SLAB CITY, Calif.
The dusty compound is cluttered with rusted school buses and wooden shacks. Cacti stud the grounds and Christmas lights drape dried tree stumps. When the wind blows over the nearby Salton Sea, wind chimes serenade as Slab City slumbers.
This Shangri-La of desert weirdness has for years drawn tourists from around the world. Some would stay in one of the dilapidated RV’s rented out by Rodney “Spyder” Wild. It cost only $30, and guests got breakfast and running water.
But even the “last free place in America,” as locals call it, didn’t stand a chance against COVID-19.
Beyer s Byways: Exploring the eccentric and evolving Slab City
By John R. Beyer
For the Victorville Daily Press
I looked at our friend Robin, who sat across from me at our dining room table.
“Robin, have you ever heard of Slab City?”
Laureen looked over at me and rolled her eyes.
“I can’t say that I have,” Robin replied.
I smiled. “You can’t, or you won’t?”
Laureen smiled. “He’s nuts, Robin.”
“Well, let’s see who is nuts after I tell you about Slab City.”
Slab City is an actual place. Our friend, Paul, and I visited in May 2015. I remember it being cold, windy and rainy odd for that time of year in Slab City, which is in the Low Desert just east of the Salton Sea, approximately 160 miles southwest of Los Angeles.
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