Today I had the whole day open, nothing scheduled, so I took off on an adventure I've been wanting to do for a number of years: drive around the entire Salton Sea, and check out the old, now largely decrepit, famous and notorious places. It was a grand day, a surreal day. My first stop was at the Salton Sea National Recreation Area. I pulled into the entrance and saw someone working nearby. I hoped out to ask for recommendations for hiking. He let me know that the visitors center was closed, even though it was Tuesday, and said that there are many interpretive signs outdoors, so it's worth a stop. He also suggested a loop hike a little further down the road. I drove in towards the visitors center, turned the last corner, and one of the largest parking lots I've ever seen loomed in front of me, completely empty. There was a row of dozens of picnic benches with grills and wooden awnings. Clearly the trend of diminishing visitors has continued. I parked and explored the area, including the beach. I had done my research, so was not surprised by the make-up of the "sand" - crushed fish bones and dried out fish carcasses. The history of this accidental lake is too involved for me to give a proper overview here; I highly recommend reading the wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sea. Moving on, as I drove through the rec area towards the hiking trail I passed a pack of wild dogs, which did not make me feel entirely confident about hiking alone out here, with no cell signal. But I did it anyway. Next I continued on south, stopping in Bombay Beach, a once bustling, wealthy community, popular among the hollywood elite. Here there are relics of old docks, now encrusted with salt deposits, and other strange finds. On to Slab City, another place whose history is worth reading, fascinating stuff, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slab_City,_California. I made stops at Salvation Mountain and East Jesus, then continued on around the lake, stopping at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. There's a mouthful. The drive in was strange, the landscape here is vast farm fields with enormous open irrigation canals, despite the constant drought. Dotted across the fields are strange beige factories, smokestacks smoking away. I reached the visitors center and the area was deserted. A big sign proclaimed the building is open Tuesday through Saturday, but here it is Tuesday, and no one in sight. There's a little tower to climb next to the VC for a view of the migrating birds (the sea, despite it's toxicity, is now a major migratory stop after all the native marshes in the area were drained). From the top I could see the sea, a long ways to the north. I found the location of this place a little odd. A two mile, each way, trail connects the VC to a large mound of dirt along the sea that offers better views. Given the heat, lack of cell service, lack of visitors, and my lack of knowledge of the area, I decided to move on. It's a long drive around the rest of the sea, up towards the other small communities and eventually Palm Desert and Palm Springs. Along the way I had to pass through a very intimidating border control stop, filled with large armed men and large angry looking dogs. I made a couple more small stops to visit the beaches in other small towns, then went to Palm Springs to visit the Mirror House, one of this year's Desert X exhibits. I got dinner in town, then drove back to the park as the sun set.
Part of the row of picnic shelters.
A deserted parking lot.
The Salton Sea.
Closeup of one of the many, many dead fish on all the beaches. The extreme salinity of the sea throws the ecosystem off balance, the result is an often toxic environment for wildlife.
Crusts of salt on sand made of fish bones.
Entering Bombay Beach.
An old structure, now encrusted with mineral deposits.
Amidst the cracks and crevasses are more fish carcasses. The water level here was much higher, but politics win over environmental concerns, which is a very long story.
A boat, seemingly abandoned.
Another abandoned boat.
While I was here there were two professional photo shoots happening around this boat.
Tangled remains.
Driving through town.
Last look at Bombay Beach.
Salvation Mountain, the first stop in Slab City.
Overview of Slab City, which is several stories tall, and made of straw bales and concrete.
Another area. At one point people were welcome to walk up the yellow brick road to the top of the mountain, and into these little rooms. Since the creator passed away, the non-profit that maintains it has closed down the foot traffic.
Around the grounds are more interesting finds.
Every inch of these vehicles is painted, even the undercarriage.
A Pinto station wagon! We had two of these when I was a kid.
Moving on into the heart of Slab City.
The bottle wall in East Jesus, a communal sculpture garden created by a rotating collection of artists-in-residence.
Almost everything here is created from repurposed materials.
The shoe tree.
Another stop at a small town.
The Mirror House, entirely made of mirrors, inside and out, with the exception of the flooring which is wood.
View of the San Jacinto mountains.
Looking down on the Coachella valley, towards Joshua Tree National Park.
