ADVENTURES
En route to Eagle Mountain, an abandoned mining town that it turns out is not actually so abandoned, according to the armed “guard” who met us at the entrance.
PALM SPRINGS (45 mins drive)
Not remotely adventurous but gay and fun, and always 20 degrees warmer.
AMBOY, CA (1.5 hrs drive)
A ghost town with an ancient crater you can hike.
SLASH X (45 mins drive)
A roadside OHV bar and grill in Barstow, CA.
KELSO DUNES (2 hrs drive)
Cool-ass dunes in the Mojave National Preserve, with hiking trails.
SALTON SEA (2 hrs drive)
The Salton Sea is a shallow, man-made lake located on the San Andreas Fault — one that quickly became oversaturated with saline, making it uninhabitable. Once home to a thriving resort community (Frank Sinatra used to visit) today it’s more of a rusted wasteland. The water smells of salt and rotting fish. Shores are lined with fish skeletons. Why wouldn’t you want to visit? How to get there:
Bombay Beach is the most used access point, which is also home to The Ski Inn, the only bar in town, which may or may not be open and hosts an annual “Testicle Festival” serving Rocky Mountain Oysters. While you’re en route, stop by Salvation Mountain, which the L.A. Times describes as “a rainbow colored Jesus-inspired hallucination brought to life.”
If you’re feeling extra adventurous and in the mood for some light poverty porn, you can drive through Slab City, an unregulated squatter settlement on an old Navy base, which is also home to East Jesus, an outdoor art installation created with sustainable materials. Further reading here.
Ski Inn, home of the annual Testicle Festival.
CAFE 247 (45 mins)
“Roadside cafe full of Trumpy people. Good tacos, cheap beer.” – Sam
LAKE DOLORES WATER PARK (1.5 hrs)
An abandoned water park.
BIG BEAR LAKE (1.5 hrs)
Pristine alpine lake and ski town.
ANZA BORREGO STATE PARK (2 hrs)
More than a hundred intricate metal sculptures of prehistoric animals in Borrego Springs, CA
LOGISTICS AIRPORT, VICTORVILLE (2 hrs)
Airplane graveyard where they park decommissioned 747s.
RANDSBURG (2 hrs)
An old mining town, semi-abandoned, not the one that held us up.
TECOPA (3 hrs)
Tiny town at the entrance to Death Valley, with hot springs and an incredible restaurant called “Steaks and Beer.”
QUARTZITE (5 hrs)
Annual craft fair in Quartzite, AZ.
ARCOSANTI (7 hrs)
An experimental town in central AZ that we would some day like to visit.