Image Up Advertising & Design

66 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2025 4x4 Seasons A day trip to Salton Sea's Bombay Beach, Niland Geyser, and Slab City? "Hell Yeah!" It's the perfect experience for anyone wanting to get outside the norm, and after several weeks of foul weather our group was looking forward to an adventure. The Salton Sea area did not disappoint. The Salton Sea, created when the Colorado River f looded into the Salton Basin, became a resort destination with vacation homes, hotels, and yacht clubs in the 1950s and was marketed as the "California Riviera." The lake was stocked for fishing, the marinas were full of bars, and celebrities like the Beach Boys and Frank Sinatra frequented. In the 1970s, increasing salinity and fertilizer runoff led to a cycle of massive deaths in the fish populations, algae blooms made the water hazardous, and tourism abruptly ended. Now apocalyptic, the Bombay Beach community we visited still retains about 300 artists, intellectuals, and hipsters who have turned the struggling area into their own bohemian playground with an interesting, off-beat vibe. Our next stop was the Mud Geyser outside of Niland, California. An area of geological instability created by the San Andreas fault, it has defied conventional geological behavior by being on the move. Emerging in 1953 as a stationary mud pot, it began an unprecedented journey in 2007. By April 2018, it had traveled 290 feet from its original site. The movement continues to disrupt infrastructure and has resulted in the need to relocate a portion of Highway 111, a 20-inch gas line, fiber optic lines, and Union Pacific Rail. With a vibe similar to Bombay Beach, Slab City (named after the concrete slabs left over from a World War II Marine training camp) was our next stop. The "city" is a squatter's camp/art commune for those who want to live an alternative, off-the-grid lifestyle and it has a permanent population of about 175 people. Makeshift homes and campsites, a library, various art installations and even a nightclub and skate park fill the large, dusty, expanse of slabs that formerly housed Camp Dunlap. After an interesting, adventure-filled day, our group gathered for conversation and a great lunch at Buckshot restaurant in Niland before heading back to Beaumont. If you enjoy local history and off-roading, (or if you just want to get outdoors for some 4x4 adventures), join us! Our meetings are the second Tuesday of the month in the RCN Conference Room, and we usually schedule an outing on Thursday of the same week. We hope to see you. ~ Scott Snyder, scottdonaldsnyder@gmail.com Brian, Cheryl, Lynette, and Susan on Bombay Beach e group on Bombay Beach Lynette Simpson at the Niland Geyser

• Cover