Labor Day 2015 in Salton City was very hot averaging about 108.  Days were mostly clear and nights with many stars clearly visible.  It was too hot to do anything around the house and I decided to turn my attention towards the Salton Sea which if the reader of this post does not know forms the eastern boundary of Salton City.

Its been a while since I visited the Salton sea and boy, was I surprised by what I saw.  All of my favorite shoreline areas could no longer be considered shoreline for the sea has receded drastically.  At one place, the former yacht club in Salton city the sea used to lap around the rocks as seen in the middle of  the above photograph.  Now in the next photograph, the view is from the top of those rocks to where the current shoreline exists probably at least an eighth of a mile.

Apparently the State of California is deciding to neglect their obligation of restoring the Salton sea which probably is currently beyond their control with the ongoing drought limiting their options.  I am beginning to understand what many scientists are saying about the lethal dust issue from exposed sea bed.  The water level is dropping incredibly fast and its expected to get even faster after 2017 when the full impact of the Quantitive Settlement Agreement (QSA) takes full effect.

The QSA is a water deal among five states that use Colorado river water and Imperial county here in California which from what I read has water rights to about Three quarters of California's river water allotment. With populations increasing in the other four states, they're crying fowl with California taking far more of its allotment of water, hence the QSA which Imperial county would sell more of its water to urban areas in California, and in exchange for the deal, California would restore the Salton sea.  The QSA was signed back in 2003 and left California about fourteen years to come up with a plan and restore the Salton sea.  Everything was fine until it was realized that California had no intention of restoring the sea as promised.

Another area hit hard by the lower elevation of the Salton Sea is the area known as the Riviera Keys.  They'll probably have to rename the area the "Riviera Trenches" since nearly all the water in the canals is now gone as seen in these lower photo.  As you can see the sea portion of water no longer connects to the canal portion and once those canals run dry, they'll become trenches.  If I lived here I'd be fuming mad at the State for permitting this.  This however will be to no avail, since money and resources are lacking.

However some promising news is coming out of the California Governor's office which may have a slight chance to reverse the dying trends at the Salton sea.  It appointed an individual to investigate the best possible way to restore wetlands for migrating birds.  This news is still fairly new and I'll have to update readers of this blog in my next posting.

I went to Salton City for just one night  on Saturday July 18th and arrived there about 12:30 pm.  On the drive between Borrego Springs and Salton City we ran into a heavy downpour and the thought of flash floods crossed my mind and I reduced my speed and proceeded with caution.  It only lasted about 5 minutes and the rest of the drive was uneventful.  Arriving at the house to strong winds and  occasional rain.  It remained cool but humid for the remainder of the day. I even considered taking out the off road vehicles since the day was fairly cool.  At least one other had the same idea since I saw them on the State owned land behind my home.   It was so nice to see them enjoying the desert this late in the season.  Salton City is definitely in hibernation mode with many residents off to cooler digs.

Sunday morning July 19th, I got up early as usual to watch the breathtaking sunrise as usual.  The sky was mostly clear and I decided to go out to see if the new traffic signal was in operation.  As the photo below shows, it is now fully online and functioning.  However if you look at the photo closely you will see that the highway name sign is dangling, a result of Saturday's windstorm.

If you look at the lower right there appears to be a cross as if some fatality occurred at this intersection.  I know many accidents with fatalities had in the past, and I will have to go back and see if I can pick up some sort of history on this particular one.  It was one of the major arguments as to why this intersection needed a traffic signal. The local hardware store is now history.  But the neighborly togetherness remains strong.

I spent much of Sunday morning performing routine maintenance on the off road vehicles and was astonished as to how fast the clouds were building up over the local mountain ranges.  You can easily distinguish where the updrafts were occurring.  When we left around 2pm to return to National City, we could easily see a dark wall of clouds to the West.  

This cloud formation dropped heavy rain West of Borrego Springs to right before the city of Ramona.  about a 45 minute drive.  I later discovered that Ramona received about 4 inches of rain and many roads were flooded. Salton City itself on Sunday received no rain as far as I know.

Salton city over the Memorial Day weekend was surprising in the form that it was not too hot and some off roaders were enjoying the desert this late in the season.  They were riding on the state land behind my home as well in the off road parks to the West of the city.  Most days were in the high 80's and with a breeze blowing it wasn't hot.  The sky was pretty much clear and the evenings were refreshingly cool.  

On a sad note, I was surprised to hear that the owner of the Hardware business is closing his store to dedicate more time at home.  Now there will be no local business for home repair necessities and it would be necessary to go to Home depot in Indio for home dedicated repair items. Indio is about a half hour drive from the Salton City residence. For me its not too bad since I'm there only part time I can plan a project ahead of time and bring with me the items needed and hope no surprises develop.

On a happier note the installation of the new traffic signal is nearing completion and will be online soon.  I hear from locals that this has the desired side effect of attracting new businesses. Below is a photo of the intersection looking to the southwest:

One issue currently developing in Salton City is the outrageous cost the Salton communities services district is trying to impose on the homeowners within its district.  It will be challenged by some in the community but all bets show it will be to no avail.  We may have to resort to Proposition 218 as was used recently by citizens in the city of San Juan Capistrano.  Proposition 218 states that an agency or utility cannot charge more for a service then the cost to actually provide the service.  And if they raise fees a significant amount it needs to go before a vote of the residents and businesses effected.  In other words, they cannot raise costs on customers simply to correct budgets that didn't need correcting in the first place.  

However, even with this friction developing I still think the area has great potential and could develop into a recreational hot spot if plans and ideas are well thought out.  It can benefit both, existing and future residents and businesses.  Locals I talked to don't mind growth and all welcome it.  

Till next post, have a good day!

Salton city updates which are known to me and checked out when I visited the area for the weekend of April 17 to 19 reveal the start of the widening of highway 86 at Borrego Salton seaway (S-22) has begun.  According to the California state internet site on such projects, the widening is to accommodate future truck traffic at the signal.

On Friday night, while driving East of Borrego Springs on my drive to Salton City, two helicopters were circling with their searchlights on and we had the impression that they were searching for someone or something in the vast openness of the desert.  As of this writing I do not know if they found what they were looking for.

The weather was slightly on the warm side averaging in the high 80's to the early 90's.  For me it was warm enough to use air conditioning at the house.  Although it was sunny all days with no clouds at all, it was strangely hazy.  However this haze was a slight tan in color which gave me the impression that it was dust in the air.  If it was dust, I don't know how it was lifted since it wasn't really windy. Update:  There was a brush fire near Beaumont and this was the cause of the dust according to a news program I saw later.

I hauled out a new atv to the house to be used after summer when the weather is cooler.  As stated in a previous post, Salton city pace slows dramatically in the summer months as many snowbirds leave to avoid the heat.  I visit the area during the summer months and the heat can get pretty intense that it has the capability to keep you indoors.  Even at night the temperature can be in the high 80's making nights warm enough to disturb sleep if you don't have air conditioning.

Another interesting thing happening in Salton city is that both, home sales as well as home prices seem to be on the upswing.  No longer can you find a house like mine at the price I paid for it.  Potentially good news for homeowners but for those young families for whom I sympathize with, it could be a struggle.  I feel that housing in the area is still very affordable. It can be even more affordable if you have handyman skills and buy a fixer upper.


My family shows up in the summer where we use the pool located at the Salton city park which you will find photos of in a previous post. Another thing about the coming Summer warm season are the Arizona monsoon rains which occasionally drift westward towards Salton City.  The Monsoon season starts around the middle of June to about the middle of September.  Several times I have been fortunate to be at the desert house when these spectacular lightning displays arrive.  I enjoy them more then a 4th of July fireworks show and so does the family.  I have an outdoor thermometer at the house and I saw an approaching thunderstorm and looked at the thermometer before it arrived and it was reading close to 110 degrees.  When the thunderstorm was directly over us I looked at it again and the temperature dropped to 89 degrees.  In about the span of about 40 minutes the temperature dropped 21 degrees however when the thunderstorm passed it was still overcast but the rain had stopped and the temperature on the thermometer returned to 109 degrees.  This is the type of weather I enjoy observing as well as study.

Another surprising find is that Burtec, the trash company in Salton City has improved the road and their facilities greatly.  It used to be a rough ride from highway 86 to the dump sight.  You used to have to drive slowly for the 2 miles from the highway to the dump.  Now it has been repaved and is smooth.  Locals tell me that the dump is expanding to receive more truck traffic.

I went to Salton city for the weekend of March 13, 14 and 15.  As usual I always find it difficult when the weekend is over and it's time to go home.  The neighborhood where my house sits is pretty much filled with new residents.  Only one house, recently rehabbed is on the market and listed for sale.  Almost all of my Son's friends have moved away but that doesn't discourage him from coming to the desert.  He can still use his dune buggy and he tells me there is little time to be bored.

Well, away from my personal situation and on with the beauty of Salton city.  Some pleasant changes were in store for me.  It seems that powered paragliding and ultra light aircraft owners find Salton city a desirable location to practice as well as promote their sport.  I didn't have my camera with me when I spotted them so therefore wasn't able to photograph them.  I hope to be better prepared next time I visit.  I realize that a good reporter should be prepared 24/7 and from now on I'll try to always be prepared.  I hope to interview some of these pilots and why they enjoy their sport in a future blog.  Who knows, maybe when I retire here I can buy an ultralight and join them!

Another surprise was that the new Jack in the box restaurant is now open and serving food.  Here is a night shot of it:

I am surprised at the speed it was built.  Next in coming to Salton city according to locals I've talked to is going to be the traffic signal.  I get the feeling that Salton city is actually growing.  Personally I hope the trend continues.  

It was warm this weekend due mainly to Santa Ana wind conditions.  However, it wasn't warm enough to halt off roading activities.  I was surprised to see quite a few RV's with their off road toys West of the city.  If you're not aware yet, the three and a half months of summer heat from around the first of June to around the middle of September all off road activity stops and Salton city pretty much shuts down except for those using the community pool.  Summer also brings thunderstorms to the area when they occasionally drift over from Arizona's monsoon season.  I hope to visit the area this Summer and if I'm lucky I'll be able to either video or photograph some of these for future posts on this blog.

The one thing I like to see in Salton city are the spectacular sunrises.  It's like an obsession with me because I wake up early just to see it every time I'm there.  See for yourself in the next photo.  I know I've photographed these before so I hope it doesn't bore you.

Also I decided to check out a newer constructed home that was apparently abandoned and never finished by the builder.  It would have been a nice house and it's sad that it'll never be lived in.

As you can see, Salton city is not perfect, but what place truly is.  I love the place and so do many others.  It has wide open spaces and the pace is small town slow compared to a city like National City. In National City for example, no one seems to have the time to be friendly probably because of the high expense of living there.  Everyone is more interested in trying to stay ahead by earning the almighty dollar that it consumes the majority of their free time. Salton city on the other hand gives people the chance to truly breath, live calmer and trust one another, at least in my immediate neighborhood anyway.  Its difficult to describe the atmosphere here in writing.  All I can say is that I'm finding it very difficult to find someone who does not care for the area, including visitors like me.  The neighborhood is very safe and people friendly are the reasons given most often as to why the area is well loved.

Thanks for reading and next post will come soon.

Salton City over both Thanksgiving and New Years was definitely the place to be.  The weather was perfect.  Plenty of visiting off roaders and residents as well as businesses were happy.  The new Jack in the box restaurant is being constructed at a fast pace.  Neighbors telling me of seeing lots being cleaned up and grazed for possible construction of something.  It's nice to see even though the sea is sick that people are still feeling confident about investing in the area.

New Years weekend was a cold one.  Nights dropped into the lower 30's and days rarely got over 65.  The visiting off roading crowd certainly enjoyed that.  It seems there were more of them this year.  Possible hint that the economy is definitely growing.

As mentioned above, The new Jack in the box is taking shape and will probably be ready to serve food in a month or so.  Here is a construction photo of it's progress:

I feel that the Family Dollar store has a big influence on commercial development in Salton City.  From their point of economic views, its one of their best performing stores and I think others began to realize the economic powerhouse local consumers provide.  No other chain store was willing to invest, especially when the local housing crash occurred.  I suspect that Family Dollar executives saw what I saw.  People like me were able to buy homes in the area at heavily discounted prices.  Many permanent locals were able to do the same.  Lower housing costs give consumers more disposable income to spend and the result is more sales and income for local business.  Some of my recent neighbors confirm this.  One neighbor stated that up in Indio (about 30 miles to the north)  they rented an older three bedroom home for 1100 a month.  The nine year old three bedroom house they rent in Salton City costs 650 a month and includes water.  A 450 a month savings.

Salton city has another major benefit you probably won't find in any other city in California and that is free access to the local dump for trash disposal.  In National City it costs like 35 dollars a trip.  You need to do two things to access the dump free.  One is to show ID that your a resident of the area or if that's not available a bill like a property tax bill that shows a local address.  Many of my neighbors use the local pick up service for trash disposal.  In my case since I show up there one or two weekends  a month makes more economic sense to haul it myself.  You don't need to earn a lot of money to live the middle class life in Salton City.

Based on current news articles I've been reading, the Salton Sea has the potential to produce sufficient world-class quantities of lithium for batteries.  As more electronic devices as well as automobiles use lithium rechargeable batteries, this has the potential to provide an employment base for local residents.  None of my neighbors object to a factory coming to Imperial county where the bulk of the Salton Sea lies.  I hope that those in the field of rechargeable batteries around the world read this and consider this area for investment to make such batteries. Me and my neighbors welcome you!

And now, a photo taken from my patio of the early morning moon set in beautiful Salton City California.

Thanks for reading, new post coming soon.