By The Sea, By the Sea by the Very Dead Sea
Friday, May 18.
After 9 days on the road, I found myself back in the direction of home. There must have been a reason.
I woke up about 6:45 and called California Highway Patrol, trying to find out the status of Interstate 10E to Phoenix. It was still down to one lane and the officer said: "Ever been to the Salton Sea?"
I always wanted to go there. It is the largest dead sea, and not just because of the salt. Even Great Salt Lake has a few fish from runoff and you can even float in the Dead Sea in Israel. But this one is deader than a doornail. "The Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when massive flooding caused the Colorado River to break through an irrigation canal headwork and flow freely into the Salton Basin for 18 months."
It has a rich history, having been a huge vacation spot in the 40's and 50's, complete with hotels, aquatic shows, skiing mermaids and more. Then the petrol,pesticides and chemicals came in and within just a few years, every fish in the massive lake was dead and it would stay that way forever.
I stopped several times along the way as quite often, I was the only car for miles. I took pictures, drove through ghost resorts and headed south, then east, then north, coming out at the CA/AZ border. It added 1:30 to my trip but it was among the most interesting rides of the getaway.
I passed through the town of Glamis, former population of 500. Then the train stopped coming and now has 2 residents. I met the Mayor. She ran a general store, having moved there from The Haight in SF years back. She was a former hippie turned anti-immigration proponent who lamented that men don't want to be men anymore and women want to be men! I paid $1.25 for my Diet Coke, thanked her for the conversation and skeedaddled.
7 miles up, I came to a border checkpoint. In the Middle East, people talk to me in Arabic or Hebrew. In Italy, Italian..and in the Southwest, well, they may speak to me in Spanish. I can't help I'm handsome in so any countries and cultures.
The check brought the usual questions and he asked where I was coming from. I told him Palm Springs but there was a huge accident up on I10 and it was still one lane, 24 hours after the accident. he was not aware. He noted: "That's why there have been alot more trucks and cars."
Pretty uneventful the rest of the way and I rolled home at 2:30 that day.
Next up: What I learned.
After 9 days on the road, I found myself back in the direction of home. There must have been a reason.
I woke up about 6:45 and called California Highway Patrol, trying to find out the status of Interstate 10E to Phoenix. It was still down to one lane and the officer said: "Ever been to the Salton Sea?"
I always wanted to go there. It is the largest dead sea, and not just because of the salt. Even Great Salt Lake has a few fish from runoff and you can even float in the Dead Sea in Israel. But this one is deader than a doornail. "The Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when massive flooding caused the Colorado River to break through an irrigation canal headwork and flow freely into the Salton Basin for 18 months."
It has a rich history, having been a huge vacation spot in the 40's and 50's, complete with hotels, aquatic shows, skiing mermaids and more. Then the petrol,pesticides and chemicals came in and within just a few years, every fish in the massive lake was dead and it would stay that way forever.
I stopped several times along the way as quite often, I was the only car for miles. I took pictures, drove through ghost resorts and headed south, then east, then north, coming out at the CA/AZ border. It added 1:30 to my trip but it was among the most interesting rides of the getaway.
I passed through the town of Glamis, former population of 500. Then the train stopped coming and now has 2 residents. I met the Mayor. She ran a general store, having moved there from The Haight in SF years back. She was a former hippie turned anti-immigration proponent who lamented that men don't want to be men anymore and women want to be men! I paid $1.25 for my Diet Coke, thanked her for the conversation and skeedaddled.
7 miles up, I came to a border checkpoint. In the Middle East, people talk to me in Arabic or Hebrew. In Italy, Italian..and in the Southwest, well, they may speak to me in Spanish. I can't help I'm handsome in so any countries and cultures.
The check brought the usual questions and he asked where I was coming from. I told him Palm Springs but there was a huge accident up on I10 and it was still one lane, 24 hours after the accident. he was not aware. He noted: "That's why there have been alot more trucks and cars."
Pretty uneventful the rest of the way and I rolled home at 2:30 that day.
Next up: What I learned.
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