Tuesday, December 31, 2014, Borrego Springs, New Years Eve, Thermal, CA

First of all, Happy Birthday, Mom! We hope you had a great time visiting old friends in Florida.

While staying in Thermal, CA, we went to Borrego Springs, CA. It is surrounded by Anzo-Borrego State Park which seems to be the place for four-wheeling and dirt bikes. All along the secondary highway, S-22, there were hundreds of RVs parked in the sand. A few were off by themselves, but more often, the campers were parked in circles like old wagon trains would. At an overlook, the vehicles in the valley below sounded a little like bees buzzing. You can just see the RVs through the dust in the air. 

Then there were vast areas with no sign of human interaction. That might be just a bit too wild for me, but we would like to try boondocking on some BLM (US Government Bureau of Land Management) land. Maybe one day around Quartzsite, AZ. 

The park had a very nice earthen covered Visitor's Center. It's probably the best way to keep a place cool in the summer (or at least cooler). If we ever settled in the desert, it might be a style worth considering.

The blue area in the center of the park map is the town of Borrego Springs (the gray area is Anza-Borrego State Park.)

We learned "Borrego" means "Big Horn Sheep." The desert sheep are smaller than their cousins high in the mountains, to better cope with the heat of the desert. I'm still looking for my first Borrego sighting. The bronze relief below is actually the visitor center door pull.

Along the main North-South road in Borrego Springs, there were a number of privately commissioned works of art. Each was made of welded sheet metal and allowed to rust naturally giving them their reddish brown finish.

Galleta Meadows Estate is kind to allow looky-loos.

The Serpent was the most inventive and probably most people's favorite. It consisted of sections that stretched over a length of at least 200 feet - the tail can be seen on the other side of the road.

He looks like he's afraid of his shadow!

Quite a few of the works depicted extinct animals known to have inhabited this area, but we liked the whimsy in the jeep with the riders hair flying in the wind.

The Salton Sea was a completely different shade of blue from our previous visit. The color, of course, depends on the color of the sky and the amount of haze in the air.

On the drive home, we noticed the Salton Sea no longer appeared electric blue. With no wind, the haze settled back in.

Our camp host, Ann (with help from some of the residents), set up a very nice get together in the clubhouse. She insisted we celebrate the New Year on local time - no one was allowed to celebrate an Eastern Time New Year and then leave early. She had suggested naps for those who might have trouble staying up late. Rick made the most of the hats, while Robin snapped his picture and showed him just how good that look was on him.

Bob and Gloria, Phil, Tony and Lucy, Rick and Robin are around the outside of the table while Bruno and Ilene and Joani are sitting on the inside of the table.

Instead of working crossword puzzles, David tries to remember names as a mental work out.

Below, Kadi is taking a picture of Bruno and Ilene while Larry and Dennis are deep into a technical discussion of some sort. Kippy and Jim are at the table contemplating another round of snacking - I think we all ate too much!

Robin is leading the Conga line with Ann, Michael, Kippy, Bruno, Ilene and Debbie in tow - the rest of us party poopers were too inhibited for such frivolity.

Just after midnight, Debbie and Lucy played the piano while we all sang Auld Lang Syne. I don't think Phil packed anything but shorts - even on the coolest nights, he stood around the fire in shorts. Behind Phil, on the scooter, is Dick, a fellow amateur astronomer.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Sunday, December 29, 2013, Salton Sea, Salton City, CA

We wanted to experience the Salton Sea shore. We found a fairly close access point in Salton City, CA, (population just over 3,000). If you hear "sea" enough, you forget this is really just a large lake, but with a salt content that is 25% higher than the ocean. I think it is safe to say we have now "experienced" the Salton Sea and we will not need to get quite so close again!

From the highway, at a raised elevation, the water looks very,...

...very blue - electric blue.

 ...but down at ground level, the water had a very different look!

 The white caps had a dingy yellow look and the water had a black cast.

 What a bizarre landscape, with the midnight blue water, peculiarly heaving mud flats and an abundance of dead fish cascaras.

I bet you can guess what the smell was like!

Back home, I got to spend about 20 minutes cleaning the gooey mud and barnacles off of my shoes. Now you know why Sam was getting a free ride as we walked along the shore.

What looks liked sand, was actually piles of dead barnacles,...

 ...very thin, sharp barnacles.

Saturday, December 28, 2013, Salton Sea, Niland and Salvation Mountain in Slab City, CA

We drove to the east side of the Salton Sea to visit Niland and Slab City, CA. The sun was out and it was pretty warm - I cannot imagine being here in the heat of the summer. Niland was certainly not a large city, but it was an interesting trip. It was a little like visiting a ghost town that is not completely abandoned.  

Just a few miles out of town is Slab City. When the government decommissioned a military base here, they removed nearly everything except the concrete slabs the buildings once stood on. Now it is populated with people who have chosen to live "off the grid," There is no electricity, running water, sewers, or trash pickup service in Slab City. Solar or generators are used for power needs - it has to be a pretty difficult life. The tourists were easy to spot in nice cars. The few residents we saw didn't seem bothered by all of the lookie-loos.

Slab City definitely sleeps during the day. (You can see Salvation Mountain in the background.)

One of the more artistic residents of Slab City. If you are interested in boondocking, there are no rules, but there are tips to help you fit in.

"The Range" is a stage area that is said to come alive at night with music.

 This should be in "Creative Living" magazine!

The local shoe exchange?

This area (around the Salton Sea) has an interesting past, but now it is a city of ruins that the residents embrace.

Just outside the entrance to Slab City is Salvation Mountain. I talked with one of the volunteers at the site and learned that over a period of 28 years an estimated 200,000 gallons of paint were used to create this work of art that was designated as a National Folk Art site in 2001. Slab City and Salvation Mountain were featured in the movie "Into the Wild." We had seen the movie but watched it again when we got home (I skipped the haunting end of the movie because, that part, I remember all too well.)

We almost didn't stop at Salvation Mountain, just snapping a couple pictures from the car. I'm so glad we changed our minds!

You can feel the joy in Leonard Knight's heart when you walk around his labor of love.

Our friend, Jeff, was able to meet and talk with Leonard when he visited the mountain 5 years ago. I'm envious!

Mr. Knight has lived in a nursing home for the last couple of years, but he still occasionally visits the mountain.  His last visit, a few months ago, was on his 82nd birthday and, I was told, he was doing well.

A small room on the side of the mountain.

Across from that little room is a wonderful forest room called "the museum."

This picture and the next are looking up inside the tree room.

 

David is looking at Leonard Knight's home of 26 years.  The truck behind was his guest house.

There was a little door next to the cab that we could peek in.

He slept here every night, except one that he spent in a little room that he built in the mountain. He didn't like it and moved back in here.

Driving home along the Salton Sea, the water, haze and mountains reminded us of a Japanese water color painting. The haze over the water would reflect the sun making it the brightest band in the pictures.

Across the highway from our park was a date farm. It had little in common with farms I grew up around in Iowa, where corn and beans were grown. We saw huge bags covering the dates - I assume to keep them from being eaten by birds.  

On the tall palms, we noticed ladders attached to the trees about 30 or 40 feet up the tree trunks. We decided they must be used for harvesting. That would probably be an interesting thing to watch.