Day 492
Bombay Beach
After leaving Phil the Legend welder we headed again to Anita’s. We were greeted warmly by her and Archie her dog. Poor Anita had suffered a major flood in the kitchen and this meant there was no kitchen or lounge at the moment, just a big space with a bare concrete floor. She was still happy to host, and us cycle tourists are used to managing with minimal kit. John, another cycle tourist riding the iconic Route 66 was also staying and we spent a great evening swapping cycling tales and eating vast amounts of the veggie stew Anita had made. John was away as soon as the sun was up but Tom and I ended up staying for three days. We were waiting on a parcel, then a wind storm hit the valley and finally we had a wedding to go to! Via Zoom we watched Anita’s daughter’s big day! On our last night we took Anita out to dinner as thanks for putting up with us!
On leaving Anita’s we had planned 4 days riding to the Mexican border, but with fresh legs we realised we could probably do it in 3. To start with we had miles of easy riding, hills on one side desert on the other. We saw more Joshua trees and then all types of cacti and orchards of palm trees. We spent our first night under the stars pitched in the desert. We could hear the coyotes call but they stayed in the hills. In the morning Tom announced that maybe we could make camp by the Salton Sea. First though it was one of those endless up and down roads, we could see Palm Springs but flew on by, then Desert Hot Springs, with endless billboards advertising spa resorts, but not for us. We had something better to aim for, Bombay Beach. A town created in the 1960s to take advantage of the stunning spot by the Salton Sea. Then you could have been entertained by Frank Sinatra or the Beach Boys, but it all ended in the 1980s when the reality of Salton Sea’s environment dawned. Now we had some fascinating artwork and miles of empty beach, plus one plucky if somewhat misguided lady who tried and failed to drive on the sand.
The Salton Sea was actually created back in 1905 when a river breached a dam and water flooded the valley creating a ‘sea’ 34 miles long. Back In 1929, 5 world speedboat records were set. The high saline content combined with being 200 feet below Sea level made for ideal conditions. In 1951 they were back at it, creating a further 21 world speedboat records. The sea was stocked with fish to attract anglers, a yacht club was formed with the largest marina in Southern California and of course the celebrities came. More tourists visited here than went to Yosemite National Park! A combination of rising saline levels, storms, and a massive promised investment that never happened caused the end of Bombay Beach as a major tourist attraction. Today it’s hard to believe Sinatra once walked these streets. Hay bales line the shore in an effort to improve the condition of the ground. We rode the streets, admiring the awesome artwork that people have created in their gardens. We noticed that there was not a bit of rubbish in the streets, now that makes it pretty unique for this part of America! Before we left we chatted with Louise and Thomas, (no 7 on this trip) from NZ. We invited ourselves to stay if wemade it there!
