Friday, February 2nd - The Salton Sea

Our three nights of free camping ends this morning so we packed up and drove several miles to the parking lot of the Spotlight 29 Casino. They welcome overnight RV'ers and have a special area set aside for us.

For years I have been fascinated by the Salton Sea in far southern California. Never been there but have seen it from the air several times when flying to San Diego. Some time, in the last 2-3 years, I read an article, probably in one of the National Geographic mags, about the growing ecological problems of the Salton Sea. So, MA and I took a look today and drove around the entire "sea".

It is about 200 miles round trip from Indio/Palm Springs. It is in the Imperial Valley and over 200' below sea level. The sea was created by nature in 1905 when the lower Colorado River diverted from its main channel along the California / Arizona border. It took 18 months for the diversion to be corrected and meanwhile, this inland sea was formed. There is no outlet (only evaporation) and the water coming into the sea is mostly agriculture runoff and, therefore, the sea is VERY salty (and getting worse) and full of agricultural nutrients, causing unwanted growth of vegetation in the sea.

Hundreds of species of birds feed on the large fish population in the sea. But the increasing salinity will cause the fish population to die off, leaving the birds with no real alternatives in the area.

On the eastern shore is the small town of Niland. Just east of Niland is "Slab City", formerly Camp Dunlap (World War II Marine Artillery training base) that was abandoned after the war. Concrete slabs remain and the entire area has become a desert emcampment for snowbirds, desert rats and just about anyone looking for a free place to live. We drove thru Slab City. There is a church, a open air night club (The Range" where they celebrate sunset each Saturday. There is a free 24/7 tarp covered library. In general, a small society has sprung up in the desert. There a nice motorhomes and completely falling apart trailers. There is a "Loners Club" for single people. Really, very interesting. http://www.slabcity.org/

We visited the "trough" at the casino for supper. It was actually better than most buffets with prime rib and roasted turkey as the main attractions.