Abandoned trailer, Salton Sea, California.
I started talking to an old timer who was walking his dog through this abandoned waterfront trailer park – he explained that back in the day, you couldn’t find a spot in the campground without an advanced reservation. Today, there are just empty spots along with this trailer which he tells me “druggies” removed all the good stuff. He also said that from the 50′s through the 70′s Salton Sea received more visitors then even Yosemite! I found the same stat on the Internet, I don’t know if it is really true, but sounds possible. Supposedly movie stars hung out at the yacht club and and the fancy hotels. Today, there vacant, dilapidated buildings and empty roads, it is really eerie just how far this area has fallen.
I converted this to black and white, I thought it better reflected the mood on the area.
In addition, after upgrading to the latest version of my blog software WordPress, it seems my blogs feeds stopped being sent as emails or RSS. I think I have now fixed it, we will find out with this one. If you want to see what you might have missed, take a peak at: my photo blog website.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Maybe they were “druggies,” but we prefer to call them “recyclers”.
LOL
Depressing place for sure! Did you see bullet holes in the trailer?
I didn’t look that close – there probably were. I know I was glad to have my can of bear spray in the truck just in case!
Ron
Yes, depressing. I remember going camping at the Salton Sea in the late 60′s and early 70′s and it was jam packed with people, boats, fishing, water skiing, and the like. Such a shame.
I agree, it is really a shame.
Sad, but it makes for interesting photography
It’s true about the visitors, Ron. My Mom & Dad loved to take us driving all over the place on the weekends. The Salton Sea, Slab City area was one of my favorite places to go. And it was always changing! It probably still changes every year.
It will be interesting to see what happens to this area over the next 20 years because it sure is changing!
Thanks Beth,
Ron
Yeah, that will be interesting to see. If the economy doesn’t improve, we may all have to move into that trailer! LOL!
My wife and I spent a week birding Salton Sea last winter. The way the birds have hung on is impressive. But the place is a man-made, smelly, poisonous hole, even so. The combination of fresh water intercepts and insecticide/fertilizer runoff have created a toxic mess. The stench is pretty bad, eye-watering at times. And the community of Calipatria is one of the saddest places I have ever seen.
Hi Jim,
It is a great place for birds, but otherwise, your description is very fitting!
It was probably nice to get a bit of a break from the Fairbanks winter.
Ron