The Salton Sea Revisited

Every now and then I visit a place that stays with me enough that I feel the need to explore it again.  This was the case of the Salton Sea.  I've always wanted to go to this "sea" in the middle of the desert but didn't really have a reason to.  It's out in the middle of nowhere, but has a rich history that you wouldn't know about unless you sought it out.

It's beautiful and a bit sad at the same time.  Bombay Beach is one of my favorite places since it looks like it stands in time.  There are wrecked buildings everywhere that stay put from where they were built, old chairs, computers, water towers...all in their place among the wreckage.

Nearby is a town called Nyland where you can find Salvation Mountain and Slab City.  Slab City is a not really a city at all but a small community of drifters living on the land together.  I would describe it as a mini burning man that stays there year round.

I loved it.

If you are thinking about touring a place that you won't soon forget, visit the Salton Sea.  You can see more pictures from my visit HERE.

Days of Summer

Summer is just around the corner!  I can feel the days getting longer and the air getting warmer.  Well, not so much this weekend but soon.  I headed down the coast yesterday and drove mostly in the rain.  I captured this moment with two girls playing on the beach and in the water by themselves while their grandmother was huddled on the beach in layers.

These pictures just remind me of summer as a child.  So innocent and carefree

Day Trip: The Salton Sea

Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. – Elliott Erwit

I decided it was time to leave the nest and go on a day trip with Max and my camera in tow to take pictures of things I thought were interesting.  
I have always wanted to visit the Salton Sea so I took the opportunity to go out and take a tour. Since it's on my goal list, I also get to check another activity off.

The Salton Sea, located in the southeastern corner of California, is actually a lake which occupies a desert basin known as the Salton Sink. This body of water covers a surface area of 376 square miles, making it larger than Lake Tahoe and Mono Lake.  In fact, the Salton Sea is the largest lake in California.  The Sea’s current elevation is about 227 feet below mean sea level, its maximum depth reaches 51 feet and its total volume is about 7.5 million acre-feet.

Besides the actual body of water, it is a pretty interesting place.  I drove around the the entire "sea" and took side tours of the neighborhoods surrounding this body of water, including the State park area and campsites along the shore.  


My favorite part of the surrounding areas were all of the old, broken down cars, trailers and homes in each neighborhood.  There are people living here so I didn't want to be obvious when taking pictures of their broken down things and at times, I wasn't sure if there were people still living in the trailers or homes I came across.  Maybe it was the excitement of the unknown that drew me in.  I found one house that was destroyed but had all the evidence of the "comfort" of home including a television, sofa, skylights, fireplace, and a random bowling pin and many other "treasures" to be found. Max and I took our picture in that fantastic dream home of the moment.


Since the salt content of the sea is rising, you will find a lot of dead fish on the shore along with a distinctive smell.  I enjoyed watching all of the birds as you can imagine.


At one point, I was taking pictures of what seemed to be a shallow mud pit until I got closer and my leg sank about 2 feet in the mud with my flip flops on.  Good thing my car is still packed with camping gear and clothes!  I found another pair of sandals to slip on and the rest of the day I had a mud mask on my feet.  


I was surprised to find that not many people living in Southern California know about the Salton Sea.  I am glad that I took the opportunity to tour it.  It's worth a trip for a day.  On to the next adventure...

For more images of this interesting place, click HERE

To learn more about the Salton Sea, he's a video of Anthony Bourdain touring the area in the exact same spot as I did.  I didn't know it at the time until a friend shared this link.  It's quite informative as well.  Click HERE to see the clip.