Desert Rats (pt.3)

The final installment of the trilogy that is….Desert Rats!!!!!!  In the last episode we found our newlywed couple climbing atop + ambling around the folk art majesty that is Salvation Mountain.  In this episode, our twosome make their way up to the infamous Bombay Beach.

Bombay Beach had it’s glory days in the 50’s + 60’s with a yacht club, jet skiers + beautiful women sunning themselves along the shore line.  But the rising salinity, pesticides, DDT + fertilizer residuals from neighboring farms killed anything wonderful + fun, leaving a lake teeming with dead Tilapia + major stinky time.  In addition, during the 70’s, a large mobile home park was destroyed due to the flooding caused by a couple of tropical storms.  Skeletons of happy former homes + other remnants of domesticity litter the shoreline.  Creeeeeepy.  

Never lacking in dead fish.  Notice I’m wearing my glamorous Mongolian Lambswool coat?

Here is a photo of me reacting to the reek of death at Bombay Beach.  This is not even a staged photo, y’all!!!  I’m pretty hearty, but I really felt like hurling might be a good choice.

Eerie.  You can barely make out the separation between the horizon + the sea.

Beautiful – if you just plug your nose.

We stopped by the Ski Inn for a beer.  It has a yelp page.  Yes, pop culture hipsters love the Ski Inn.  http://www.yelp.com/biz/ski-inn-niland  Yes, Anthony Bourdain has eaten there.  Face it, almost every nook + cranny on the earth has been discovered + shown on the internet.  Nothing is sacred anymore!!!!!

I was exhausted + wanted to go straight back to our vacation rental, but Jeff the ever enthusiastic explorer convinced me to give it a go.  I sort of thought when we entered the record player would stop + heads would turn.  It couldn’t have been more warm + welcoming!  We befriended the bartender Steve + a couple of locals, brothers David Allen + Michael Patrick.  Steve, David + Michael were practically historians of the local area + of North America!  They brought out a book of the Salton Sea, discussed French immigration into Canada, gold + copper mining in California, etc.  My favorite quote was from Michael, on the subject of Native Americans, who colorfully yelled, “The Mohicans would kick your a** + feed it back to you!!!!”.  I love it!!!!  We were discussing their Polish/Irish heritage + when they found out that their family + Jeff’s family were both from Cork, Ireland – oh boy, the celebration in the bar was raised to crazy heights!  Long lost brethren!!!!  Beers all around!!!!  They loved us so much, they gave us their mailing address + wanted to keep in touch.

Now don’t they look like family, y’all???  Michael (with the eye patch) was the first real pirate I’ve ever met!!!!  I love our new pen pals so much!!!!!!

Reluctantly, we headed back to our little desert home for a New Years celebration.  We clambered up to the top of our hill + tooted our horns + wooped it up!!!  Don’t we look like unicorns!?

Minutes later, sleepiness set in due to the crackling of the fire, the bubbling of the champagne + the silence of the desert.

Happy Belated 2012!!!!!!  We love the desert!!!!!!