Once again, Karen’s poor behavior has caused us to get thrown out of yet another perfectly good campground. So, we hit the road and got halfway between LA and Las Vegas where we stopped for the night in the gravel parking lot of Peggy Sue’s Diner. Nothing is too good for my bride – what a lucky girl.
Located just off Route 66 in Yermo, CA, this is an epic stop. Epic if you crave parking in a rough gravel diner parking lot near the interstate with trucks going by all night, which of course we do. We seek these opportunities. I can’t for the life of me understand why people don’t want to travel with us. We got in late, but had breakfast there the next morning, which was great.
You can imagine the characters that roll through a place like this – halfway between LA and Vegas. Yikes. This is probably a stop made by people coming from Vegas who are scratching coins out of their glove compartment, versus those (the very few) who have won big at the tables.
Apparently, the diner has been around for a long time, but then was purchased by a couple in 1981 who had been connected in the entertainment business in LA. They fixed the place up in true ‘50’s fashion, added a few dinosaurs, some cheesiness, and a little Hollywood glitz, and boom. This place is a trip, worth a stop, and is a very comfortable and convenient place to crash for a night if you’re passing through.
Ever onwards, we headed towards the Salton Sea through the desert via Joshua Tree National Park to get ourselves a little flavor of the sea air at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area. If you’ve ever been to the Salton Sea, you know I’m kidding about the sea air. The air around the sea has a rich essence – let’s just say. But somehow it holds a special place in our hearts.
If you know the story of the Salton Sea, many (millions) years ago the Gulf of California met the Colorado River here. Silt accumulated and created a dam, cutting off the river flow to the gulf and thereby creating a freshwater lake (Lake Cahuilla). As the climate became warmer, the lake started to evaporate and salt deposits started to appear. The area (now known as the Imperial Valley), became a huge agricultural area with the creation of irrigation canals from the Colorado River. However, in 1905 with flooding of the Colorado River that breached these canals, for two years the entire output of the Colorado River flooded into the dried bed of Lake Cahuilla, until engineers were able to repair the canals and reroute the river. As a result, the Salton Sea was born.
In the 1950’s, the Salton Sea was a major attraction, where southern Californians would retreat for fun and boating. At one point a 15-lane boat ramp was created to support the volume of pleasure boats that would arrive. Today, for many reasons including the fact that the sea has receded so far, there is no boating at all. And while at a point back in time the sea supported over 200 million fish, today that number is close to zero, with but one species of small fish still in existence in certain areas where the water is less salt-laden and caustic.
Today, the only sources feeding the sea are agricultural and storm runoff from the miles and miles of farms in the Imperial Valley (yuck!). We were here about 10 years ago, and even in that short time fish have virtually disappeared from the water, birds have largely moved on to greener pastures, and the sea level has retreated. Rumor has it that sometime in the future there will be lithium extraction developed here, but hopefully something positive can come from this area – ecologically, environmentally, and economically.
While here, we made a couple of visits, one to the Ski Inn at Bombay Beach. Can I get an amen? Apparently, some years back Anthony Bourdain visited this restaurant (technically it is a dive) and said they served the best patty melt he had ever had. And thus, a legend was born. Actually, the place was a legend long before Anthony made his appearance there, and yes, my patty melt was awesome. Nothing says welcome like a solid steel door.
The bar/restaurant is purportedly the “lowest bar in the western hemisphere”, and we’ve been to some pretty low places. Certainly, you can understand why we were attracted. From Wikipedia: Vice‘s Jamie Lee Curtis Taete reviewed their meal with “The grilled cheese tasted exactly like the fries, which tasted exactly like the salad. Literally every dish on my plate tasted exactly like accidentally swallowing bath water.” What do they know.
It is important to note that when traveling in the desert, you must stay hydrated, and we have found that date shakes work best for us.
Keeping up our rich tradition of visiting high-end classy places, we made a stop at Slab City. If you are not familiar with Slab City, that is probably good for you. Slab city is located just outside of Niland, CA, close to the Salton Sea, and maybe halfway between Interstates 10 and 8 in southern California.
In a word, Slab City is a place for people seeking a truly alternative lifestyle. It is populated by artists and others wanting a less prescribed lifestyle than normal. Residents call themselves Slabbies or Sllabbers, and those that visit Normies. There is no formal government and no services, other than those loosely administered by those living there.
Situated on the remains of a long-abandoned World War II Marine Corps training camp in the Sonoran Desert, not far from the Mexican border, the “city” gets its name from the remaining slabs of concrete where the base was situated. There is virtually no electricity or potable water – power has to be self-generated (solar or generator) and water has to be trucked in.
It can be indiscernible to the unpracticed eye to identify art, people’s living quarters, abandoned RV’s, or flat out junk. Clearly, this is the last stop for these RV’s. For art’s sake, there is clearly some interesting art going on within the community, including Salvation Mountain, East Jesus (a 30-acre museum), and House of Dots to name a few. But art is displayed almost everywhere you look. As is alternative lifestyle.
We drove through some of Slab City as Normies but did not explore at much length. Once you get a small taste of the living there, you don’t need to see it all. We were here in the daytime, but we didn’t want to wear out our welcome. There is some rough living there to be sure, and even with our somewhat stilted view of the world, we would not have spent a night there in a million years. Interesting place to visit, though, if for no other reason to get a view to how others live their lives. Always good to keep an open mind.
On departing Slab City, you are reminded of what you are entering. Reality is overrated.
