Bombay Beach - Salton Sea

Patrick decided on an impromptu Sunday road trip a couple weekends ago that took us to the Salton Sea in El Centro, CA. About 2.5 hours drive away - I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't even ever heard of it. He was wanting to go since he is a member of flikr.com (a photography website for pros and amateurs) and he had perused some great photos from this place.

At 376 square miles, it's the largest (and most polluted) body of water in California, a major bird refuge, but it's rarely visited or discussed except for it's evidently being a strange magnet for photographers (3 different sets of cars came out just while we were there!) The sea was created in 1905 when an accidental diversion of the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona flooded the Salton Basin.

Because the artificial inland sea had no natural stock of fish, man stocked it where, at first, they thrived: making the sea a draw for fishermen. In the 1950s, much of the land around it was purchased by real estate investors, who developed motels, marinas and RV parks along the beach. It become known as California's sunny inland "Riviera". Evidently, you can find postcards of people sailing, fishing and playing in the water in resort towns like Mecca, Salton City and Bombay Beach.

Over time, however, agricultural pollutants, evaporation and toxins caused huge fish and bird die-offs -- as many as 640 dead birds a day. It now stinks of rotting fish and fertilizer, and as we walked along the shore at Bombay Beach, it only took a moment to realize that the sand isn't sand at all, but millions of vertebrae, ribs and the occasional whole, dried, dead fish. Yikes.

Not unsurprisingly all the surrounding towns went bankrupt. The motels and marinas were abandoned, and all that's left of Bombay Beach is a scattered community of trailer homes, shacks with broken windows that nevertheless look like they might be occupied, and an abandoned block of houses and trailers that flooded many years ago. It is a virtual ghost town in the middle of nowhere. "Perfect for a David Lynch film," keenly observed Patrick.

There was even a quaint run-down bar which we walked into thirsty as hell after wandering around sight-seeing and taking pictures in the dry heat. It was just perfect. After stepping over a huge-headed but docile Pit Bull who lay panting in the shade of the open doorway, we entered and saw there was an old lady tending bar with a large fan directed so that it blew towards her. The place could have held probably about 50-60 customers but there was only 3 old men - obvious regulars from the trailer park just steps away - seated at the bar. P and I nodded our heads, "Hello" to them all and took our place at the bar. This place was the only sign of life that we had seen since arriving (besides the other photographers who stopped by only momentarily). Patrick ordered a cold Bud Light which he said was the 'best cold Bud he'd ever had' after walking around in that heat. We listened to the conversation between the town folk and the barlady - it was just so slow, old-fashioned and surreal. Very, very cool.

Driving to Imperial County to visit a stinky lake and abdonded buildings in blazing heat is definitely not just anyones cup of tea. That said, I later told Patrick that was one my favorite days I'd ever had the pleasure to spend with him. :)

Simple pleasures ya'll..simple pleasures.

Bombay Beach

Click on slideshow above!