Salton Sea ruins

[TheFlyingCamera]

Where are the best ruined/abandoned buildings around the Salton Sea? I'm particularly interested in the things like the marina and some of the hotels that I've seen pictures of before, the ones with the funky architecture.

 

[David Henderson]

My first answer is that you're too late- even when I was last there three years ago, most of the stuff I'd seen in other's photographs was beyond photography IMO and new communities of boxlike housing were springing up driven I imagine my low land prices. That said the best of what there is is I guess round Desert Shores and Salton City on the west side, around Bombay Beach on the east side and theres the odd thing round Calipatria and Niland on the south shore. A decent view from round red island on the shore near Calipatria.

The thing that absolutely is worth photographing round there is Salvation Mountain, a hand-made and brightly painted adobe "mountain" just east of Niland - on Beal Road IIRC. No matter how well travelled you may be, I wouldn't expect that you've seen anything like this before.

 

[ntenny]

I think the land boom around the Salton Sea done busted along with the rest of the housing boom, so I bet a lot of that boxlike housing is vacant now (or was platted but never built out). I haven't been out there lately to check, though. But a lot of the "future that never happened" architecture is gone, true.

Bombay Beach is a weird little place any way you look at it and should still have some abandoned sections. The northeast corner of the Sea in general has some interesting stuff; North Shore is a tiny little settlement that when I was last there seemed to sort of be a failed attempt at suburbia, and the International Banana Museum was supposed to open there in January 2011, which isn't exactly "ruined/abandoned" but about as odd as you can get.

Sightseeing on Google Maps is actually a pretty good way to discover interesting things out there. Just be careful; not everything shown as a road is passable.

-NT

 

[rorye]

Take a shitload of water, it can be like a furnace down there.

 

[removed account4]

Take a shitload of water, it can be like a furnace down there.

and a sidearm ?

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

If it is hot as it told dont forget sun oil is essential or you turn to a lobster

 

[cfclark]

I've always wanted to go out there, and wondered if it was worth the trouble. On my one trip out to the desert, I got as far as Indio, which for someone raised in the East and now living in LA is a pretty weird place, visually. (No, I did not go for Coachella.)

If anyone in the SoCal area wants to take a photo expedition out to the desert, let me know, I'd be willing to tag along.

 

[lxdude]

If it is hot as it told dont forget sun oil is essential or you turn to a lobster

The hottest I ever experienced in the area was 124 degrees (51 Celsius) in 1994, and I was on a motorcycle. The engine heat on my legs made it especially difficult. I got to Palm Desert and up Hwy. 74 into the mountains as quickly as I could.
The highest temperature in the state is often at a place just north of the Salton Sea called, appropriately, Thermal.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

The hottest I ever experienced in the area was 124 degrees (51 Celsius) in 1994, and I was on a motorcycle. The engine heat on my legs made it especially difficult. I got to Palm Desert and up Hwy. 74 into the mountains as quickly as I could.
The highest temperature in the state is often at a place just north of the Salton Sea called, appropriately, Thermal.

51 degrees , oh my god , unbeliviable , you are lucky that your motorcycle did not fail. I have Ansel Adams Death Valley book and he suggest not to leave the car if something goes wrong and stay 3 days with the car , if you need to walk , walk at nights and rest at day light and before attemping to cross the desert , always contact with park officer and inform him about your route and days you will spend at desert. He says always contact with the park officer when you return. And he says enter the valley with two cars , small gears and carry enough water for you and your car.

A GPS and a hand held VHF radio looks essential for desert run

Umut

 

[lxdude]

The hottest I ever experienced in the area was 124 degrees (51 Celsius) in 1994, and I was on a motorcycle. The engine heat on my legs made it especially difficult. I got to Palm Desert and up Hwy. 74 into the mountains as quickly as I could.
The highest temperature in the state is often at a place just north of the Salton Sea called, appropriately, Thermal.

51 degrees , oh my god , unbeliviable , you are lucky that your motorcycle did not fail.

Umut

It's a Honda.
Liquid cooled. It ran hotter than usual, but never out of the safe range, even when climbing up the steep road out of the desert.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

The hottest I ever experienced in the area was 124 degrees (51 Celsius) in 1994, and I was on a motorcycle. The engine heat on my legs made it especially difficult. I got to Palm Desert and up Hwy. 74 into the mountains as quickly as I could.
The highest temperature in the state is often at a place just north of the Salton Sea called, appropriately, Thermal.

Is it a sandy desert or flat rock ? Do you have pictures ? How was the desert color , brown , blue or beige ? Do this desert covered with bloom at spring ?

Every year Indian Motorcycle Club cross the Death Valley with least 60 years old Indians. They are really crazy people but I love them. I found a photo gallery and rock walls , canyons looks like Canon the Savage comics books.

I very interested in buying seeds from Sonora desert seed sellers and grow at my home. Ansel Adams reported the all fauna and flora of Death valley and there are least 70 different flowers there. After reading his book , I am growing Cactus at my room. We are growing Cactuses for 35 years at our home and some growed like a tree , very scary look. One of the cactus opened its big purple flower after 20 or more years and they say its a very rare occasion.

I think when you become a senior , you will be an member of Antique Club of America and buy a Indian .

I love Honda , is it Alpine one ?

Umut

 

[Sirius Glass]

If it is hot as it told dont forget sun oil is essential or you turn to a lobster

No, put on baby oil and then roll in the sand. That will reduce the possibility of sun burn and provide an interesting tan pattern.

All siriusness aside, thanks for the lens help last night.

I think that you can find the privacy you want to photographing a model in Josuah Tree National Park.

Steve

 

[lxdude]

It is the Coachella Valley in Southern California. It's sandy in most places. The sand is beige, though the rocky hillsides in some places are many beautiful hues. Most natural vegetation is low growing, and unless the spring is a dry one, colorful displays of sand verbena, cactus and wildflowers (some tiny and very delicate) are visible many places. It's part of the Colorado desert, commonly called the low desert, as contrasted with the high desert, the Mojave.
Most of the valley floor is below sea level, with the shoreline of an ancient sea visible on the mountainsides along the Salton Sink, in which the Salton Sea is located. If the surface of the Salton Sea were at sea level, much of the Coachella Valley would be covered by it, and people could have shoreline property in Palm Springs!
I do have pictures, but none in digital form...

My bike is an old one, a 1983 Honda V45 Magna (750cc). A road bike, powerful and smooth engine. Riding in 124 degrees F on the hot freeway surface is something I'll never do again. I did it that one time to feel what it's like-no need to repeat! I was very happy to be able to escape the heat by heading up to much cooler elevations-no way was I going to ride home back through the valley.
A month or so after that I got a job in Palm Springs and commuted every day-in a car without air conditioning. I got used to it eventually.

I rode my bike in milder weather for a while but got tired of replacing helmet face shields from windblown sand. Not to mention getting tired of leaning hard to the left while traveling on the straight road off the freeway at 50 miles per hour when the wind was blowing hard. Made me a bit nervous, it did, what with cars coming the other way and all.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

lxdude ,

I know Magna , wonderful motor. Its muscular , strong and reliable , motorcycle magazines like it very much . Did New Indian succeed at its business after Henderson crash ? I am thinking to buy a Ural from Georgia or Russia and cross the Asia until Japan through Siberia. I learned that Siberia is not for humans at summer because there are billions of mosquitos. At nights , mosquito density to reach to rock density and they off the campfires !!!!! lol , No , I did not deserve it. I talked with someone on chat trying to sell me a chinese big motorcycle new 350 dollars and for African Roads. It costs me 700 with taxes and it is the best bet. I can sleep in sidecar at the road and driving the devil on 3 legs is better. I think driving from Istanbul to Morocco is best option. I dont want to insult myself with visa applications and facist police and Europe is not an option. I always want to live in Tunisia and Morocco and I will be closer to my sister , She is in France. Morocco Atlas Mountains is an excellent place and if you know Star Wars 1979 , its desert scenes recorded at that area. Algeria is an excellent place also , all speak French and its a good place to learn French , Arabian and Spanish. May be I cross the straits with a inner tube and a sail attached it and visit Barcelona and Al Hambra.
It seems to me there are least two years barrier in front of me.

 

[lxdude]

The New Indian went bankrupt years ago, but its designs and the name were acquired by another group and they're building bikes again as Indian Motorcycle (not Indian Motocycle). Polaris, who make the very nice Victory brand of Harley-type bikes, bought Indian Motorcycle this year.
The Excelsior-Henderson debacle was so sad...people with grand plans reviving a name almost no one remembers, and lacking the ability to make it happen. In contrast, Polaris started Victory from nothing but had the business experience and production knowledge to succeed.

I like your plans, especially the inner tube and sail!

 

[Jim Noel]

When you go don't miss the newly renovated marina and yacht club near the northern end on the east side. The historical society of Riverside County has cleaned it up and finished as it was during its heyday including the exact pint colors. It is a beautiful intro to the Sea and a cool respite from the hot winds.

 

[cfclark]

A month or so after that I got a job in Palm Springs and commuted every day-in a car without air conditioning. I got used to it eventually.

...but it's a dry heat.

I think I've been to Thermal and Mecca, which is nearby and not nearly as impressive as its namesake. (Given the desert location and large numbers of date palms, Middle Eastern-themed place names, etc., are widespread. One high school's athletic teams are named the "Arabs".)

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

I was there on a birdwatching trip back in 1982 when I was 19 years old. Man, you should have seen the ruins. Most only a few years old but completely abandoned. Large marinas, restaurants and hotels you could walk right into and go out on the large outdoor decks over the water (well, salty sand....the water was a few hundred yards away by then) with deck chairs, pools, equipment, etc. everywhere. Looked like it had been abandoned all in one day and everyone just stopped what they were doing one afternoon and simply left. I was into photography then but wildlife and bird photography and it hardly struck me to take any photos of the buildings or the abandoned scenes around me. With the kind of B&W work I'm into now I simpy curse myself I did not take more photos back then.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Large marinas

I did not get it , If I am not wrong , We are talking about a desert. May be desert at the seaside ? Why it is left like it ?

Umut

 

[Sirius Glass]

I did not get it , If I am not wrong , We are talking about a desert. May be desert at the seaside ? Why it is left like it ?

Umut

The Salton Sea was caused around 1905 by water accidently diverted from the Colorado River. It has been drying up ever since. At one time, a Marina was built and it did have boats. As the "sea" has been drying up, the Marina lost its proximity to water hence a marina in the middle of the desert.

See reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sea

Steve

 

[lxdude]

I did not get it , If I am not wrong , We are talking about a desert. May be desert at the seaside ? Why it is left like it ?

Umut

It's similar to the Dead Sea. A large saline lake without no outlet, in the middle of the desert. Agricultural runoff water is its main source of replenishment except in wet years when mountain runoff (especially from the Whitewater River to the north) recharges it.

I've taken pictures there a few times. It's important to protect equipment if there's much wind. Blowing salt particles get into everything. A cheap Tamron zoom I had sounded like a rock crusher upon trying to focus it after a trip down there.

 

[rorye]

Also you'll probably never eat Talapia again...

 

[lxdude]

A few shots, (not mine) including one showing Salvation Mountain.

Dead Link Removed

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Its a similar place to Death Valley with all purple brown colors of mountains as I read at Ansel Adams Death Valley pictures. Ansel prints sometimes looks more pastel but You know him , it looks like You are there.
I think industry killed there and its not a shame to a country where animal rights are more important than human rights. Its a place like chernobyl or radiation polluted deserts or oceans.
But USA is not alone , Russia , India , Chine did the same.
ı think pictures are discusting and not a place for photography if you have not a mixed mind.

 

[msphotopdx]

I was there in early June 2011, all the really cool stuff in the Desert Beach area is GONE! The yacht club has been "restored' and is now a visitor's center or something. The abandoned hotel and pool are completely paved over.

Maybe there some other cool abandoned spots, but the main attraction is now gone forever.