As we pulled into the 2nd guard house last night, Chili Bob blinked his lights at us, and we followed him to the group's campsite. How GREAT to see Bob, and know that we were "at the beginning of the great 'guide service' to help renew my memories of previous visits to the Slabs, and to introduce Magee, aka Tonto, to a lifestyle she had only 'heard about' on the Internet! Bob led us over the bumpy roads and little 'gulches' .......through the bushes to our new 'home' for the next few days!
In a matter of moments, we were parked ....... haphazardly the first night, to let the formal "organizational part" wait until morning! Who cared if we were parked in an 'orderly fashion'??? It was "HUG TIME"!! Seann immediately emerged from his RV, and we passed around the hugs generously!! Magee got her share, too. They knew immediately she had to be a fantastic person to have been putting up with me for 3 days already!
We didn't unhook the jeep that night, ... just crawled into bed with the satisfaction that we 'had arrived', FINALLY! Before I finally fell asleep, I kept thinking about the last time I had been at the Slabs, about all the great talks, side trips, and meals I had shared with Chili Bob when Chef Roger and Rayhound had been busy with projects of their own!! Had it really been that long since I had been to the Slabs?
There was almost a full moon, and I could see it from my bedroom window! It looked like a big 'smile' welcoming me to my first night at the "Slabs"! But the desert is huge with many camping groups, so we were grateful to park, sleep, and look forward to meeting all the people available THIS MORNING!!
At first glance, we saw that 'Da Slabs', as the locals call it was going to be great fun! We introduced ourselves to the people around us, and, as usual, everyone started pitching in to help us get situated!
Someone unhooked the jeep for us, another helped us situate the motor home so that we would be within the 'circle the wagons' compound of friends we already knew! ( I have always been able to drive a tractor on the farm, and back up a cattle trailer, and since I began RVing, I've done fairly well, except when someone is watching or helping, but considering the 'audience', I did fairly well. <<GRIN>>
We cooked our first 'real homemade breakfast' of orange juice, scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast! We didn't know if anyone else was awake yet that first morning, because we were still 'on Texas time', and had not reset our watches! ( I left my watch on Texas time, and referred to my cell phone for Slab time :-)
Then, we set about toting all the groceries we had piled into the jeep into the rig. NOW we have a mess to straighten out, ......but we are surrounded with nourishment to keep us going!! In preparation for 'arriving' at the Slabs, we had gone to a big Walmart's right before we left Arizona. Things that had to go into the refrigerator were taken into the rig, but everything else, wine, beer, Crown, crackers, bread, and non-perishables had been thrown (in sacks) into the Jeep for the ride on into California.
Magee had been wanting 'brocolli' for 2 days! (Don't ask me, ask her!! :-) We really hadn't had any fresh veggies for 3 days, except for the casino buffet, the pears we had bought at a roadside stand, and one left-over banana, so we loaded up on all kinds of things we wanted to 'cook at the Slabs'!! Somehow, I had a 'nagging little feeling' that something wasn't right, then remembered that we couldn't take that stuff across the state line!! Ooops! NO BROCCOLI FOR MAGEE!! We went around to all the different places in the fruit and veggie department and put all of our fresh foods back!! So most of our food was in the jeep, and only some milk, etc. in the RV with us!
THEN we saw the ''Inspection Station''!!! We did a quick assessment of what we had 'on board' that might get confiscated! One pear. One banana. Magee had already eaten all she thought she could digest, so I longingly stared at the banana and pear, knowing that ONE of them were going into the trash! I chose the banana, and started peeling and eating it as we sat in line, waiting to be 'inspected'!!!
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| "The Approach" |
As I got the banana about half eaten, we kept 'approaching' the inspection station, then, it was 'our turn' to wedge the RV through those narrow little cones! I must have looked a bit concerned because he began to 'wave me forward'. Then, the dreaded questions: "What is your state of origin?" (as he looked at the plates on both my rig and my Jeep) TEXAS! MISSOURI,... HER!" "How many people are in your vehicle?" TWO! "Do you have any fresh fruits or vegetables with you?" A PEAR AND THIS (half-eaten) BANANA! DO YOU WANT THEM?" (as I displayed my half-eaten banana) "NO MAM"
So, is that all there is? He said "OK, PLEASE PASS THROUGH!"
Then he grinned as I snapped his photo!! Easy as pie!
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| NICE !! |
We hopped into the car with Chili Bob and took a quick tour to gather our bearings and know our exact location since it's been over 3 years since I've been here!! MUCH has changed, BUT the important things have stayed the same or improved!!
Solar Mike was doing business as usual at "The Sun Works" and there were people on top of rigs installing solar panels, on the left as you first enter the slabs. As we drove around looking at all the rigs, I remembered that I still had my solar oven in the basement of my rig from my last visit!
It's not unusual to pass by Solar Mike's business and see people busily installing the solar panels on top of new expensive rigs, old school buses, and every time of other vehicle that can be used to camp without electricity!
Here you see Chili Bob's solar oven in action! Bob's former name was Bob Cress, but once he cooked a rib-sticking bowl of chili for an unexpected crowd of people who smelled it cooking, he ingeniously enlarged the recipe and fed the crowd! Now, he's known as ''Chili bob'', or so the story is told!
Of course there IS a shortage of clean water among most people at the Slabs, so people tend to like to shower in a deep hole fed by the hot springs! "The Shower" .... or the 'bath' as some may call it. People usually park, shed their clothes, and climb down a steep ladder into a mossy-covered 'walled in' area where they seem to feel 'cleaner' than before! Of course no one wants to be bothered in their unclothed condition, so there is a sign at the entrance saying to 'Stay Away if there is a Vehicle Here!"
I personally thought someone should go over and peer down into the well, but the weeds dripping over the edges made us decide to go elsewhere and see something else!
If you look closely behind the sign, you will see a clump of bushes beneath which is the ladder and 'the hole' where people who wish to be 'cleaner than the day before' like to go shower!
We had a late lunch/early dinner at a local cafe! Canadian Seann stayed behind to take a nap in his RV, but Chili Bob, Julie, Karen, and I loaded up of a great meal in 'downtown' Niland, CA about 4 miles away! We took a look around Niland to update our self on where things are located! Here are some of the signs we found!
"THE JAIL"
Now by the looks of the sign, this guy was awfully busy filling all these jobs. We hadn't seen much of these 3-in-1 person on this sign, but we hadn't needed a sheriff, a Marshall, and we certainly weren't looking for a coroner! That's not the end of that story either! Stay tuned for more information on "Niland's Finest Public Servants". (later edition)
Niland DOES have a downtown district and a pretty little neighborhood down the side streets, too. One of them even was already decorated for Thanksgiving!
"DUMPING" is one of the most important things to RVing citizens and visitors to Niland City because of all those people who come to visit the "Slabs". Located about 4 miles behind the little town of Niland, CA, the slabs have no ''facilities" so an RV, trailer, or any type of camper must have some supply of fuel, food, water, and some way of disposal of
the by-products afterwards. While some campers just trash out their campsites and aren't very 'nice' in their disposal of litter, the responsible people in motor homes, trailers, and other 'homes on wheels' have a sewer problem after a few days. Thankfully, Niland has provided a location for those 'environmentally responsible' people to dump the tanks of used 'resources' in a suitable and safe location!!
The residents of Niland have cute little homes in the more 'affluent' neighborhoods and plant beautiful flowers, tall impressive trees, surround their homes with fences and enjoy the services provided by the small city, including the 2+ little grocery stores and various vendors!
Here you see TOM TURKEY proudly perched on top of a private home's entry way to greet the hometown folks and the visitors who pass through the street!
Here you see what appears to be a plain old set of gas pumps, but it seems that everything in Niland is some way connected to 'the Slabs', and the tugs on the heartstrings when the memories come flooding back! The first time I ever arrived in Niland 'all by myself' to stay a while, I was going to camp with a group who included ''Rayhound'' who was a 'pro' at most things he attempted, and he was not about to let me drive out to the slabs without a tank full of propane, gasoline, and fresh water! He was 'waiting on the corner' and hailed me down to stop and let him 'check out my supplies' before leading me down the road to ''Slab City''!
The "Rayhound" (R.I.P.) lived in an old converted bus, fully equipped with every imaginable gadget he needed to be self-sufficient. He had solar, battery, Internet, and shared everything he owned with those around him. His heart was as big as a mountain and made of pure gold. Besides the things I personally knew about, he often He even had a 'deck' on the top of his bus where he could sit and enjoy the day! acted out of pure thoughtfulness! Once he knew of someone who was 'stranded' on their way to the Slabs, so he told them to 'Sit tight - the money has been wired to you!" He just did things like that. I guess that last time I was at the Slabs, I had no doubt that I would see him the next time. As I had hugged him goodbye, I had no idea that his health would deteriorate and he would only have one more visit to his beloved 'Slabs'. He now has his own personal road/street named after him at the Slabs!
Niland has it's own set of traditional festivals and interesting activities, including parades, flea markets, and special interest groups who came to Niland and 'the Slabs' for their meetings and activities!
Here you will see the Post Office, complete with services where the locals, including the Slab dwellers can rent a post office box and receive daily mail.
We ate our first lunch at the Buckshot Deli & Diner, probably named for the odd little quail with a feather sticking straight up on his head, the geese, and ducks coming through the area! The food was good, especially the chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, & gravy!
We met up with another lone traveler, Julie, from our RV-Singles group, who had brought all the 'fixins' with her to 'The Slabs" for making S'mores around a campfire, but only needed the campfire! Julie grew up in Silicone Valley, and is traveling in her new Winnebago with a beautiful black 'tuxedo' cat who keeps her company while working 'on the road'! Meet Julie!!
We opened up the back bay of my rig and dragged out an old, old box of 'campfire wood' I had originally purchased in Yellowstone Park, found some other wood laying around, and set about building our first campfire! Trying not to aggravate my already 'tender' knee, I unloaded firewood from the bay of the motor home while Karen and Julie brought rocks from another site to build a pit for our campfire! It turned out to the the first night of some great and beautiful campfires!
Just "BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME". New and old friends appeared, bringing their chairs to spend a splendid evening around the campfire. Good times with good people can't be beat!
What a long and wonderful FIRST DAY at 'Da Slabs'!
He was a quiet man, and went about his work with determination. It was interesting to see the first lady who approached his house 'project' find a way to get to see inside his house. I wondered what 'words' she knew to get 'entrance'. "house-in-progress". 
Magee and I slipped away for another lunch at 'that place' where the chicken fried steak was so good, because everyone else had a different agenda! We headed back to town.
On our way back out to Slab City, our senses were keen to absorb the experience in broad daylight, so we watched, stopped, looked, and soaked up the quiet little main street in Niland. People quietly went about their daily life as if Slab City didn't even exist out in the desert about 4 miles away.
I loved seeing the little house with the enclosed yard, trying hard to create their own little oasis in the middle of the desert! When you see that they have gone to the trouble to put up "God Bless America" with paper cups on their fence, it became an obvious reminder that people everywhere we went were planning on celebrating Thanksgiving and making plans to show their appreciation for being able to live in America!
