Up early and hangover free made this rider easily road ready. I wanted to further explore Joshua Tree NP and then make my way to the Salton Sea. I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this diversion, but I was looking forward to seeing some different country and with that I was not disappointed. The ride took longer than I had expected,(the motto of this trip) as usual and I knew I’d have to cut some sightseeing short, if I wanted to try and make my goal of Parumph, NV, which I thought was probably a bit ambitious, but hey, it doesn’t hurt to try. I ended up lucky to make it back to 29 Palms, by dark let alone any farther. But let’s, not jump ahead.
In Joshua Tree National Park
The Cholla cactus garden
Riding ahead, I came across an area called the Fried Liver Wash (that totally cracked me up!) right before reaching the Cottonwood Springs. The springs are like an oasis in this desert country. You go off the main road about a mile and see these HUGE Mexican Fan Palms in the distance. The funny thing is unless you walk the three mile trail you don’t see any water but you see the result of what water does in the desert.
I didn’t take the time to walk the trail but got off a few shots of the palm growth before traveling on to the Salton Sea.
The most pervasive attribute of the Salton Sea other than size was the aroma of sea air and a lingering scent of slaughterhouse. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something both enticing and repugnant. The shores, lined with Pelicans and sea birds, strut and challenge one another for mere tidbits of tainted Tilapia. As the story goes, the sea gets agricultural run off containing fertilizer coupled with rising salinity in the sea that contaminates the fish, who are eaten by the birds, who get sick and lay dying along the shores. The result was a sea filled with dead or dying birds and smelly unsalvageable real estate. There is also the added complication of algea blooms with the rising salt content, making the water have less and less oxygen, and nearly impossible to sustain much sea life. The cycle began some years ago and without some drastic water in-water out, the problem continues to grow.
Salton Sea
So, what’s the attraction of the Salton Sea, you ask. Well, there is camping at “the Slabs” and Salvation Mountain as well as many colorful characters.
My first stop was Bombay Beach.
The town is surrounded by a sea wall like a balustrade making it difficult or even impossible in a ground level structure to see over it. Basically, the entire place is a place that time forgot, with some pristine structures but most looking like broken dreams. With the rising and falling sea water, the wall was necessary with much outside the wall buried in mud. I rode around the outskirts and took a few interior streets, but mostly felt like a “fish out of water” in this environment and given the stares I was getting, felt a bit less than welcome, but that just could have been my own eerie feeling.
The best I can show you is an amazing shot belonging to SD Young, from his Blog
Onward to Niland and Salvation Mountain
I guess I should have stopped here as one never knows about the “youthful” benefits of this area…
Mud and heat
Downtown Niland
Salvation Mountain is crazy. The result of one man, Leonard Knight’s calling to spread the message that God is Love. He began this project 23 years ago after the dream of making a helium balloon to spread the word, failed. He then began building his “mountain” from straw, cement, sand and adobe and layer after layer of paint. He is a gem of a man, one of whom I had the pleasure of meeting as he took me on one of his tours. He expects nothing, wants only to spread the word, show you his mountain with all it’s eccentricities and charm. He greets his visitors with a smile and a handshake and shows as many people as he can, around the place which can’t be easy for the 73 year old. He is humble and kind and doesn’t preach. I believe his mountain speaks for him.
After about a 30 minute chat, he send me over the yellow brick road of the mountain and gave me a delightful picture puzzle of a photograph someone had taken of the mountain and made into jigsaw puzzles. He also gave me a DVD of his story.
I, being one of the most cynical people I know, was enchanted. The mountain moved me.
Leonard Knight inside his creation
This area is still being constructed
The Yellow Brick Road
The top of the Mountain
The mountain skirts the border of “the slabs” a deserted military base which many people now call home. Camping is free and limitless. The place is all dirt, without water or electricity, except for the hum of generators. There are not only camping/living areas but an exchange library, several clubs, and a place to hang out and meet the locals, grab a cup of coffee or share a nip.
“The slabs” is truly unlike any place I have ever been.
This is what was encountered on each beach entrance
On the North Shore, some work was being done to this place. It lent an element of hope to the sea.
As usual, time had slipped away and I knew that with luck I could make it back through the park by dark. Luck and a 20 mph breach in the speed limit of the park got me back by nightfall. Phew. I had no interest in encountering more wild nightlife. I grabbed a salad at the local market and yet another motel room. I opened a boxed wine and called it a night.