Slab City, CA

spindrift · June 28, 2023

Has anyone visited? Thoughts?

Darryl&Rita · June 28, 2023

You can see almost the same thing at most truck stops. Wind pushing trash around, what's left of people after the military industrial complex gets done with them. Depressing as all get out. Used to be a thing, but after our visit 7 years ago, not interested in returning.

JGWALES · June 28, 2023

Spindrift , it depends on you. How you look at life. 4 of us went last year. We really enjoyed the day. Yes it is dirty. Our trip consisted of Salton Sea , the prayer mountain on the way into slab city. A few other things along the way. The music area was closed when we went there.the library was closed. So we would go again.we took a lot of pictures in case we never get back there. In comparison to experiences i was not impressed witn memphis. Seemed very dirty , but so is Paris France

My good friends said they would never go back to a HDT Meet. Its all how you look at it. I try to do everything i can. i put ln pants one leg at a time. If you understand. Have Fun Travels.

rpsinc · June 28, 2023

I have read that Salvation Mountain has gotten a couple of offers to buy it. Since the originator died, it seems that it isnt getting the same maintenance work and that area of the SW is pretty downtrodden, but yes, depends what interests you. It is certainly a place where people live a different way.

Salton Sea seems to be getting some good things happening as mining for lithium batteries is gaining traction. It would be nice to get some $ into the area so they can improve it some. It is rather rural but not good that it is economically impoverished.

JimK · June 28, 2023

I would agree: it depends on how you look at life. You will find much worse in many of our inner cities. At least at Slab City there are lots of freedoms. People do as they chose with little or no police, regulations or government. The results are interesting and way better than you might expect.

JGWALES · June 29, 2023

54 minutes ago, rpsinc said:

I have read that Salvation Mountain has gotten a couple of offers to buy it. Since the originator died, it seems that it isnt getting the same maintenance work and that area of the SW is pretty downtrodden, but yes, depends what interests you. It is certainly a place where people live a different way.

Salton Sea seems to be getting some good things happening as mining for lithium batteries is gaining traction. It would be nice to get some $ into the area so they can improve it some. It is rather rural but not good that it is economically impoverished.

This year we spent about 45 minutes with the main guy there . He worked with the owner fir years before he died. They were dropping off about 60 buckets of paint. He mixes them to create colors close to what he needs. The structure is made of old tree branches and donated bales of hay. Some areas are closed as they are deteriorating. Mud and paint.over the hay. I was told the land on the whole place is owned by the state. There was one offer in the works to buy the whole place , but it fell thru. That would mean eviction and bulldozers. I just learned all this from the visit there. Very interesting

rpsinc · June 29, 2023

15 hours ago, JGWALES said:

This year we spent about 45 minutes with the main guy there . He worked with the owner fir years before he died. They were dropping off about 60 buckets of paint. He mixes them to create colors close to what he needs. The structure is made of old tree branches and donated bales of hay. Some areas are closed as they are deteriorating. Mud and paint.over the hay. I was told the land on the whole place is owned by the state. There was one offer in the works to buy the whole place , but it fell thru. That would mean eviction and bulldozers. I just learned all this from the visit there. Very interesting

Sounds like a sad ending to a very personal and impassioned project/lifes work perhaps motivation by an unfeeling bureaucracy driven by rules and laws. Thanks for the update. I should revisit it before it is gone.

spindrift · June 29, 2023

19 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

You can see almost the same thing at most truck stops. Wind pushing trash around, what's left of people after the military industrial complex gets done with them. Depressing as all get out. Used to be a thing, but after our visit 7 years ago, not interested in returning.

Well, I went to high school in a North Philly ghetto, thanks to my parents and the good Jesuits. And I've spent more than my fair share of time in truck stops. I imagine the folks who are living in Slab City have it all over the folks in either of the two places I mentioned. A daily life without the hand of government in your face. I could almost be convinced...

JimK · June 29, 2023

When I was there quite a few years ago, I did not see any trash blowing around. There was a lot of reused materials such as old bed frames being used as fences. Some of the broken down vehicles were way past their prime but most had been fixed up and liveable. Clearly many folks were getting by with minimal incomes. Lots of hard luck, bankrupt due to medical bills and I would also guess some folks who failed due to drug use.

If you want to see some even sadder stories take a look around the town of Niland and the adjacent towns. Lots more poverty and people trapped in life due to low, low agricultural wages and limited work opportunities. Or you could stop by the Salton Sea and see an area of liquid death and gross ugliness created by the ag industry and government regulations gone awry.