Niland - Another Modern Day Ghost Town

Niland is another example of a modern day, desert ghost town. In it's day, it was a thriving agricultural town in the Imperial Valley. In fact, the name "Niland" came from combining the words Nile and Land (because it was so fertile). The population in the area is less than 1,000 people today and declining. I think that the only thing it has going for it now, is that it is the "gateway to Slab City and Salvation Mountain."   How do I copyright that phrase? There really isn't much left there these days, but off course, I can always find plenty to do and see. If you want to visit Mexico, it is very close by.  Most of the photos are drive-by.

Believe it or not, this is still the nicest building in town, and it's hollow and fenced off.

Here's the back side of the same building.

Not that we were going to eat there, but this looked like the only place to eat in town. When we got closer, we saw that it was closed up.

This was my favorite photo from Niland. I even got out of the car to take it! If the moon had been a little lower in the sky (and therefore larger), I would love it! Please embiggen to get the true effect.

Your average Niland business. Closed and fenced off.

This seemed to be the only real viable business in town. A HUGE "fattening up" complex for cattle. I like beef just as well as the next carnivore, but I still found it to be kind of sad.

There is a for sale sign in the lower right hand corner of the photo. You can finally own your dream home!   But wait! If you act today, we'll include all the junk on the property!  All joking aside, there are MANY properties like this for sale around Niland.  Kind of sad...

Another business (or former business) on the main drag.

The Latin-American Club. This might have been the last "watering hole" in town. If there was an open bar there, we didn't see it.

Yet another closed business. As you can tell by looking at these photos, these places didn't close recently. This decline has been going on for quite a while. We were camped somewhere on the ridge line of those distant mountains for the last two weeks. We're home for a while right now though.

The other shut down bar/cafe.

At one time, folks must have had the time and/or resources for some leisure time.

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I hope you don't mind seeing these towns. We've been to quite a few and there are many more out there to visit. Not until the summer is over though. Much too hot there already.

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Salvation Mountain - Desert Folk Art or OCD?

Salvation Mountain

I recently made some posts relating to Slab City, dry land Sea Serpents, and assorted other desert oddities. Today's post, may just be the weirdest most impressive of the lot.  A guy named Leonard Knight started on this little bit of folk art in 1984. After more than 20 years of work obsession, and Mr. Knight in the "hospital" no longer on the premises, we are left with his life's work; Salvation Mountain. It's pretty clear that his theme was "God is Love."  Agree or disagree with that as you will. Everyone will have to admit that this guy was committed to what he was doing.

Talk about in the middle of nowhere. The closest civilization to what you are about to see is (drum roll please), none other than the modern day metropolis of (that's right folks!) Slab City!

Here's the main part of Salvation Mountain. It's made of hay bails, logs, paint, and anything else the guy could find. To add some scale to the place, please note the person standing between the "O" and "D: the right of the cross.

This structure is made up of cave like rooms and atrium like areas. 

Of all the things I saw there, I think I liked this tree the best.  I would have loved to been able to move the home made bench and shade from the photo.

One of the "atrium" like areas. This one must have been 30 feet high.

One of several old cars and trucks. Of course they all were adorned with the artists "theme." 

Considering that it was made of junk and old tree limbs, this was pretty cool looking.

This photo was taken from the top of the "mountain." In the background, is the road to Slab City. I guess this makes Salvation Mountain a suburb of Slab City.

That's a lot of work to show off your bowling trophies.

Just an alternate view of the same stuff.

A walkway or hall through the structure. Yes, that's an automobile door in the background. 

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This place was given a national award as one of the premier examples of folk art in the United States. I wonder how many awards it received for being maybe the biggest example EVER of  massive obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
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We've been at home for about three weeks and moss is starting to grow on us.  So, it's time to hit the road again. On Friday we are once again heading for the desert. Not this desert though. This time we'll be heading for the mighty Mojave Desert. We'll be staying (in our RV) near a town called Needles. Needles is very often the hottest spot in the United States. I can't say we'll be spending any time at all in the actual town though. There is much to see in this area. Our side trips should take us into Arizona and Nevada also. 

UPDATE:
Leonard Knight, the creator of this giant work of desert folk art, passed away on February 10, 2014. Think what you will about his art, but you can't deny the man's dedication.

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Slab City

Slab City (formerly a World War 2, USMC Artillery Training Base), is located a few miles outside of Niland, California.  The base, which closed in 1946 is about 120 feet below sea level, in the desert near Salton Sea. The buildings were torn down and only the cement slabs were left behind. Through the years people starting living here either full-time or on a seasonal basis.  There are exactly ZERO utilities here. That means no water, electricity, and no plumbing. The people living here are mostly artistic, counter culture, crazy, or eccentric. Throw in some snow birds who come here to escape cold weather and you got a pretty eclectic group.

Post Apocalypse is a good description of it. They have a library (of sorts), crude yet creative galleries (of sorts) and even a couple of bars. All electricity is from solar, wind, or generators.  Somewhere close, there must be a VERY stinky dump! If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I'd say it's hippie commune meets Mad Max... Personally, I think it's amazing, but I could never live here. Maybe back in the day, but not now. The place has clearly seen better days...

This was the original gate guard blockhouse at the entrance gate to the base.

From what I've seen, this is a pretty typical looking resident of Slab City.

Two of the most well known characters around these parts are "Half Pint" and her donkey. They are well known enough, that even I know who they are.

Please meet Half Pint's hippie donkey. It's waiting for her outside of a small store in the fast approaching modern day ghost town of Niland. That little slice of decay will have it's own post pretty soon.

Slab City is about one square mile in size. Although most of it isn't as congested looking as this, a lot of it is. This photo was taken from the jeep and those smudges in the sky are most likely squished bugs. 

A Slab City estate.

Lot's of "hippie" type buses.

Some local art! (you know I had to have a least one black and white shot in the group.

Mobile folk art.  Do you think it actually runs?

Who ever lives in this one has some electricity.

A Slab City night club called the "Range." Okay, how do they keep the beer cold. Or do they?

Slab City condos?

This thing was awesome looking. I wanted to get a closer look, but the locals were chasing us with pitchforks and torches (not really).  Embiggen for a closer look at the whatever it is...

More buses and I don't know what the heck those containers are. Maybe studio apartments.

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Slab City is another example of the strange things (and people) you see in the deserts of America. I love the desert for those two reasons and because of the amazing landscape.  This place is less than 200 miles from Los Angeles and about 75 miles from San Diego and I'll bet you that 99.9% of the population of both cities have never seen, or even heard of this place. Probably half of those who've heard of it, would be too afraid to go there.

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More New Year's Day Sunrise

I was running all over that mountain ridge, freezing in my PJ's at the break of dawn. It was eerie because of the many wolves I could hear howling.  I took a lot of pics, but will only burden you with these few...

So far, this is my favorite photo of the trip. Maybe one of my favorites ever. The little slice of reflection just below the far mountain range is the Salton Sea. It's over forty miles away. Many years ago the Colorado river burst it's banks, creating a 400 square mile lake. Because it has no outlet, it has become VERY salty over the years. It is the second largest salt water lake in the country, surpassed only by the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It is also one of the very lowest spots in the U.S. It is only 5 feet higher elevation than California's Death Valley.  Other than cropping, this photo has not been enhanced in any way.

This was the second photo I took on that day, and was less than a minute after the one I posted last week.

I got so excited running around because I was witnessing nature's "art" at it's best.

When I turned and looked to the west, I was happily surprised to see this amazing cloud formation lit up by the new day's sunlight.

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For reflections by other photographers go to Weekend Reflections by James.

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Road Trip to the Cuyamaca Mountains

A few weeks ago we took a trip up to the Cuyamaca Mountains, up above the old mining town of Julian (I'm sure some of you are familiar with Julian and I'll post a photo tour of it soon).  The camp ground is one of our favorite places. The camp sites are very spread out and some of them have views that are truly AMAZING.  I'll only do a couple of blog posts on it right now because we've already gone and returned from another roadie to an awesome campground up the coast.

On the way down the coast we stopped at San Onofre State Park. It's not the best for camping but they do have miles and miles of awesome coastline.  The entire place is actually part of Camp Pendleton (USMC) base (ooh-rah!). Thanks to them, the state was allowed to put a state park on their property. Beautiful waves without a surfer in sight. I was stationed at this base MANY moons ago. This is a look to the south.

This is a view to the north. If you enlarge this photo you can see where my town's electricity comes from. The two huge domes in the background that look like a giant bra, is actually the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant.

Here's a couple of "bear with me" photos. This is yet another example of my fixation with closeups and out of focus backgrounds

A solitary (and empty) bench sitting on the cliff top. (this one's for you Faye).

I didn't want to take his pic, but he wouldn't stop begging.

Okay, finally up into the mountains and into the campground. See, I told you this place was spread out.  The raised antenna is a joke, we couldn't get a single TV station. But, hey we're supposed to be roughing it. Right?

The campground has been overrun by wildfires twice in the past 10 years. Here's an example of a scorched tree that may or may not make it. I thought it was pretty cool looking either way.

Note the woodpecker hard at work. Not only are there thousands of holes "pecked" into the bark of this huge tree...

The woodpeckers come back and put a single acorn into each and every hole. Thousands and thousands. Of course this leads to a not so delicate ballet between the squirrels and the woodpeckers.

This view is from a campsite we hope to get next time. It's on the very edge of the mountain and looks down into the Anza-Borrego Desert. In the far distance you can see the Salton Sea. The day I took this, it was about 75 degrees. It was close to 110 degrees down below.

Here I am contemplating. Contemplating what I have no idea. I was probably wondering if it was too early to invoke my own personal "happy hour."  Hey, this camping is tough and brutal, but somebody has to keep the pioneering spirit alive...

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