The Dead Zone: Salton Sea

I like going to places and photographing areas that most wouldn't consider, the "non tourist" traps so to speak, places that will give me something interesting to photograph, learn and write about, so when I found out about Salton Sea it was added to the list. 

Salton Sea is located about 2hours outside of LA, although we drove from San Diego along the Mexican border and up to it (also around 2 hours). It is America's largest inland sea, is 226 ft. below sea level and its surface area is 362 square miles. It was created over the course of 18 months when the Colorado River burst and flooded the area, but that is not what makes this place so interesting to me. 

During the 1950's and 60's the area became a tourist hotspot, "a miracle in the desert", it was coined as being the new Palm Springs with beaches. Naturally real estate boomed and motels sprang up as half a million people flocked to the area per annum. Land was being traded at ridiculous prices, often without even being seen. The Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Marx Brothers were frequent visitors to the Northern Marina, but the bubble was to burst.

Much of Salton Sea feels apocalyptic in nature. Areas of residence, crumbling, abandoned and melting into the ground. The sea, now a murky colour that washes dead fish up on to the shores, the sand isn't sand, its fish bones and barnacles, if the heat doesn't hit you, the smell will! The stench is extraordinarily bad and there are camper vans, old sofa's clothes, TV's, piles of fridges, all smashed up beyond repair all disappearing into the hard, "bouncy" mud crust you walk on. And what caused all this? There seems to be many theories; the mixture of agricultural land run off and salt, a deadly combination of toxins that polluted the water with algae seems to be the most prudent. And then the floods came, much of the shoreline was left devastated; gas stations vanished into the sea, buildings crumbled, people and wildlife fled. 

We only managed to get around an area called "Bombay Beach" (on the Eastern Shore) after 2 hours of walking round, through, between the buildings that remain, time was slipping by fast before we needed to take the 2 hour drive back to LA, Salton Sea requires a lot more time. However bad this area seems to us, people are still living here. In amongst the ruins, the unbearable heat and smell, there is a small community. While I shoot an abandoned caravan a guy watches on from his above ground "dipping/swimming pool", some gent rides his disabled motor cart down the empty, dust riddled streets, while on the beach a music video is being shot, it is a fascinating place.

I believe the South Shore was a military base, although from various sources, I now read it occupies a lot of people who want to "vanish" and live peaceful lives away from the hustle of city life: it has been dubbed "Slab City" and hosts an abundance of rather interestingly painted rocks! Happily the Northern Point looks like it is fairing much better than Bombay Beach. Wildlife and plantation is in abundance, a National Park occupies a large part with various hiking trails, beaches and RV parks-it has become an important wildlife spot for migrating birds. It has been cleaned up considerably and looks as if investment is going back into this area although there are still a few abandoned sites along the way. 

If you are looking for something a little off the beaten track, aren't worried about bad smells, intense heat and abandoned buildings than this is the place for you. It's almost Route 66 in nature, slightly sad, very interesting, deserves to be rescued/preserved and is part of the great American History.

Below is a selection of shots from Bombay Beach.

Using Airbnb: A Review

So many people have asked how my 3 month trip to America and around West Coast has been affordable, we all know that hotels aren't as a rule inexpensive and if you do stay in a hotel then there's the added costs of eating in restaurants/rooms service on top. The trip has worked like this: 1/ saved up alot prior to trip 2/ stuck to a budget and 3/ for the most part used Airbnb.

For those that don't know Airbnb, it is a service, essentially a global hotel without all the costs of a hotel and more fun, In fact it recently became one of the largest hotel chains in the world without actually owning a single hotel! With Airbnb you can rent whole apartments/houses, a room, tree house's, airplanes, Airstreams... the list goes on. Costs range from very very little to very very expensive, it caters for everyone. The other plus is that you can live in nice neighborhoods, put roots down, feed off the local knowledge of the "hosts"-where the best coffee house is, areas to avoid, best transport links and so on. 

This trip we have used 7 different locations, from sharing a couples flat for 8 days in Chicago for £28 a night, 2 whole apartments in San Francisco for a month at a time, a fantastic en suite bedroom stop over in a massive Vegas house near the strip for £53 a night, a boat for £24 and our favourite a converted Water Tower for £40 for a night (see next blog post all about this gem). Each has been different, all have been tremendous fun, at a fraction of the cost of a hotel, and with the bonus of being able to cook "at home" this has saved us a lot of money that has been used in better ways. We have done a couple of motels on this trip too-very low cost ones when we weren't able to find Airbnb's, these have been hit and miss. Road side motels in America can be very cheap but they get booked up very fast as have limited rooms and in the case of the last one we did, well, the room was fine but the neighbor and his late night "guest" wasn't!! 

I would recommend using Airbnb for travelling without a second thought, I really like that you meet the locals, feel as if you are "at home" and get a sense of what it's really like living in the city you are visiting.

Below are some tips we have found that have helped us in booking:

1/ Research Research Research: You know where you want to go, you have found a listing, so do a quick Google search about the area. You might want quiet and it's not quiet, you may want all out fun and it's far away from that fun, you might need to get places fast and need a nearby transport link. It's all about the famous line "Location Location Location".

2/ Read the reviews, all of them: The advantage of Airbnb is that it is a review based service, bad reviews do not help the host getting bookings so many go out of their way to make sure you have a great stay. Is it clean? Is there noisy neighbors? Are there appliances in the kitchen? What has other guests grumbled about...... or raved about! Weigh up the plus and cons of what you have read before jumping in.

3/ You've found a place and want to book it: Stop! Before you book, send the host an email, specify the times you need, why you are there, it doesn't hurt to say a little about yourself too, after all it is someone letting you into their house! Some hosts are great at replying, some not, some listings could be inactive at the time but still on the site, don't book before you've "connected". 

4/ Don't put all your eggs in one basket: Send an email to several people, it is possible that the place you like is booked up OR you don't like the reply from the host. Any host that writes a nice polite email back is certainly going to get booked with me, one that replies with a one line, less than interested response (for me) won't be booked. 

5/ Don't be afraid to ask: You might be struggling to find something for your budget, this has certainly been the case with us in San Francisco. So find something near enough to your budget and email the host what you can and cannot afford in your opening "hello". It might be that they will do you a deal. This has been our experience, we have had daily rates knocked down, cleaning/admin charges wiped off and free bottles of wine supplied! Worst case they say no and you politely move on. This is another chance to find out about the area too. 

6/ You're happy, the host is happy now book: Great! You are off on your adventure but, before you pay, do one thing....... do a web search for "Airbnb coupon codes". Yes, you can save yourself even more cash. It's a bit hit and miss, but several times i've found 20% off, £20 off vouchers and saved that little extra off the bill (in one case a whole night free). It all helps.

Hope this has been helpful, if you have any questions and thinking of doing a trip but are unsure, please feel free to drop me a line, leave a comment below.