Quirky Eccentric Desert Town Trip

This weekend was another one of those, "Ross get in the car we are going" weekends.
You look around on social media (even when you aren't trying) and see all these fantastical adventures people take "oOOoOo look at me and hubby!" "EeEEeee look and me and the pup!" and I sit and scratch my head about how people can accomplish such absolute feats as getting out of the house. Where does the car come from? Where does the money come from? Where does the time come from? Do these people have full time jobs with the horrible time-off accruals!?

And before I hyperventilate from the Spanish Inquisition I've conjured in my mind, I remember:

So much about life is making opportunities for yourself and taking risks -when you can. 

Which is so like me to make some wannabe deep and poetic statement with the world's biggest caveat at the end. Call it me, call it what med school has done to me. Having limited funds and no car keeps me pretty grounded. But when I have a full Saturday with a car and a travel buddy (oh yeah that husband guy), "gas money" tends to burn a hole in my pocket. The silver lining is that I have learned to stop waiting and start doing.

That doesn't mean I flew to Norway this weekend on that epic Travel Zoo deal. But I mean, when you learn the International Banana Museum is a mere hour and a half away- what's really stopping you?

Blink and you will miss it. Not the ice, bait, beer shop- next to it.



Signed- The Banagement.

The Museum boasts over 19,000 banana related items.

And the Guinness world record of largest collection devoted to any one fruit. Makes you wonder what the record is for any one vegetable.

Hopefully Cassie will forgive me. Hopefully she understands that it is just too much random and quirky for me to resist.

I really like the Michael Cera autographed photo on the bottom left. So much bananas! I got a chocolate covered banana and Ross got a chocolate banana shake. Delicious.

Next we were off to the wonder that is the Salton Sea.

[Source]

As I learned about the area I dove head-first into researching the phenomenon. Here is my haphazard summary.

Back in the day (1950s) the Salton Sea was the place to be. The place sprung up with resorts and yacht harbors and vacation homes. Southern Californians would flock to the area for a weekend vacation. At one point they installed a 15-lane boat ramp in attempts to accommodate the crowds. It is reported that at one point the park had more visitors than Yosemite!

Definitely gasped at that.

Check out this cool video that does an awesome job of explaining the phenomenon and surrounding area.

Now, the Salton Sea is a bit of an eerie place. Pretty desolate. Pretty stinky. Though, I was prepared for the absolute worse, so I was actually a bit surprised.

WARNING DEAD FISH CARCASSES AHEAD.

Proceed with Caution!

Not to brag, but I've survived the Great Salt Lake, and that is beyond wretched.

The "sand" is actually crushed barnacles. And to be fair, probably a good amount of decomposing fish bones because the seaside is strewn with fish carcasses.



I think these tough mounds on the "sand" are dried up and hardened salt deposits.



There were actually some pretty cool pelicans out, so we had fun watching them preen, fly, and swoop down for fish.

Bird watching? Or creeper?

Next week were off to Bombay Beach, or rather, the ruins of Bombay Beach. "Fee Area" and "Hope you enjoyed your visit." Ha. Ha.



You know a place will be worth a visit if it's accolades include, "supposedly the most photographed abandoned trailer," by ghosttowns.com. Honestly the accolades probably stop there. In the 70's the area was plagued by a few floods that wiped out the area. The only thing more eerie than a portion of town decaying and half buried in mud is the portion of the town that is still... er... viable? Meaning, there are still people living/ squatting in trailers in that 10x10 block of town.



I had a weird fascination with the dilapidated mailboxes heavy with salty air and oxidation. But not so much that I wanted to stick around for the special event.

Bombay Beach is one of the lowest settlements in America, sitting at 223 feet below sea level, and marks the end of the San Andreas fault. So this sign seems very appropriate.



After our trip I found an article about Bombay Beach on Mental Floss. Really captures the essence of the area. Even better, you should really watch the video he made, the one I linked above, and here. And below. It has some footage from original promos for the Salton Sea. And also mentions our Next-Up adventure to Salvation Mountain as well.

I wanna know what Ross is thinking as he stares out to the sea. 

Ruins. Top center, looks like the "supposedly the most photographed abandoned trailer," has taken a turn for the worse(r/est). 

Venture out farther if you dare. 

But probably not the best idea. Ew. 

According to Anthony Bourdain this is a pretty great place to get a beer and hang out with the locals. 

"Lowest Bar in the Western Hemisphere." 

Before long we continued our journey south, A/C blasting, and digging into our stash of mad stacks of PB&J.

And most importantly, forsaking that worthless navigation because no one could direct us to where we were going next.