After finishing our visit to Salvation Mountain, a quick drive a bit further brought us to Slab City.
Slab City started as a USMC artillery training post during WW2. It was abandoned after the war and gradually the area was claimed by various Snow Birds, anarchists, adventurers, and down-on-their-luck individuals.
There are a few concrete structures remaining from the Marine Corps days such as ammunition igloos, guard posts and the slabs that barracks and other buildings once sat on. Otherwise everything else is of a temporary nature.
Driving around the area we saw some spots that had upscale motor homes and travel trailers sitting on them, a few even fenced in with new appearing cyclone fencing. Others were occupied by ancient school buses or thrown together structures of plywood and plastic sheeting.
Some spots had burned out trailers or abandoned trailers surrounded by heaps of old appliances and derelict cars. What is it about these sort of places that attracts junk collectors?
The whole area had the vibe of 'Bartertown' and I excepted to see Mad Max and Aunty Entity walking along one of the paths between the homesteads.
Bartertown - I mean Slab City is an interesting and colorful place in the bright sunlight. At night however I'd only want to be afoot with a 12 bore loaded with buck.
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| Wonder what it was like to pull guard duty in this oven in the middle of the summer? At the entrance to Slab City |
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| An upscale homestead |
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| Of course, the fork! |
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| A more typical homesite |
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| Ok, this would warn me off from visiting this place! |
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| Is that a catapult? |
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| This must be a year round resident |
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| Just to add some spice for living here.... |
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| Anyone need a shoe tree? |
We ended this day's journey at the stinky, shrinking Salton Sea. The transformation from the middle class oasis of the 50s-early 60s to a stinking stagnant lake with the resulting financial ruin of many persons is so typically California that it needs a whole blog post of its own.
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