On Christmas Eve, we woke up and decided to head out for an overnight Christmas trip to visit Salvation Mountain and the Salton Sea. We both worked the morning, and then we booked a last-minute room at La Casa del Zorro in Borrego Springs. It ended up being just the vacation we needed. We were worn from the year and wanted to spend some time together before I headed off to Mexico with my family.
First off, La Casa del Zorro is an amazing resort. We randomly found it on hotels.com based off of location, but it was surprisingly very luxury and the perfect place to catch up on some rest and relaxation.
On Christmas day, we drove through the Colorado Desert to get to Salvation Mountain. We stopped along the way to take some photos of the desert. I just love road trips.
For awhile, I have wanted to visit Salvation Mountain, but I hadn’t blocked off a good time to visit. Kelvin, on the other hand, had no idea what Salvation Mountain was about. When I tried to describe it, I told him it was an art installation that consisted of a painted hillside in the desert… this is why I’m not in sales. He was confused. “So, we are driving out here to look at a graffitied rock? This better be the best graffitied rock I’ve ever seen.”, he said.
When we got there, he agreed that it was for sure, the best graffitied rock he’d ever seen.
After Salvation Mountain, we drove through Slab City, an unincorporated community for “snowbirds” and squatters. I thought it would be disrespectful to take photos, but it was pretty interesting to visit. They even have their own night club and pet graveyard.
Afterwards, we drove to Bombay Beach to visit the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea was created by accident. In 1905, the Colorado River swelled and breached its levees, creating the Salton Sea from what was originally the Salton Sink. Bombay Beach soon became a resort destination for water recreation. Fish and birds thrived in the area. In the 1970s, the ecosystem began to deteriorate since there was no drainage outlet for the lake. Runoff from nearby farms caused the lake to become saltier and polluted with pesticides. The city was also hit with several floods, damaging the development on shore. Every few years, the fish die off from the lack of oxygen in the water, causing rotting fish to come to the surface and shores.
Today, Bombay Beach is a living ghost town. It was an interesting place to visit and to learn about the history of the Salton Sea.
PHOTOS BY MELODY KUO
