NOMADICISTA

Spent a few days around Mojave, Needles and the Salton Sea last week with a friend from SF. Made a whirl wind trip from Chicago to take care of biz.

Somebody in Mojave had 6 buses in their yard. But the real treat was Salton Sea and Slab City. You start south from Indio, you can just feel the social mores start to loosen up; and never saw some many palms all in one place. Bombay Beach has some really archeological "ruins" right on the beach where it flooded and caught some trailers. A little strange.








Well, maybe you had to be there. The preacher of Salvation Mountain couldn't be found high nor low - we were there Sunday so maybe he was plumb tuckered from a full day of hard work... Slab City population seemed sparse, but the ambiance was relaxed and good. Couldn't stay but a couple hours, but I could tell where you might want to get there "early" to nail down some shade. Wouldn't mind spending a week or so to see how the place functions.

Everybody we met south of Indio seemed relaxed and friendly; or maybe just moving that close to manana land mere days out of Chicago the contrast got to me. Even the belted and booted guard at the check point on 111 northbound above Niland didn't threaten. Mighta been cuz we were in an '86 CRX that was stretched tight around the two of us, though - any other bodies would have been sticking far out the tail gate.

My friend has pics of Slab City but since she's an art photographer I'm not sure what she actually aimed at... I'll post them when she manages to figure out flickr.

Cheers, Rufus

ps - that's better - fixed the pic links

Almost a sort of "post apocalyptic" look about some of the places.

I was in Death Valley about 10 days ago, went to see Scotty's Castle on the way back to the Pacific Northwest after a trip to S Arizona. Quite an interesting place and story to go with it, it's worth going to see it.

I imagine that after Chicago, SoCal and close by places seem pretty laid back! If about 90% of the folks who live in SoCal would just move back east, then I could almost be persuaded to move down there, you just can't beat the weather in January!

But they won't move back east. That's why first Sharkey, and then I moved out 35+ years ago.
I swore an oath that the next time I go to L.A., it will be plastered across the grille of a Freightliner truck.

90% of the people in SoCal are from south of the border, not back east.

Jones'n4chrome wrote:90% of the people in SoCal are from south of the border, not back east.

last time I went to LA I thought I was in mexico. I just figured cali sold it to mexico to get out of debt and I missed it

I was in LA area about 3 weeks ago and drove around some. Went to Sunset Beach and loved it! Everything else sucks. SB is kind of a quiet little enclave that is rapidly pushing the original people out with multi-million dollar condos, so it will be completely ruined soon. But kind of neat right now.

Then went to Dallas/Ft Worth area a week ago. Between the two, give me LA traffic! The idiots in DFW area are obviously the inspiration for road rage and going postal!

When we got near Bakersfield on the way in, both of us got sore throats after 1 mile heading south on 99 from 46. It was dusk so we couldn't see the stuff so it wasn't just psychosomatic... Cleared up when the ground started rising toward Tehachapi. Real glad I wasn't stopping around there!

Rufus

That is because Harris Ranch is out there, one of the bigger beef ranches in that area.
Anyway you probably just drove through a HUGE cumulative cow fart. And thats no bull.

Bro, I can recognize that feed lot when I smell it - I know because I had to blow through it on a motor cycle visiting my cousin in Lemoore for several years. The Harris stink is about a mile north of 198 on 5 and lasts about 1/2 mile. Makes you wonder if you should really be eating those animals... The LA poison is insidious. You don't really smell it, just start clearing your throat and coughing and there's the beginning of a burn at the back of the throat. All considered I'll take the cow fart any day.

Rufus

Natures little meth lab, just wait till someone lights a match.