Deadland
The Salton Sea has been calling to me for years. My friend Joe Nichols had taught elementary school down there and had described the strange, hot, brutal countryside.
Even though Joe was long gone (he moved to the East Coast before he died) I wanted to visit to see where he had lived and to see the Sea. I didn’t want to go during the hot part of the year, and the hot part lasts about 9 months per year, so I kept missing my window, year after year.
Some background: the Salton Sea is California’s largest lake, and it is dying. Created by mistake, it was doomed from almost the beginning. An extreme rate of evaporation combined with industrial agriculture on its shores have left the formerly great lake a saline, shrinking, toxic pond.
The shores of the lake are dotted by failed housing developments (“Lots $4995” read signs), closed businesses and graffitied-over abandoned homes. The roads are so cracked and buckled by extreme heat and neglect that there are moguls, and driving Gladis felt like riding a particularly high-strung dolphin.
And yet the lake is beautiful, rimmed in the distance by desert mountains. The winter clouds pour across the lake in dramatic bands creating ripples of light and shadow. At sunrise and sunset, the mountains are aflame with reds, orange and pinks right up until the point where darkness falls.
People still hang on here. They have to. For some, this was where their single-wide vacation mobile home was, and they ran out of other options. They build structures over the roofs of their metal homes to try to survive the long summers.
Other people are farm workers, braving temperatures of up to 120 degrees to bring us food year-round.
These are the people whose children and grandchildren Joe served as a teacher. He didn’t start teaching until he was in his 40s. He admitted that there were many nights where he laid on the floor drinking ice water, drained from facing the challenges of being a beginning teacher in a blistering climate.
“But the kids are so great,” he said. “I feel like I have to stay here for them.”
I thought of Joe as I drove around and slept on the shores of the Salton Sea. The wind blew hard and the air was tinged with something sharp and metallic. I had never been somewhere so strangely beautiful. I can’t stop thinking about it.
Joe is gone and soon the lake will be gone, too. I wonder who will teach the children then.
This was on the shore of the lake. Now it is about half a mile away because the lake has shrunk.
Trackbacks
- Deadland — Suebob’s Red Stapler – Site Title
- Deadland — Suebob’s Red Stapler – Chat Top
- Mes Amis – DANS LA TOURMENTE …
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Suebob's Red Stapler 
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Thank you! I try to update it every ten years or so.
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Love it
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Please help me new user ❤️
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This place looks hauntingly beautiful…
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Yes, it is. I could have spent weeks photographing it. It shows such devastation amid such beauty.
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The link didn’t work for me but I did search for and find your blog. Keep writing!
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Beautiful description of the place Michelle. Read it slowly so that i can take a ride in my mind. Felt it. Looks mythical and beautiful.
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Thank you. I will be out on the road again soon, headed for the Arizona and New Mexico deserts. Please follow along!
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Nice work!👏
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Thank you!
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A place I have always wanted to visit. Thank you for sharing.
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If you can, you should. It took me years to get there and I still can’t quite believe it. It is one of the strangest places I have ever been.
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and actually a place i could see myself living
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If you like solitude, it is a great place. There isn’t much infrastructure – the grocery stores I saw were more like convenience stores, and the cell service was spotty. But it is very inexpensive for California.
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As long as I have one or two people to do things with, I could be very happy in an isolated area.
And I especially love heat. To me, there is nothing better than walk outside and start sweating temps… but I am a little strange like that lol
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You would like it. For 7 months per year, the average high temp is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32C).
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Beautiful mother nature.save the sea
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That’s exactly how I felt – how could California let our largest lake die? But it was a mistake of nature and is so shallow it will probably never be healthy. So I’m torn about this.
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Awesome one. See my content also
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Thank you!
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For a long time now I thought of visiting before nature reverts the lake back to desert. Glad to read your post and see it through your eyes.
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It is worth a visit. It isn’t too far from Palm Springs or a side trip if you are lucky enough to go to Coachella.
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Love your pictures thank you
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Thank you. These were all shot on my trusty Samsung S7.
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👍👍👍… awesome post because of the adventurous emotions it generates while reading downwards
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Thanks. I am hoping to take my readers on many more adventures with me!
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You’re on WordPress’ Discover blog!!! Yay!
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Thank you for telling me. I was wondering what happened!
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There is something so prehistoric about the deserts in California. I’ve driven out from LA to Palm Springs a few times and I’m always a bit awestruck at the stark beauty of it all.
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Yes, especially compared to the density of the greater LA area…you just suddenly run out of people. Winter is a great time to visit, with the drama of the clouds and the colorful sunrises and sunsets.
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Do you have a link?
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Hello,
A few years back Public Broadcasting, either Frontline or Independent Lens, did a fascinating story about this place. When I get the chance i am going to try to get there.
Thanks for sharing,
Harry
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I would urge you to visit! Especially while it is cooler. It is brutally hot 8 months out of the year.
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I visited the Salton Sea years ago. I’ve been looking for a reason to go back. Perhaps, this is it.
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I would love to know how much it has changed. A friend told me he used to vacation there often. Now that is hard to believe.
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Still good to see that
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Thank you>
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Thank you so much!
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Interesting read about an interesting place. Anthony Bourdain paid a visit to Bombay Beach at Salton Sea in No Reservations.
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Now I have to look up that episode. I interviewed him one time- he was so great.
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Ok
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Ok!
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Great
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Beautiful
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Thank you!
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The Earth is full of places to see really. That’s why we need to get out of the lanes of hot tourism spots and see the hidden treasures regularly.
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Yes, I tend to fall in love with everywhere I go.
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hi
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Hi back!
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how are you?
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Nice
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Informative
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Thank you!
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Thank you so much.
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Reading your blog brought me into Salton Lake. I’m afraid that place will just be the same here in Philippines because of pollution but our President currently started cleaning the major lakes around Manila.
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That is good to know. Maybe California can follow your lead.
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Photography superb….
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Thank you! I use my Samsung S7 for my photos.
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Amazing! Post! Check mine if you like so.
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Ok!
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wow nice wapsite…..
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I believe each individual starts somewhere…It really improve and inspire alot to do more out of myself nor through divine order…wow wordEXpress my felling oui oui
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Thank you!
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This was beautiful. I look forward to reading more from you.
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Love the way you worded this 😍
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You have one fact incorrect, and missed other vital ones. The hot part of the year is not 9 months, it’s about 4. You missed the fact that once the lake dries up, it will potentially contaminate the best winter farmland in the country. So say goodbye to winter vegetables, or at least the ones you can afford. You also only showed the dying parts of the community, not any of the new buildings and houses that were built in Salton City in the last 10 years. You didn’t notice that because of the salt content and the elevation, this is the fastest water in the world. You put up a photo of Johnson’s Landing when it was closed. You should see it when we have the 4th of July fireworks and half the town is there. You never kayaked on the sea, or fished there it seems. You have missed so much.
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There are 7 months where the average high is over 90 degrees, so I’ll split that with you. To me, that is hot. I stayed at Johnson’s Landing and it was very much open. I didn’t have time to kayak and I don’t fish, but if I go back, maybe I will. Thanks for commenting.
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Thank you so much!
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I had no idea some residents still hung on. It looks like quite a challenge.
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Yes, there are quite a few people, but scattered over a lot of territory.
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I have heard of this place. Your description is lovely and the photos are amazing. Great stuff!
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Thank you. I plan to do a lot more traveling.
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Thank you. I love traveling and plan to do a lot more.
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Beautiful.. I’d love to visit someday. The first picture was so eerie
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It is well worth the trip. Take your camera. It’s also a good place for meditation. Someone recommended kayaking, which would also be so nice because there aren’t many people out on the water.
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Wonderful !
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Thank you so much.
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One of those places at the top of my bucket list! It looks so amazing…
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One of those places at the top of my bucket list! It looks so amazing…
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It really is. The light is magical.
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Captivating story. If only the winds could tell more of the past. Makes me feel like a perfect place to go and fall of the grid. I wish it went on longer. Thanks.
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Thank you. My post on Salvation in the Desert talks about Slab City, where you really CAN fall off the grid. A lot of people do.
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Truely magical😉
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Thank you.
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Beautiful
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Thank you!
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Beautiful tragedy. Thank you for sharing.
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wow.cool!
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I love your vivid descriptions of this place. Your pictures are beautiful!
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Thank you so much! I love to travel and explore.
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This is the first time I hear about it, great information and nicely described😊
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Thank you. The world is full of wonder.
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Love the shots of the blue sky, the air must be really clean. I really like the mobile vacation home decorated with graffiti .
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Ironically, the air is not clean. The soil is contaminated and the strong winds kick up dust, so many people in the area experience asthma and other breathing problems. But the desert light makes the sky so beautiful.
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Nice article, From World Eye Watch
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Thank you! I appreciate the compliment.
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I like picture
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Loved it!
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thank you
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