The Real-Life Mad Max: Inside Wasteland Weekend

For the past four years, fans of the world envisioned by director George Miller in the original "Mad Max" have gathered in the Mojave Desert for a weekend of imaginary apocalypse. The Wasteland Weekend features hundreds of people dressed in their survival-of-the-fittest finest, along with dozens of cars, trucks and off-roaders customized for the end of the world. Some builders take the low-budget route, letting rust and deletion do most of the work, while others build period-correct homages to the original Mad Max vehicles. The party always features concerts, dancing, and other pre-apocalyptic fun, but should the water keep running low in California, these looks and rides may become more than once a year.

All photos by Robert Kerian