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| no partners | | Normally when I spend the night in Borrego Springs, I like to get breakfast at Kendall's before hitting the road. But, I did not have any firm plans for day three of my brief California trip and wasn't sure if I would spend the night somewhere, or just grind it out all the way back to Tucson. So with that in mind I just hit the road about 0600. The main goal of this trip was to make another stop at Bombay Beach and hopefully find the Ski Inn Bar open. I drove over around the southern end of Salton Sea by way of Westmorland, Calipatria, and Niland. I got there before they opened, so had time to check out new art installations, etc.
I wanted to get something to eat, have a beer, and look around, since I had only been there once back in 2012. It was a sleepy bar in a decaying town back then, but these days it has become a lively joint again, with the artists and hipsters moving in and bringing new vigor to the town. I was aware of that watching You Tube videos. I was glad it was open. I found out it was closed in May 2021 when I visited because of Covid. My fascination with the Salton Sea was solidified when I saw the cult documentary, "Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea," which was released in 2004, though I didn't become aware of it until about 2010. One of the local folks that appeared in the movie (Les Marty) was actually at the bar the day I visited in 2012. One of the wildest characters in the movie was Laslo Oros, otherwise known as "Hunky Daddy." Over the years I wondered if he was still alive, as so many of the folks in that film have passed on. I knew where his house was, and it still looks about the same as in 2012. So, one thing I made sure to ask the barkeep was if that crazy pumpkin Hungarian was still among the living. He assured me the answer was yes, so I was glad to find that out. 
I departed Bombay Beach around noon and wanted to make a loop drive back to Arizona, rather than just return through Yuma, etc. So, it would be through Blythe on I-10, which I like driving. I had two choices, and decided to just keep on heading north on CA 111 to Mecca and take the scenic road through the Mecca Hills (Box Canyon Road) to pick up I-10 a little west of Chiriaco Summit. That went smooth until I reached the tricky spot in Mecca where you have to turn off CA 111 to get over to 66th Avenue. All of a sudden there was a massive traffic jam, mostly semi trucks, heading east on 66th Avenue. WTF? I'm thinking it must have been some sort of detour, because normally there isn't a lot of traffic going that way. I mean, we are talking a miles long convoy of big rigs!  One of them even had rolled over on one of the curves near the canal, but fortunately wasn't blocking the travel lanes.  Needless to say it took quite awhile to attain I-10, but life goes on.  In retrospect, I should have backtracked down CA 111 from Bombay Beach to pick up CA 78 again at Brawley and headed to Blythe that way through Glamis.
After that bit of mild drama, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way home. Usually when I reach AZ 85 near Buckeye, I take that south to pick up I-8 at Gila Bend to avoid going through Phoenix. But one of the other things I wanted to do this trip was to check out the new portion of the 202 Freeway from about 59th Avenue down around the west side of South Mountains and east over to pick up I-10 again around Gila River Casinos. I haven't been anywhere close to the core of Phoenix in at least a decade, but I will say I actually liked the new stretch of freeway. All things considered, it was a fun three days! 
There are plenty of videos out there about the Salton Sea, but I think this one features a nice tour of the Ski Inn Bar. These folks visited in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit the fan. And yes, the bathroom in the place is something else, as you will see:
[ youtube video ] |
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