Salvation Mountain in The Slabs–
Located within the confines of “The Slabs” near Slab City is Salvation Mountain. With its close proximity to L.A., there were quite a few day-trip tourists visiting Salvation Mountain when we were there. This is a very interesting folk art installation. It is about three stories tall and about 100 feet wide with various painted vehicles nearby all done by the self-taught artist Leonard Knight over many years. It is an unusual local attraction and has become part of the culture of the area just as ”Watts Towers” in L.A. is a part of the culture there. Exposed to the elements as Salvation Mountain is however, there are severe preservation challenges. Sadly, between the elements, vandals, etc. this work may be more ephemeral than any of us want it to be so we recommend that if you want to see it in its present condition, you should try to do so fairly soon. Quite a lot of work goes into trying to preserve it and we have read that there are numerous volunteers working on a rotating basis to maintain it.
The Slabs/Slab City–
Ah, The Slabs. We’ve heard so much about this area near Salton Sea in the poorest county in California near the very tired appearing, small town of Niland. Have been looking forward to visiting this area for some time. The Slabs was always on our list of “must see”. We’ve seen lots of pictures of this area, but still, being here is quite “AMAZING” as Huell Houser (RIP) of PBS’s TV program, ‘California Gold’ would say. We’ve heard that The Slabs are indescribable, a place that needs to be experienced and that assessment seems accurate. Slab City: a
desert enclave hardly describes this fairly large, squatters’ derelict community of a few dirt roads dotted by mostly dilapidated structures surrounded by some large swaths of open desert land giving it a bit of a third world feel. The approximately 600,000 acres (now owned by California) are the leavings of a WWll dismantled military base. When the base was dismantled, all was removed except the cement slabs that served as the marine barracks’ foundations. Thus the name, The Slabs. GPS location–
N 33° 15′ 32″ W 115° 27′ 59″ or just put the town of Niland, Ca into the GPS.
The area is populated by a variety of people; the mental health challenged, the down-on-their-luck folks, fugitives of all stripes trying to distance themselves from society, ”Snowbirders” (boondocking campers from colder climes) looking for a free place in the desert to winter usually in their RV, and various others. There’s plenty of room to boondock here and the price of free is always welcome.
There’s no electricity, no water, no trash pick-up, no sewer system, no houses, no services and a marked feeling of lawlessness about The Slabs. There’s a lot of trash along the dirt roads and around many of the makeshift structures though some of the “residents” say they are trying to dissuade people from dumping trash at The Slabs now. The nearest services (a small grocery store, post office, etc.) are about five miles away in the town of Niland which benefits financially from all the RVers that boondock at The Slabs. The wintertime sees The Slabs population grow to as many as perhaps a few thousand and it drops into the hundreds in the summer heat. The folks that populate this area year round have established a community of sorts with a makeshift outdoor theatre, an informal community gathering place called the Oasis Club, etc.
We spent only a short time in The Slabs as the reputation and pervasive feeling of lawlessness in The Slabs was somewhat disquieting for us though it didn’t seem to bother other folks staying here.
