Monday, January 30, 2012

HI HO HI HO --- IT’S OFF TO SLAB CITY WE GO……

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CALIFORNIA’S IMPERIAL SAND DUNES

Travel days generally see us up on the early side but this morning we just kind of piddled & puddled along on the slow side.  No great distance to drive so no great hurry to be anywhere.  Said our ‘see ya’s to Ivan & Wandering Willy & rolled out about 9:45.  Chances are good our paths may cross again this winter so we’ll see.

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I THINK THESE GUYS ARE LOOKING A LITTLE SAD HERE…..OK, MAYBE NOT SO MUCH……..

Figured we would wait until we reached the RV store located at the west end of Quartzsite before hooking up the Jeep.  Needed gas & new anywhere around Quartzsite would have congested gas islands, and they did.

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HEADING FOR THE Q 

Noticed this year at Quartzsite, LED lights seemed to be the popular thing & a lot of RV folks are switching out their old RV lighting systems for the newer less power gobbling LED’s.  So many different bulbs for so many different fixtures.  Decided to go with just 3 bulbs but figured it best to take the whole Motorhome to the RV store rather than just guessing at what bulbs we need.  Maybe the RV store guy would come out & snap them in place for us.  Afterall, we won’t have Wandering Willy & Ivan around now to show us how to change a light bulb.

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A BIT OF CONSTRUCTION ALONG THE WAY

Crossed the Colorado River on I-10 into California at 10:30 California time.  Quick McD’s stop in Blyth & we were southbound on highway 78 through large fields of green vegetation.  Destination…..Slab City:))

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NICE TO SEE THE GREEN FIELDS OF CALIFORNIA

The road through Glammis & the Imperial Sand Dunes is familiar to us.  We basically always come & go to & from Borrego Springs this way.  Nice roller coaster road with little traffic.  I like that:))  A water & dump stop just south of Calipatria put us in Niland California about 15 minutes later.  A right turn off the main street headed us east out into the desert on a road less desired.  Again, we were in familiar territory because we had been here before.  It’s only a few miles to SLAB CITY and you don’t want to be in a hurry.

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ALL PHOTOS OF THE IMPERIAL SAND DUNES TAKEN FROM THE MOTORHOME WHILE DRIVING THROUGH THE DUNES TODAY 

We had our solar system installed by Solar Mike’s SUN WORKS back in December of 07.  If anyone is interested in our time here back then they can look in our archives around Dec. 18th or just type ‘slab city yikes’ into our search bar.

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ROAD TO THE SLABS

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LEONARD KNIGHT’S SALVATION MOUNTAIN AHEAD

Unhooked the Jeep near Solar Mikes & took a cruise around the neighborhood looking for a good boondocking site.  The area we parked last time was empty so we basically parked in the very same spot again.

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YEP, LOOKS LIKE SLAB CITY ALRIGHT

While setting up I thought I heard “hey Al.”  Naw, we’re way out here in Slab City California so who’s gonna know me out here.  Afterall, this is where many of the Nations ‘characters’ come when they want to disappear from society.  Hmmmm, maybe I was home. 

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OUR NEW DIGS & NEIGHBOR’S AT THE SLABS

Thought I heard a second “hey Al” & noticed a girl approaching through the Creosote shrubs.  A familiar looking 5th wheel with a big satellite dish on the roof was behind her.  ‘Aha’….it was fellow Blogger & RV’er, Rene from LIVE-WORK-DREAM.  Now, how’s that for a coincidence. 

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KELLY & RENE

Rene & Jim are the couple who took over looking after the property near Elfrida Arizona we were looking after last winter.  Last time we saw them was at the Lazy W Ranch.  The year before that we saw them in Borrego Springs. 

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NO, NO, DON’T TAKE MY PICTURE >>>

First met Jim & Rene when they stopped at the McNeal Ranch to say hello back on Feb 13/09.  And here we are, parked just a few hundred yards from them again.  Small world eh:))

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Solar Mike is closed Monday’s so we’ll Jeep over & talk to him first thing in the morning.  We don’t figure he’ll be able to check out our system for a few days but no problem, we don’t mind hanging out at the Slabs.  But, a lot of people would………

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I will write more about the Slabs over the next few days as we kind of quietly blend into this, shall we say, mysterious & notorious desert community.  A community……. like no other. 

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MANY STRANGE SIGHTS HERE AT SLABBER CITY

More scammy garbage on Facebook again today.  Why oh why don’t I just eliminate that site from my computer forever!!  If you get something from my Facebook saying, ‘Dad Walks In’ or something like that, do not open it.  More scammy junk!!

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GROANER’S CORNER:((  Ok, how about some corny stuff…..

Q. What did the mayonnaise say when someone opened the refrigerator door.
A. Close the door I am dressing!…
Q. What did the football coach say to the broken vending machine?
A. “Give me my quarterback!”…
Q. What lights up a soccer stadium?

A. A soccer match.…

Q. What did the pony say when it had a sore throat?
A. I apologize, I am a little horse!…

Q: What did the digital clock say to the grandfather clock?
A. Look grandpa, no hands!…
Q: Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon?

A. Great food but no atmosphere.…

Q: Why was the little strawberry crying?

A. Because his parents were in a jam.…

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

If one's thoughts are positive about the landscape, one's eyes will appreciate what they see......AL.

stargeezerguy@gmail.com

10 comments:

  1. I've read so much about the Slabs, I really want to visit someday. Looking forward to reading more and seeing your pictures in the next few days. Hope you get your solar all fixed up.

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  2. I've never received any spam from you, but my blog sure gets a lot of spam comments. Once in a while I get one that is entirely written in Russian, cyrillic alphabet and all. I'm pretty sick of it and don't understand what anyone gets out of doing those kinds of things.

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  3. Goody, goody, another tour of the slabs and all of its interesting stuff. And to think, I don't even have to drive there myself, Al did it for me........

    I am interested in who is assuming Salvation Mountain, now that Leonard has passed. Will the Gov't come and tear it down? I guess they haven't cleaned up any of the rest of the area, so why would they be interested in Salvation Mountain?

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  4. Always an interesting bunch of characters in Slab City. Have fun and good luck with the solar system. Just love the dunes there so magical!

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  5. Guess Chuck and I will have to put Slab City on our bucket list! I think we are going to CA winter of 2013 to visit his sister!

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  6. No, don't think Slab City would be on our list for more than a couple days...As for Facebook scams..I had to change my password..someone from Africa was using my page.grrrr! Makes you wonder how much other stuff they are doing we don't know about!!

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  7. Oh Al! I shouldda know you would have that camera in your hand! Next time I need to make an appointment with my wardrobe and hair stylist before I run across the desert to say hello! Hahaha!

    It's good to have you and Kelly and the pups as neighbors. Let's do dinner this week!

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  8. butterbean carpenterTuesday, January 31, 2012

    Howdy K&A,
    Thatz my kinda place!!! THAT IS NOT JUNK!! ITZ COLLECTABLES!!! Folks in 'stix & brix' have junk and more junk!! RVrs have collections we can TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!! ha ha!! That is about the ruffest satellite dish I've ever seen, but JB WELD from MT.
    PLEASANT, TX, WILL DO THE JOB,EVERY
    TIME!!! My dish has NEVER blown over, cause itz setting on the table with the knife & fork!!!
    SCity seems like a quiet place to rest.

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  9. Rod and Loyce Ivers said... I am interested in who is assuming Salvation Mountain, now that Leonard has passed.

    Leonard Knight did not pass, it was his care taker that lived with him that died.
    This past December, Knight moved to a nursing home in San Diego county. He’s 80 years old.

    San Diegan Dan Westfall, a friend of Knight's,and a group of concerned locals have formed a non-profit board to look after Knight's mountain. Salton City resident Imari Kariotis is the board's secretary. "The purpose of the nonprofit is to maintain and promote Leonard’s folk art, and to pass on his message of unconditional love."

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  10. How HILARIOUS that you ended up parking right by Jim and Rene! Say HI to them from us! What a hoot that of all the "roughnecks" and "holligans" you would find at the Slabs, you found the two most notorious?????


    (kidding)

    Karen and Steve

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