Hello, friends!! Yey, it's a whole new year. I got mine off to a good ol' surrealist start with a little sojourn down to the Salton Sea.
The Salton Sea is like a mirage come to life. The shimmering band of blue water just doesn't seem real against the rocky red desert hills.
This strange land is the victim of environmental tragedy, and after a vacation-oriented housing boom in the '50s and '60s, it slid into obsolescence. Today many abandoned homes and businesses line the shores of the toxic salt lake called the Salton Sea, giving us an eerie feeling. I'm intrigued by it despite that tragic element, though; it's such a thoroughly unusual place. It has true character and midcentury charm, albeit in a faded lonesome kind of way.
Even for an intrepid rural explorer like myself, though, it broke my heart; it's very sad and strange to see all these shuttered up vestiges of a more prosperous time! I do think it's important for Americans to see the Salton Sea, to see what our thoughtlessness can do (the Sea's environmental collapse in on account of messed up irrigation systems and fertilizer runoff; soon all that will be able to survive in its toxic waters are tilapia fish).
(More pictures after the jump )
Please note the unreal deep blue of that sky.
Inside "Market". I bought Tapatio Doritos and water, but they also sell everything from nail polish to telephone cords to big silver belt buckles.
Hey, have you ever seen an abandoned Chinese restaurant before?
How about a jail for sale?
My new residence:
Abandoned fire station.
Abandoned restaurant.
Abandoned house with sweet cupboards.
Oh, I'm sorry 'bout the phone pictures yet again. I am getting 2 rolls of film developed as we speak, though, including my high
desert adventure with none other than the famous Miss Crystal Lee!! Meeting her was such a blast! Plus stay tuned for Joshua Tree vistas, an abandoned Victorian train, some of my fave Palm Springs architecture, and more.
Now I hope you had
yourself a merry holiday time. My much lamented "snow-less Christmas"
actually wasn't half bad; it sure was nice to be out there
havin' fun in the warm California sun. I was also consoled by my
historical accuracy; they didn't have no snow down in Bethlehem ;)
Have a great weekend, all you truckers and kickers and cowboy angels!
There is something very lingeringly haunting about seeing a much of a modern(ish) looking North American community abandoned like that. We have some historical ghost towns up here in B.C., but I've never encountered anywhere with the same degree of forlorn, shuttered buildings as Salton. I suspect it would both sadden and inspire me if I paid it a visit.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
Gosh what an uncanny and eerie place. I agree with you, it's important that we be aware of the environmental destruction we bring to the planet, Salton is a melancholy example of what can happen.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful place, it's such a shame it's gone to ruin. You find the best ruins! Is that a pink trailer? omg you need that. Cannot wait to see pictures of you and Crystal, two awesome girls together. Have a fantastical weekend xxx
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, it looks like you explored the Salton Sea with much depth! I do love that pink vintage trailer! Have you seen the movie "Bombay Beach," which takes place on the Salton Sea? If not, it's a really beautiful film, and I highly recommend it. (It’s available on Netflix instant). I still have to complete my roll of film, which is why I haven’t posted about our swell adventures in the desert.
ReplyDeleteXOXO,
the famous Crystal Lee (perhaps I should always sign off with that epithet, he-he)
I actually just saw that Bombay Beach was on Netflix, right before I put this post up... as soon as I have some time I can't wait to watch it. There's also a doc narrated by John Waters on the Salton Sea I wanna watch!! Can't wait to see what you caught on film :)
DeleteYour photos always make me just want to pack up my life and move to America Dakota, though it's sad what's happened to this place. I can't help wondering why the tilapia fish can survive in it when nothing else can, they must be tough. xx
ReplyDeleteYes, the tilapia are apparently very hardy, and able to survive the extremely high salinity levels. Who knew!
DeleteI've always wanted to go there! Really neat pictures.
ReplyDeleteA few months back, I caught a documentary on TV about Salton. I had never heard of it before. Great pics.
ReplyDeleteI've given you a blogging award at my site. Check it out if you can. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, such haunting images. All the shuttered doors and spooky empty space. In spite of the desolation and possible health hazards, I also want to live in that pink trailer. Thanks for taking us along in pictures, I'd like to see that place in person some day! :)
ReplyDeleteI love your blog posts so much!
ReplyDeleteThe Jail for Sale is really interesting!!!! haha. I remember being intrigued by the Salton Sea when I watched the one Val Kilmer movie where he was there. It was a similar title to the name of the Sea, but I can't remember it right now.
ReplyDelete+Victoria+
Hello Dakota, I've been reading your blog for a little while and wanted to say how much I enjoy your photographs. I'd never heard of Salton Sea before - it looks very pretty but sad and strange and eery, like the Mary Celeste. I meant to comment on your Jon Langford post a while ago too as I really enjoyed it. If you don't already have it, his book called 'Nashville Radio' is really nice. Thanks for sharing your photos.
ReplyDeleteAww sweetpea! I am a Throw Rag fan and their words of the Salton Sea have always left me curious to go there! You are so cute in those landscapes! Oh, and you are a winner of my Miss Kitty Lavender doll! Do email me your postal address to zoe@zoewinters.net and I can get her all packed up ready for her travels to you! =^..^= Have a lovely night! Zoë xxx
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your pictures. I grew up the Valley, and always pass the Salton Sea on my way home. We used to stop there during trips to see family. I wonder if you are aware that the current sea is not really a natural body of water? It was formed in the early 1900's when the Colorado River flooded out of the irrigation system (broke through canals, dykes, etc.). There used to be salt mining in the area before it flooded. It's a shame that it's so polluted now. Abandoned businesses and houses aren't limited to the Salton Sea. It happens throughout the Valley, although it's spread over a wider area, and perhaps not as noticeable to people who aren't familiar with the area.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous! Yeah, we actually learned about the Salton Sea in one of my environmental science courses, which is how I first learned about it. But it seems like now, draining it could be dangerous 'cause of the alkaline dust...? Definitely a conundrum, eh. That's neat you grew up by it.
DeleteI know there are abandoned houses everywhere; we actually have a lot in my hometown, so many that I started a blog focusing entirely on them: http://among-souvenirs.blogspot.com/ However, I think the concentration of deserted businesses and homes by the Sea is unusual.
What an incredible place and so sad! There are definitely some lessons to be learnt in terms of our wasteful nature.
ReplyDeleteI think we are lucky in this country because we are so small there are rarely whole towns like this and the buildings eventually get used for something. I find it so facsinating, reading blogs like yours with all the beautiful abandoned places you find. I'm surprised that people don't go in and help themselves to all the beautiful funriture and kitchen fittings!
I would have to move into that Pink trailer! I So lovely. I'm glad you had yourself a lovely sunny Christmas. Can't wait to see more. xx
I'm just catching up on my blog reading after a long absence-- did you move out to California permanently? I used to live in L.A. (I went to USC) and we would drive up to Joshua Tree for camping trips. The stretch of tiny desert towns between L.A. and Palm Springs is one of the eeriest, saddest spots in the U.S. and it seems to be stuck in time somewhere in the 1950s. Sadly I never made it to the Salton Sea, it's definitely a spot I want to explore.
ReplyDeleteHi, I really enjoyed this! I lived at the Salton Sea in the 1960's when I was a kid. The contrast between my memories (and the black and white photos my mom took) and the condition of the place today is amazing and incredibly sad. We lived at Salton Sea Beach for a few years, then moved to Desert Shores until I was fourteen. The picture you have titled "abandoned restaurant" was actually Desert Shore's yacht club. It was a fairly typical mid century modern building, with a wall of windows overlooking the finger where the docks were. The land behind the fire station was one of the fingers--that's what they called those mini-peninsulas--that were lined with mobile homes. I visited about a year ago and found traces of places that were there in the sixties, including the sign for the Sans Souci bar with "Peyton Shores" beneath it, and remnants of the sign that marked Chuck Stearns' Ski School (World Champion skier who had his trailer kitty-corner from my house) and part of the fence my stepfather built that had surrounded the house where we lived. It was weird, seeing remnants from that era nearly obscured by the destruction that came later.
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you so much for this comment, Elaine!! It's so interesting to hear from someone who knew this place in its heyday! I know it's pretty far gone now, but I can't help dreaming of a Salton Sea renaissance; I wonder, if the salinity issues with the water were fixed, could it be "California's Riviera" again?? Even just seeing the shells of these buildings, I can tell it was such a cute, cheerful midcentury modern paradise once upon a time :(
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