More desert, please.

So to wrap up in Joshua Tree we went out and found the Integratron.
A man in the 50s began building what he described as "a machine, a high-voltage electrostatic generator that would supply a broad range of frequencies to recharge the cell structure." It's also linked to alien activity and supposedly sits at a particular special magnetic place on our planet Earth. I was under the impression that it was now open to the public, but it was closed when we got there due to a private event (eerie). Even eerier is that in the polaroid picture i took of the thing it isn't there. Just the sand, fence, and sky... So we left Joshua Tree slightly dissapointed and then went to Palm Springs. Palm Springs is a pretty yet unimpressive place. It's kinda like a mini Las Vegas that met a mini Hollywood. Did you know that Palm Springs is what it is because in the heydays of Hollywood the studios didn't allow their big stars to go more than 100 miles outside of the lots unless it was approved by them? Well, that's what I heard. And thus the stars got bungalows, turned little restaurants and night clubs into the place to be, and then tourists began flocking there hoping to hobnob with Hollywood's elite.
Ok, back to the tales of our touristing. We wandered in downtown Palm Springs, poked in to an art gallery or two, then got a bite to eat. Then we drove towards the Salton Sea, but we decided to call it a night at a truck stop a little bit northish of there. The next morning we made it to the Salton Sea. Here's what wikipedia has to say about that place : salton sea

Something more interesting about that Sea is that it looses more water each year than it takes and that due to the high salinity of the water there have been a few die offs of the bird and fish populations.
Also, nothing much grows there and the elements are good at destroying whatever people build around there. It is a lovely place though, and very barren. About 20 miles further from the Salton Sea recreation area that we were at is a place called Slab City. That's where the photo of the dead bird was taken. It's an RV town of sorts that has planted itself on the remains of a US naval base. When the base closed the military sold all the barracks that had been there, leaving empty cement slabs behind. This is where folk of various walks of life have placed themselves, some permanently and some just for the winter or, like us, a weekend. We spent Sat. there, lounging in Harvey and wandering around. Nearby is this thing called "Salvation Mt.", made by a Mr. Leonard Knight. He's spent the last umpteen years constructing this thing of straw, sticks and mud, then he paints it. His project has become well known and he has been given awards for it from local organizations.
But further into the desert above and behind of it is some more random graffiti desert art that isn't as documented and cherished. It's somewhat offensive and instead of praising God it praises hedonism, and then there is another structure that satirizes our country's love of violence via the military. Interesting stuff, interesting place. Later that night we listened to live music at an area of Slab City called "The Range". Some old men played hippie classics relatively well and there was a man named Bob who played a 12 string guitar in an awesome way. Almost as entertaining as the music was the dozen or so college aged oddities that were either highly intoxicated or just very happy and outgoing. They were gender bending in their attire, wearing silly hats and doing improvised group dances with one another. They also kept referencing the group wedding that they intended to have at the end of the open mic (rather than perform on stage). They tuckered out early though and are thus still unwed. We went to bed awhile later. Woke up early and enjoyed the desert in the morning, then went to a place in S.C. referred to as "The Oasis" for the 3 dollar sunday breakfast (which was delicious). There we met an older couple visiting from San Fran and an Anthropology major from Sacramento. She was there for 2 weeks to study the people of Slab City in some way.....

Now we're in San Diego to visit a friend of mine from way back when that just recently moved here. Will post on that stop later.