Socal guys..ever visit the Salton sea?

[vash]

i kinda want to check it out.

anyone live there? what's the story?

next time i roadtrip to texas, i might take a detour and take a look..

is there a ghost-town there with a few living hold-outs?

[Rick Lee]

Subscribing.

I ride by it on every trip to LA and look over my shoulder to see it just south of the 10, coming down the hill into Coachella. I have heard a lot of sad stories about that place and have been tempted to take a detour to explore.

[vash]

you can see it from I-10?..

dang, i need to check it out.

[Seahawk]

I drove the eastern shore two years ago.

I was in 29 Palms for a site survey and had the day to get to Yuma to do another site survey.

I went south on 86 and then left on rte 111.

At Brawley I took route 78 east then County Hwy S34 (Ogilby Road) south back to 8.

This was in late September. The roads were empty and to my mind, great. I was solo on this trip and loved stopping and getting out. I also too some detours off the pavement.

The Salton Sea, at least on the side I drove, pretty shopworn. I enjoyed the drive, however.

I would tell you about some of my H-60 antics over the SS in the 80's, but I be forced to erase you memory.

[TRE Cup]

"is there a ghost-town there with a few living hold-outs?"

yep- u nailed it. late 50's-60's style ghost town. The local water district (agriculture) has cut off most of the fresh water that used to flow into it, and the alkalinity is off the chart. Hard to believe fish can survive there. There was a push by a real estate developer in the 70's and it was going to be the next Lake Havasu resort in his dreams, but it all fell apart. The place stinks from the chemicals and rotting vegetation that scrabbles for life.
Go thru Joshua Tree national monument: That is a very worthwhile tour. Start from either end, and go all the way through. The change in cactus varieties is amazing with changes in elevation and environment (yeah- i guess cacti know the difference between really hot and blazing hot ;-) )
Take the turn off to Keys lookout- the view of the valley is impressive

[McLovin]

I hear they have good boating there. Don't forget to bring your jaunty sailor's cap!

[Gogar]

This is a pretty good short film about it.

[Dottore]

Subscribed

[ckissick]

Great video. I went there years ago with a friend. We sat on a low bluff overlooking an eroded, abandoned parking lot and a beach that was hidden under thousands of fish corpses. We drank beer and played guitar as the sun set behind us in 100-degree heat. Not the most beautiful place I've been, but one of the most memorable.

As the video makes clear, it's worth a visit just to see what a post-apocalyptic world looks like.

[mjohnson]

We're doing a San Diego - Palm Springs - Las Vegas trip in October. Most definitely hitting the Salton Sea.

Here's a question: What'd be the most interesting route from La Jolla to the Salton Sea? The only thing I know of that area is the San Diego Convention Center...

[vash]

looks like a great spot to do some photography.

long exposure, night shots would be amazing.. that "hills has eyes" painted on the wall, makes me want to pack something along.

i'm gonna check this. i was just camping at joshua tree awhile back with a buddy pelican. had no clue we were that close. damn.

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

We're doing a San Diego - Palm Springs - Las Vegas trip in October. Most definitely hitting the Salton Sea.

Here's a question: What'd be the most interesting route from La Jolla to the Salton Sea? The only thing I know of that area is the San Diego Convention Center...

I would take highway 8 to 79, then turn north to Julian. Then go east on 78.

[McLovin]

Interesting video.

I'd never heard much about Salton Sea, so I looked it up a bit.

What's odd is that video makes it seem like the whole Salton Sea is a ghost town, but it seems like there is still a good deal of life and activity on it.

Salton Sea - Guide to Visiting California Salton Sea

[gtc]

I drove through on a road trip a few years back. It's an interesting place, and worth a visit. We stopped at a park (I think it may have been the wildlife reserve on the south end, but I'm not positive) which had a decent nature trail that explained the ecology pretty well.

[nostatic]

I believe there were (are?) issues with meth labs - it is somewhat endemic in the desert east of LA and San Diego.

Certainly worth a trip on 78 east of Brawley to Glamis to check out the dunes (though not in the summer - it is brutal). Parts of Return of the Jedi and other films were shot there:

Algodones Dunes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Ronbo]

There is a full length documentary on the Salton Sea that I saw on the Sundance Channel a few years ago. It dealt primarily with the people who are still living there and their possible future. It was fascinating.

[R K T]

We lived in Indio for 18 months about 5 years ago. Indio is a few miles from SS. Close enough to smell when the fish die and they can die by the millions. Mostly Tilapia, then they wash up on the shore and are left for a few days before the county gets around to cleaning the mess up. When it's 110+ degrees it doesn't take long for the rotting to begin. The smell was unbelievable.

[love911]

Originally Posted by Ronbo

There is a full length documentary on the Salton Sea that I saw on the Sundance Channel a few years ago. It dealt primarily with the people who are still living there and their possible future. It was fascinating.

The title of the documentary is Bombay Beach([url]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1758576/).I've seen it and it's very depressing to watch,but eye opening nevertheless.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by R K T

The smell was unbelievable.

Like the terminal island canneries back in the 70's?

The place is kinda cool in a funky, weird, surreal, way... like death vally.

I remember camping there as a kid, before things got real bad, haven't been back since.

[CurtEgerer]

There's quite a history of boat racing on the Salton Sea (even recently). The extremely high salinity of the water apparently makes it "the fastest water on earth".

Several years ago, I read a Mario Andretti biography and he talked about many of the Indy drivers of the day (1960/70s) racing boats there - probably part of the Salton City 500, but not sure. Maybe Dave B. knows more about this.

Here's an article from Sports Illustrated that talks about Mickey Thompson, Chuck Daigh, and even Astronaut Gordon Cooper racing at the 500.

Desert Full of Motorboats 1964