The Salton Sea

Bombay Beach is on the Salton Sea and is a three hour drive from LAX. The closer I got, the fewer cars there were on the road. At one point, I passed an abandoned gas station, where I stopped to take pictures. It was right out of a movie, with a very tall distressed sign that simply said, “Gas” on top. There was also a sign that said, “Open 24 hours” which I found amusing.

Back on the road I passed a vacant liquor store, an abandoned café and several entrances to beach parking lots that were closed due to “budget cuts”. The road I was on, Highway 111, paralleled a railroad track. Several trains passed me going the opposite direction. Ancient telephone poles lined the way to my next stop, the North Shore of the Salton Sea. To my surprise, the former abandoned North Shore Yacht Club had been renovated (yet sits “CLOSED FOR THE SEASON”) overlooking the very peaceful and still, Salton Sea. I wandered down to the water’s edge. The Yacht Club/Museum looked colorful and quite beautiful from this vantage point. The palm trees looked picture perfect. The sea itself was breathtaking but very still. It was also much larger than I expected. Hard to get a sense of scale from maps and on-line images.

A few blocks from the sea were several abandoned buildings. I walked around quickly, snapping pics and swatting flies. Flies were everywhere. There was no sign of anyone else in this little town, but probably because of the 108º temperature. If anyone was there, they were surely indoors with the air on. 

South of the North Shore was the welcoming sign for my next stop, Bombay Beach. I drove right past the only bar in town, The Ski Inn. Realizing I had forgotten to bring any water, I pulled into the parking lot of the Bombay Market. Thru my windshield I was greeted with the words, “HE LIVES” painted on the front of the store exterior. I put on my shirt and my $14 cowboy hat, and went inside. The woman behind the counter was very down to earth and friendly. I bought some water and Gatorade. She told me that people have come from all over the world to see her little town. I asked her if it drove her crazy and she said, “oh no, not at all!”. She told me to explore the town and to park wherever I wanted. I said, "Wow, you can't park wherever you want in New Jersey!" She recommended driving over to what has become known as “the Sunken City”. 

I drove up over the dike and immediately saw the ruins of the Sunken City. It’s an area of several small houses and RV’s that have been swallowed by the sand and the Salton Sea. It was an amazing sight, even if there is not much there to see. I drove over to the water's edge and parked my rental car. I jumped out like a little kid on Christmas morning. I was hit in the face with a blast of heat and this time the horrible smell of rotting fish. There were dead fish everywhere! Long story short: apparently, high levels of salt in the water kill off many of the fish. It was gross and weird and kind of awesome. And no wonder I was the only one there. Surely, no one would want to swim in water filled with dead fish or walk along a beach buzzing with houseflies ... or sunbathe in 108° heat. It was kind of crazy. I was sweating like a pig and starting to get nauseous, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from exploring my newfound paradise. 

On the other side of the dike, many of the abandoned houses and RV’s in Bombay Beach were still full with furniture and personal possessions. I had to hit each one. I started at one end of town and walked up and down every street. I did not want to miss a thing. Interestingly enough, among the dilapidated houses and crumbling RV’s were some very well maintained houses. They were not common, but there were a few. It wasn’t long before my camera was so hot that it was burning my hand. I ended up making frequent trips to the car where I could put the air on for a bit. 

Bombay Beach is only one of several small towns on the edge of the Salton Sea. I also hit Desert Shores, Salton City, Salton Sea Beach and nearby Slab City. Each area was similar to Bombay Beach, with characteristics that made them unique. Desert Shores had its combination of abandoned buildings and debris, along with motels and gift shops that were open, even if not especially appealing. My favorite structure there was an abandoned country club near the water, across from a trailer park. 

Salton Sea Beach also had a lot of abandoned houses and trailers near the water. Lots of cool graffiti, too. Abandoned boats were scattered about, as if throw by a tornado. They were part of the landscape and after awhile I became immune to them. I guess that's what would happen if you lived there — you just get used to all the crap around sinking into the sand. 

In Salton City I found what looked like an abandoned pool club. I remember having to park and walk quite a distance to get to the buildings. While there I experienced my first "dust devil". I watched it form in the distance and wasn't sure if I was supposed to run or hide. It quickly disappeared, but I did manage to get a picture. It scared the crap out of me at the time. 

Slab City is a short drive from the Salton Sea and one of the most unique places I've ever been to. Technically, it's a campsite in the Sonoran Desert, filled with RV owners and squatters. It's named after the concrete "slabs" there, leftover from an abandoned World War II marine camp. There are thousands of campers that live there during the winter months, and only a few hundred during the summer. Oh, and there is no electricity, running water or trash pick up. There is also no charge, so it's free to live here. Definitely, another unique place! 

At the entrance to Slab City is a small hill covered in paint called "Salvation Mountain". It's also covered in Bible versus. The religious man-made mountain is 50 feet high and 150 feet wide. It was created by a man named Leonard Knight, who passed away at the age of 82, in 2014. Hopefully locals will maintain the area for future explorers. 

Not a ton of places to eat near the Salton Sea, so I decided to go into the Ski Inn — in Bombay Beach. It was about 7:45PM and there was only one car in the parking lot ... mine. The inside of the Ski Inn was pretty much how I pictured it. It’s a dark, dumpy, local bar. There were pool tables and what looked like an area for a hot buffet. There were also dollar bills all over the walls, autographed by patrons. There were three people at the bar and one of them was the lady that I talked to earlier at the Bombay Market. Small world, especially in Bombay Beach. The bartender poured me a beer and when I asked about food, he told me the kitchen was closed. I said, “Oh, no problem”. A few seconds later he offered to make me a cheeseburger. Perfect! I ended up having two drinks, a cheeseburger and some chips. Nothing special, but it was fun. Snapped a few candid shots of the local drunk at the end of the bar. It was a great way to end the day. He was animated, friendly and ... drunk.

After moving my car, I climbed the dike one more time to get some shots of the sun going down. Amazing view, not only of the sunset but also Bombay Beach. Behind me, was one trailer after another, and not a sound coming from any of them. Peaceful.

To learn about Bombay Beach and the Salton Sea and then to actually get there a year later was pretty amazing? Definitely lived up to my expectations. It was exactly as it was depicted in every documentary and YouTube video that I could find — right down to the dead fish on the beach. Not exactly a family vacation destination, for sure, but still a very special place. I'm so glad I saw it in person.