Slab City, California Observations

[Chuck_Sorensen]

We recently visited Slab City, California; it is located just southeast of the Salton Sea.

Slab City started as a Marine training base during WWII. When the base was no longer needed, the buildings were removed from their foundations, leaving bare concrete slabs.

I had pictured dozens and dozens of empty slabs arranged on a grid of roads available for camp sites. The reality is that there are not quite so many slabs and that all of the slabs are in use by others; most slabs with some kind of structure built on them. Some people live there year round; others during the winter. No utilities and little infrastructure.

We did find an amiable fellow who had dragged an open boat up on one end of “his” slab. He was framing it in preparation to closing the walls. He did let us pull the van up on the other end of the slab and take a picture; concrete step leading up to a PW on a slab.

Another desirable camping site option was the area maintained by the local Loners on Wheels chapter near the east end of LoW Road. Their area looked so good that there was talk about Vickie, my wife, staying out of sight while we camped there. Google Earth shows how well the chapter has cleaned its area.

We ended up camping on a random patch of desert; of which there is much.

On the road to Slab City sits colorful Salvation Mountain; the two decade + tribute to God by one man. I found that after climbing “the yellow brick road” to the top of the Mountain that the shortest, and safest, way down for me was to sit and slide down the back of the Mountain to a dirt road.

Chuck Sorensen
Buellton, California
2012 PW Excel TS

[NCWriter]

A mystery by author Sue Grafton (part of her highly entertaining Kinsey Milhone series) called "G is for Gumshoe" is set partially in Slab City. Read it years ago, first time I ever heard of SC.

[2oldman]

I was there yesterday. I'll post in another Slabs thread.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Slab City bills itself as "the Last Free Place in America", which is I guess supposed to be some kind of attraction. "No gummint interference" and all that sort of thing. Funny thing is, I'm betting that once folks actually get there and see how badly it's been trashed, it makes them better appreciate the benefits provided by places where there's at least SOME sort of organized gummint!

[CKNSLS]

Neverhappy wrote:
Horrible & depressing place...how low can you go ? Far from the American dream...

Exactly - how many mainstream people call that place home......

[Neverhappy]

Horrible & depressing place...how low can you go ? Far from the American dream...

[SCVJeff]

CKNSLS wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
Niland isn't exactly a bustling metropolis. It's a has-been poverty level arguably farm town whos businesses that are left surely need the revenue. Unless they can survive from the weekend sand buggy crowd, those 500-2000+ or so people out there still represent traffic at the markets, etc. Wouldn't be surprising if there are more folks at the Slabs than the entire population of Niland itself. Yeah they don't pay property taxes, but they certainly make a financial impact on the local businesses.

Forcing them out may not be a wise idea economically.

It they had money they wouldn't be living on a concrete slab with no water/electricity/sewers in the middle of nowhere........

what's that got to do with the local economy? They still need to eat and buy gas/ LP.

[CKNSLS]

Escargot wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

Escargot wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

It they had money they wouldn't be living on a concrete slab with no water/electricity/sewers in the middle of nowhere........

And you know this... how?

C'mon.....really?

There are people living at The Slabs who have incomes. There are a few who have thriving businesses. Then there are snowbirds who have formed sub-communities, and live there for months at a time.

If you read my post I did not include RVers. Yes I'm sure the Slab people have incomes....Disability, Social Security or Welfare using a false address.

[Escargot]

CKNSLS wrote:

Escargot wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

It they had money they wouldn't be living on a concrete slab with no water/electricity/sewers in the middle of nowhere........

And you know this... how?

C'mon.....really?

There are people living at The Slabs who have incomes. There are a few who have thriving businesses. Then there are snowbirds who have formed sub-communities, and live there for months at a time.

[CKNSLS]

Escargot wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

It they had money they wouldn't be living on a concrete slab with no water/electricity/sewers in the middle of nowhere........

And you know this... how?

C'mon.....really?

[Escargot]

CKNSLS wrote:

It they had money they wouldn't be living on a concrete slab with no water/electricity/sewers in the middle of nowhere........

And you know this... how?

[CKNSLS]

SCVJeff wrote:
Niland isn't exactly a bustling metropolis. It's a has-been poverty level arguably farm town whos businesses that are left surely need the revenue. Unless they can survive from the weekend sand buggy crowd, those 500-2000+ or so people out there still represent traffic at the markets, etc. Wouldn't be surprising if there are more folks at the Slabs than the entire population of Niland itself. Yeah they don't pay property taxes, but they certainly make a financial impact on the local businesses.

Forcing them out may not be a wise idea economically.

It they had money they wouldn't be living on a concrete slab with no water/electricity/sewers in the middle of nowhere........

[mlts22]

The Slabs is interesting to watch because it is a unique dynamic.

I'm pretty sure the main reason that it hasn't been swept clean is because there is just nothing out there for some party to make money from. The Salton Sea isn't anyone's idea of a tourist attraction, especially after 2017 when the contract mandating water be put into it expires, so it will end up with no incoming water and wind up a dry bed. Since the area just has no way of being used for much (even farmers can't use it due to the salt and other pollutants), there hasn't been any reason for any party to bother doing anything with it.

It does have a law to itself. The police may not patrol there, but from what I've read, the locals are more than willing to enforce their rules by using gasoline and a lighter on someone's RV regardless if they are in it or not.

[SCVJeff]

Niland isn't exactly a bustling metropolis. It's a has-been poverty level arguably farm town whos businesses that are left surely need the revenue. Unless they can survive from the weekend sand buggy crowd, those 500-2000+ or so people out there still represent traffic at the markets, etc. Wouldn't be surprising if there are more folks at the Slabs than the entire population of Niland itself. Yeah they don't pay property taxes, but they certainly make a financial impact on the local businesses.

Forcing them out may not be a wise idea economically.

[OKPETE]

CKNSLS wrote:
That's the way they are going to muscle people out....cut off the water.

Also, quite possible that the water closures are due to extreme drought conditions. California south has always wasted water because they take water from No Cal. Ruined Owens valley and the take a bit from the Colorado river system. I'm afraid the California elite will need to ration water as well. The recent rains will not fill the resivoirs. But happy as hell that some relief has happened