MAGIC MOUNTAIN AND TRAILER PARK ART ( PART 2 )

Around the corner was the outskirts of  Slab City . Isolated trailers some with flags , all far apart from each other. Here was the last bastion of freedom no stinkin rent no stinking taxes no stinkin bylaws....and Yikes no running water or electricity.We started to
explore

                              NICE SHOE TREE
                                                           

 

                                       We noticed a cross on a marker
and pulled into a cul de sac to discover The slab city pet cemetery.
The marker reads : Here lies Shep the best dog in the world" We noticed some other grave sites which looked very big for pets. 






                                                                                   
 We  had  heard about the Range a nite spot for 
 musicians to come out and stuff.their stuff             comfy seats

No trailer park critters to be seen yet. ( 2 legged ones ) Nicole cautioned me to be aware of the camp dogs

The Oasis Club was the camp internet cafe.We decided to check it out Certainly we would run into some locals here. Down the road a woman was walking towards us. she was having a conversation with herself. I wanted to get a picture .No better not.
Inside the Oasis we finally met our first person . " Can we get a tea or coffee here ' I asked. " Yeah theres tea here' she responded. This babe was very mellow  She was a"Newbie" here .Another local came in and started talking to her. We scoped the place out. Self serve coffee and tea All included in a monthly club membership of 5 bucks or something. Two notices on the bulletin board read "counseling $1500 per hour" and "sheets of toilet paper $5 each;
Nicole asked me what that was all about. My take.. "Don't tell me your fucking problems and bring your own asswipe"  

 Another entertainment spot
Too bad we wouldn't be around when the sun goes down.

I love the idea of  a free place where you can park a trailer throw up a  shack start your own business and be Mayor of your own damn town. I said I love the IDEA
Were outa here , the swimming pools and palm trees are calling for us.

MAGIC MOUTAIN AND TRAILER PARK ART

The last day of Nicoles visit and it was time for Slab City. Cuda bailed on this outing opting for the safety of Shadow Hills RV Park and a clean bathroom. Stay at home and play with your cat little girl me and Nicole will take on this one. Our route to the infamous lair of trailer park critters  took us south along the Salton Sea scenic drive a great road to put the petal to the metal. I floored it and watched the speedometer on my f-350 quickly jump to 160km before easing off I'am sure this puppy would have done 200. We had decided to explore any places of interest on our way down and our first stop was a lovely little  community called Bombay Beach a little waterfront community of shacks and scary trailers. Where were all the people?  Not sunbathing on the Salton Sea shore ( Bad  smelly beach lots of dead tilapia fish ) We felt like we were in a ghost town  .We started to drive up and down the empty streets  WTF IS EVERYBODY?

It quickly became evident that that Bombay Beach had seen better days and that much badness had happened here.We continued our tour looking for signs of life. There were vehicles parked at different spots but no inhabitants.
Maybe  everyone was working a shift at the community meth lab.

Nicole refused to get out of the truck

                                                  No golden Arches

SATAN LIVES HERE

  It was time  to go

After going through a trashy little town of old buildings and yes
more trailers we started our final approach to to Salvation Moutain
and Slab city.......Up ahead .....there it was Hallelujah!

A painted mountain of madness greeted us as we lept out of  the truck to experience this landmark
of American folk art . It was time to cleanse our souls from the decadent life we had been pursuing in the evil valley of the Desert Cities.

 TOO MUCH HAS GONE ON

FOR TOO LONG

Some deranged denizen from slab city labored 28 years to put this 
circus together

We heard he's in a nursing home now

HOW ABOUT A NIGHT IN THE SHRINE

HOT TAMALES IN THE COLD DESERT

07/12/2013 7:38 AM  

 

A fly has landed on our warm Coachella valley. Cold air has put a damper on local and snowbirds alike. It was in the 80's when we arrived a week ago now its in the 50's .The International Tamale Festival  in Indio awaits us at 10 AM cold or no cold. It supposed to be an epic event and a very hungry Shark and Cuda are saving their appetite. Yesterday a shitty time doing payroll and sending money via Western Union. The AAA juggernaut is finally coming to a halt and getting ready to hibernate for the winter. Good I'm tired of my bliss  being trashed.A great start at 10 am before the crowds descended we started right in on some gourmet tamales . Cuda had a turkey, sweet potato and cranberry Shark went for a pork, port and wild mushroom. Yum Yum we kept walking and sampling until we got tamaled out. A stop at the wine tent to wash down our breakfast and we called it a day by 12 pm . ( shopping to do )All in all a very fun event Parades. Costumes music and delicious aromas we decided toBolt before the the human bottlenecks burned us out. About $ 30 for tamales and wine

Not bad but the price mark-up and these suckers is phenomenal with $.50 cents worth of food material transforming into a $ 2.50 to $3.50 tamales ( lots of corn meal in these babies compared to meat and vegetables ) A seasoned old couple running a nearby RV store commented" Why would I pay to walk-around and spend $ 50.00 on junk food  and not get served when we can sit down to a gourmet meal with service for the same price "( I guess this gringo has declared tamales  to be junk food  )  We liked the t-shirt stands and music and the visual feast ..We be back.

SICK PUPPY

01/12/2013 9:25 

At Valencia near LA getting ready for the final leg of our Snow Bird flight south. The Sun is Great and today promises to be a hotin. The pool and spa is fabulous here ( like the Lakes rv )

I have to confess to a sick indulgence when I'm travelling in warm climates. I love to look accuweather to see the crappy weather at home 
(the colder the better )  It seems to ratchet up your enjoyment of being on holidays to peek at the suffering you've left behind. Time for another swim damnit .