For the water geeks in the audience, I highly recommend this movie, which my sister, Lisa, Netflixed for us this weekend:
(h/t Karl Flessa for suggesting it)
jfleck at inkstain
A few thoughts from John Fleck, a writer of journalism and other things, living in New Mexico
The video pretty much nailed it. I first saw the Salton Sea in 1973. I drove around it. My first impression was driving through an abandoned housing development (vacation type lots). All the streets were there, curbs, sidewalks, etc. No homes, several several distressed properties. Reminded me of something that was ‘written off’ sometime in the 50’s. Later on, I drove to the settlement of North Shore. I decided to take a swim in the ‘sea’. Nothing like anything I had ever experienced earlier. The water was dark. Almost with a reddish tint. The water was almost like bath water – warm. The water felt heavy, almost syrupy.
It’s true. You can really float in salty water. It’s also true that you want to immediately wash off that nasty stuff. In my case, I drained off my ice chest to wipe off all remaining water. I don’t want to detail what I had to do with my wardrobe…
I can only imagine how nasty it has become in the last 35 years. To this day, I think of how someone could have thought of boating on this body of water.
This is not a vacation spot, although I’d let my mother in law enjoy the amenities the area has.
dg