Upon, learning about Marta Becket and the dream she made real in Death Valley, we were blown away. In 1967, this ballerina and New York native blew a tire on a camping trip with her husband in Death Valley. They had to travel forty miles to the nearest gas station where she spotted the future site of the Amargosa Opera house. After renting the theater for only $45 a month, Ms. Becket started her very own ballet theater in the middle of nowhere when she was 43 years old.