100 Days Roadtrip: leaving the slabs and meeting the border patrol

monday, november 9, 2009

woke real early this morning and watched the sunrise on the desert. justin was up making coffee, so we had a cup and sat and talked awhile before julia and i left. justin has been living on the slabs for a couple of years and likes it just fine, even with 125 degrees in the summer. he is happy to talk about life there, and proud of the slab’s library, the oasis club (where you can get a free hot meal a few times a week and hot coffee every morning) and the camp where one can buy cigarettes for $3 a pack. he told me that the stories about the marine base are a cover up for the fact that “camp dunlap” was really a japanese concentration camp. he has it on good authority as he knows people who know the truth. interesting, yep.

julia and i cleaned out the vibe, repacked it and said our goodbyes. if i am ever in the slabs again, i know a good, fun, safe place to spend the night. justin is a generous guy and a sweetheart. and his dog, squirrel, is awesome!

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we stopped by the cigarette camp and got a few packs on our way out, then it was north and east and outta california…then we met the border patrol! it’s crazy! not on the border (we did NOT go to mexico, i swear) but prolly 10 miles north of niland is a border patrol inspection checkpoint. they stopped us, asked us where we were from, were we u.s. citizens, what were we doing so far from home, then told us to drive safely and have a nice trip. it was really weird and random, but whatever it takes to keep the borders safe – even 40 miles north of them.

we stopped at the salton sea, just to see. the salton sea was created when the colorado river overflowed into a valley a long time ago. it is saltier than the pacific ocean and a wintering place for many sea birds. because of the drought southern california has seen over the past several years, it is evaporating and becoming even saltier. in addition, agricultural runoff from the local big business farms has added in huge fish die offs. i have to say it was pretty gross, and smelled oh so bad: