photographer so I thought yeah, I have to come here and take a look.
Photographers and aviation enthusiasts alike will wait for hours. On one particular day, FOX 10's Ty Brennan and his photographer's patience paid off. The canyon walls begin to rumble, and photographers quickly stand and steady their shots as an F-18 screams by, in what feels like just feet away from the canyon's edge.
Photographers said some days, people can get jet after jet speeding through the canyon. In other days, there'll be just one or two. But be it one or one hundred, the photographers said the thrill of it is enough to keep them coming back, in search of that perfect shot.