Wasteland Paradise (Salton Sea)

This is what urban legends are made of. The Salton Sea was once a prosperous vacation spot during the 1920′s, thriving with ski boats, new housing developments, night clubs, and wildlife. The “Sea” (which is technically a lake) was formed from a sudden influx of water from the Colorado River. At first the new found mass of water was hailed as a tourist attraction, but because of a lack of water outflow, the lake progressively became more and more polluted and salty. So much that many species of fish are no longer able to survive in the Salton, let alone people. So in a nutshell this vast area is FILLED with signs of abandonment from a once optimistic 1950′s era. A modern day Atlantis… only MUCH MUCH smellier. Did I mention it’s a GREAT place to take photos?

Taking a swim at the “Ace of Spades” nightclub. Or maybe it was a gambling casino? Finding out the truth seems to be hard to do within this mysterious area. See me at the bottom left?

Plenty of parking at the Cafe.

Waterfront view.

The pelicans look a lot like condors.

1,000′s of these fish are piled up on the beaches. While I was walking near the shore, you could hear the crunching of millions of bones.

I’m guessing this used to be a phone? Now it makes a great beer prop.

Small fixer-upper. Comes with custom pool in the backyard.

No caption needed.

The salt and the flooding has ruined everything it touches. A little town of Bombay Beach is behind the camera… not that different of a view from what you’re looking at now.

Looks like an old axle to a tour bus. Sorry no trips back to LA!

Extremely straight and long roads.

Davis Road! They MUST of named it after me!

A freaky little stop along Hwy 111. The UFO looking thing in the background looks like some float from a boat. Who knows.

Not what you really have in mind when you envision California.

Care to come in? Oh damn, the door is barb-wired shut.

Some supportive graffiti.

The alien’s hut… not so intelligent after all.

The “Believe” alien lot had about 5 abandoned buildings. I was careful to peek my head into a few of them because it wasn’t uncommon to find an old mattress or beer bottles on the ground. I didn’t want a big sweaty hug from a Salton Sea-ican.

Area 52

Back to Bombay Beach. This little hut had a light socket in the middle, so I turned it back on.

I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume this water tower is empty.

My girlfriend, Lauren, out on her first photo adventure!

More abandoned buildings at Bombay Beach.

Back to the Ace of Spades nightclub. Grabbing some near sunset shots.

The back entrance. Let’s take a walk in that door…

Welcome! To the Ace of Spades. Custom decorated walls, and natural flooring.

I think the builders were going for a more Art Deco look?

The main entrance is to the left, the pool to the right.

While taking this picture, a pigeon flew towards me and scared the SHIT out of me… Keep in mind I’m using lights to make these shots visible.

A view from the back door, looking out to the sea… er, lake. I can imagine this place being pretty nice back in the day.

After getting over the dead fish, repulsive arsenic smell, and the 100 degree temperature, this place has a sort of pleasant vibe to it, especially near sundown. Given a beach chair and a 12-pack of Mexican beer, I could see myself relaxing to some Buddy Holly while watching the sun go down on the orange horizon.