what about the Salton Sea

[groenfontein]

does anyone have any info on traveling/squatting the various towns around the Salton Sea of Southern Cal? most people i ask have no idea what i'm talking about..my hopes are there is some savy SoCal that can offer some insight..peace

 

[Shoestring]

Salton Sea area?
There are several itsy-bitsy communities on its shores, but being that it lies over 200 feet below sea-level makes it the third hottest place in North America and almost non-stop windy too! (Hard to keep your tarps anchored in this type climate)!
When/if you have ever ridden from Colton Yards east toward Yuma or Yuma to Colton, you pass on its shores as well. Quite by mistake the Salton Sea became what it is today being that the irrigation canal dikes that were built for watering crops long ago ruptured and flooded this area in, I believe like 1900 or 1910 and the Salton Sea was born!
It is very, very hot in the summer, very hot in the fall, very hot in the spring and very, very warm in the winter here, not to mention almost as dry as a raisin fart!
You could do it if you were wanting to badly enough I guess, but the wind, heat and loneliness would become a real issue here.
PS......The haze and smog are terrible here as well as no telling what types of pollution that eek their way into the water of this sea. Also remember with the constant wind blowing, salt particles are always going to be everywhere and on everything you own! (Makes your radio or IPod work really nice, haha)!
There are boaters/skiers along its shores too and most populated areas will be tourists. The water of the Salton Sea is saltier than normal ocean water, but not as salty as the Great Salt Lake in Utah. (I forgot exactly what its ratio of salt to water is/was, it really does not matter being that every year it gets saltier like by 1% I believe)!
Good luck if you plan a squat try-out here anyway!

 

[Dmac]

the slabs are in that area! if ya look at an atlas, find niland, calif. between that and the sea there is an olf army/air force base. many persons live there year round. no rent. ya have to go into town for water and stuff, but they are very accomidating to travelers. check out slab city on google or google earth.
luck to you traveler!
shoestring is right, the irrigation dykes broke and flooded the area. it has no lettoff, drainage, so it just gets saltier and saltier. much like the great salt lake. both stink of dead fish, really they smell bad!

 

[groenfontein]

thanks...yea i heard it was a real eerie place with colorful locals. no way i would ever take a dip into sea. thanks again

 

[bote]

Salton city has a skateable pool behind the hotel (abandoned) if you're into that. Most of the towns are small and very quiet, with nothing but trouble to offer an outsider. The Slabs are cool, but the Salton sea area is generally inhospitable to travellers, combination of dangerous weather and unfriendly locals (lot of tweakers, rednecks, mexican mafia...).
I do love the mojave, just try to keep out of the towns.

 

[Angela]

thanks...yea i heard it was a real eerie place with colorful locals. no way i would ever take a dip into sea. thanks again

I've been through there before but never stayed too long. Colorful locals are definitely plentiful as well as lots of colorful travelers and the snow birds. Slab City is an ok place to stay in the winter but I sure can't figure out how people live there year round. Unless you've got a vehicle or something to secure your gear in don't let it out of your sight for a second. It's definitely a place though that I recommend to folks to at least go see if they've never been before. The pictures you can find on the internet really don't capture it well since most of the tourists seem to mostly take pictures of a really bizarre monument there called Salvation Mountain.

 

[muppet]

i stayed in thermal and indio for a minute. bleh. high desert is more my thing.