Slab City

Reminder - you can click on any of the photos for a larger version.

Slab City is what remains of the administrative area of Camp Dunlap, a WWII Marine artillery training facility east of the Salton Sea in Southern California. It is a study in diversity with a dichotomy of year-around residents, people desiring to withdraw from society, people struggling to make ends meet, and some apparently affluent snowbirds.

In spite of the decorated guard shack, new faces are met with initial skepticism. Even among the people here, there are strongly differing opinions. For example, there are two websites claiming to be "the" official website of Slab City. The permanent residents have one and some of the snowbirds have a different one.

Unlike most boondocking locations, this one isn't administered by anyone except the residents who have declared it "The Last Free Place." There is a lot of negative written about the Slabs, mostly by people expecting another shade of suburbia. In some ways, it's closer to a third world country.

Artwork comes in all forms, from small jewelry to "yard art" to massive murals on abandoned concrete tanks.

In addition to some fancy new motorhomes, the Slabs features homes in all shapes and sizes from an old milk truck

to a 1950's Greyhound Scenicruiser

to a Ford bus featuring a Volkswagen penthouse.

I ended up camping near the southwest corner, outside of the Slabs proper, after touring much of the area. I'd found a nice spot in the back, but with poor connectivity for my Millenicom hotspot. In front, I had 4 bars without the antenna or amplifier and a view of the Salton Sea in the sunset.

When I left, I was reminded that there was reality ahead. In my opinion, the reality of the Slabs is likely too raw for many to enjoy.

Salvation Mountain

This wasn't my original plan, but in search of weather warmer than was forecast for my planned destination, I decided to head southwest from Quartzsite to see Salvation Mountain. Salvation Mountain is a 30 year project by Leonard Knight and has become quite famous. Unfortunately, with failing health, Mr. Knight is now in a convalescent center.

The mountain is built against a hill, shaped with bales of straw, and then covered with adobe. Multiple (and on-going) coats of paint are used to waterproof the adobe.

Adjacent to the mountain is a "museum" structure that is only partly completed, clearly showing the construction technique. In this structure, he inserted found items including auto glass for windows.

The mountain has been recognized as folk art by the Folk Art Society of America, highlighted in the US Senate in 2002, included in a number of films, and mentioned in a multitude of newspaper and magazine articles.

There are two old trucks parked just beyond the Sea of Galilee with cabins built on them, absolutely covered with text and artwork. The White (brand) truck in the foreground was Leonard's home for many years.

The door at the back of the Chevy truck (background above) is worth a close-up. The raised text is created with a window putty product that hardens and then is painted to highlight the lettering.

I'm glad I visited. Given the materials used, without extensive effort it is not likely that Salvation Mountain will last, unlike Christ's gift.