On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether youâre traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good morning all,
Sorry about Tuesdayâs post, the furnace died Monday night and that took my attention.
We go from the highest place in California to the second lowest(the  lowest elevation is Badwater in Death Valley). The Salton Sea is south of Palm Springs and is over 200 feet below sea level. This low elevation is caused by the San Andres fault splintering in to smaller faults and creating a sink. If not for the silt deposited by the Colorado River, this sink would be part of the Gulf of California. Over the millennia a number of lakes have formed in this basin, depending on the climate. The current lake was created when a irrigation canal fed by the Colorado River broke, allowing the entire flow of the river to flow into the Salton sink. The sea is currently fed by the Alamo and New rivers that are highly polluted by agriculture runoff and in the case of the New river, industrial pollution in Mexico. These rivers do not maintain the water level in the sea and it is shrinking. In the mid 20th century a number of towns sprung up along the shores of the lake and were sold as vacation sports, but the pollution and receding shoreline. Bombay Beach is one of these towns on the eastern shore of the sea. Rather than being a vacation destination, ti’s now home to some eclectic art in the town and along the shore of the receding sea.
Warning!
This sign greets you as you walk into the salt flats that were once the Bombay Beach Marina.
A swing set out in the Salton Sea. This keeps getting moved out as the sea recedes.
This chair is sitting out on the salt flats, a guy was was shooting a model using this chair as a prop when we arrived.
A large eye watches you at the Salton Sea.
This sign has been placed by the shore, in reality it’s not purple, I decided to change the color in Lightroom and decided I liked it.
Care for a movie? The screen is an old truck trailer and the cars have seen better days. This panorama consists of multiple shots that were exposure bracketed to handle the dynamic range between the shadows and the bright sun.
Stuck the landing.
This is on the way out of town, apparently you can climb up to the top if you get there at the right time.
Leaving Bombay Beach.
The sun hides behind a cloud and casts it’s rays over the Salton Sea as we leave Bombay Beach.
JPL
eclectic art   That is one way to describe it.  Someone on the local facebook page asked about drive-ins around Atlanta.  Because of the virus, they might make a comeback
Thanks Bill for the tour.
eclare
What a strange place
Mary G
I went out there to the east side in 2014 0r 2015 with HBM and the smell was horrible, like an overfull porta-potty that’s been sitting in the sun for 20 years. There were a lot of different birds and I couldn’t understand why the filthy water didn’t kill them. There were a few houses farther away from the water and two out of three were for sale. I think it’s expected to eventually dry up due to climate change and then all the chemicals on the bottom will turn to dust, blow away, and poison us all. That plane sculpture is cool though.
JPL
@Mary G: Not to worry the orange fart will rescue you. Only he can fix it.
Baud
Neat.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@eclare: Oh, that’s not the strangest place we went to that afternoon, not by a long shot.
@JPL: Hope the cars in Atlanta fare better than the ones at the Bombay Beach Drive-in.
@Mary G: Yeah, it doesn’t smell all that pleasant, it’s not really climate change causing the sea to dry up, that’s really more it’s natural state. The toxins from the runoff will create toxic dust storms.
ETA: Did y’all make it down to Salvation Mountain and Slab City?
@JPL: That’s Jared’s next homework assignment.
@Baud: It’s a great place for photographers, once you get used to the smell.
p.a.
Beautiful/disturbing. Â Bit off topic but the Colorado R was mentioned. Â Is it true it used to reach the sea at the Gulf of California but the water demands are such that it just peters out in thedesert?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@p.a.: I believe a bit still reaches the Gulf of California, but there used to be a lush delta there which is now desert.
p.a.
@?BillinGlendaleCA: ???
Mary G
@?BillinGlendaleCA: No, I could not take the smell and got back in the car, the dog following me. HBM poked around a bit by himself. We went over to Anza-Borrego next, which was much nicer, and to Julian, where I was forced to suffer church camp for several summers in the 60s.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: Salvation Mountain and Slab City are not on the shoreline, so they don’t smell bad, it’s just very weird. I’m planning on going to Anza Berrego to do some astro work(that may be the only photography I can do now). I’m just waiting for some clear nights(taps watch and checks the weather impatiently).
Mike in Oly
What a fun place to shoot! Thanks for sharing your trip there.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: Â Have you heard from HBM?
Origuy
There’s an area of Anza-Borrego called The Maze. It’s in the southern area, near the Tamarisk Grove campground. I don’t think it’s on the map; try asking at the visitor center. A lot of twisty little passages, all alike. San Diego Orienteering holds an event in the area every year.
stinger
What a great pics! What a strange and yet lovely place. Your camera always finds the beauty, Bill.
J R in WV
I especially like the aircraft also, too. Thanks for sharing Bill !!
hotshoe
I had never been to the Salton Sea until this February; drove as far as I could on Treadwell then hiked the rest of the way to the shoreline. It was raining while I was there, so no bad smell :)
Took a couple of phone-photos, none as interesting as yours. Thanks for your lovely art!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike in Oly: Thanks, it’s, eh, different. Good place for photography.
@Origuy:
In a cave? Maybe a colossal cave? Sounds interesting, I was planning on seeing the slot canyon east of Borrego Springs as well.
@stinger: Thanks, it’s rather unique.
@J R in WV: Thanks, they stuck that landing.
@hotshoe: Thanks, I thought we’d get rain the day we went and did on the drive there, but dry when we got there.