Salton Sea

 

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Introduction 

On my road trips from Los Angeles to Tucson usually I end up breaking the journey in Indio, CA, and visit spotlight casino. After a meal and gambling 20 dollars away I hop onto I-10 and drive into what seems like a never ending dessert. As I-10 climbs from 14 ft below sea level in Indio to 1700 feet at Chiriaco Summit it is usual to get stuck behind a truck struggling to pass another truck with blinkers on which in turn is struggling to climb the hill.  Not sure if it was loosing more money than usual in Spotlight Casino or the boredom with the all too familiarity of the route that spurred me to take highway 111 and take a break near the Salton Sea Visitor center which is just a short distance from the town of Mecca.

The first thing I noticed after getting out of my car was the terrible stench and I have a very poor sense of smell. The ladies who pulled into the parking lot after me were surprised by the stench as well as evident by their comments.  However, the vista of vast body of water, almost 340 square miles or so, in the middle of a dessert with a slim shore line, with Pelicans and hardly any people in sight was a reward in itself.

As I walked towards the shoreline the sand seemed very coarse and make a peculiar crunchy sound. A closer examination of the "sand" revealed I was actual stepping on the dried carcasses of the fish and the entire shoreline seemed like a open graveyard of fishes. Quite a few theories went through my mind none of which were even closer to the truth. Apparently millions of fish die every summer, mainly Tilapia, due to depletion of dissolved oxygen in these waters and gets  washed ashore.  The raise and fall Salton Sea seems to resemble the tragedy of these fishes.

SALTON SEA OVERVIEW 

This seemingly desolate area sitting on top of San Andraes fault with intriguing names of surrounding towns like Macca, Bombay Beach etc has not only interesting geological history but also a unique history of human settlement and is a object of number of documentaries that can be found of youtube.  Here are some interesting facts :

•  But for the delta created by Colorado river,  salton sea would have been part of the ocean instead of being a lake. Some people in the neighboring town of Indio would have had ocean front properties. 
• The max depth of salton sea is around 42 feet
•  For the thousands of years before the taming of Colorado river this area has alternated between a fresh water lake, saline lake and a dry dessert depending on the moods of the Colorado river. 
• Current formation of the Salton sea was due to a engineering accident while trying to increase the water flow into this area that caused constant flow of water for almost two years from Colorado river. 
• This area was also used by military for various research projects (including atomic bomb research) before abandonment. 
• 1950s and 1960s  saw the peak visitor usage of Salton sea area rivaling that of Yosemite.
• 7.6 million fish deaths in a single day was recorded in August 1999 
• Close to 9000 pelicans died of avian botulism in 1996 in this area.   

Apparently fish die off every summer is due to depletion of dissolved oxygen in the lake. Oxygen depletion is a common phenomenon not unique to this area. The extreme heat of 110 plus degree weather in this area for the most part of summer along with high winds cause severe oxygen depletion leading to very high number of fish dying. The decline of Salton Sea visitation for recreation coincided with the raise in salinity of the lake and the fish kill among other factors.

BOMBAY BEACH 

Some of the beaches here are fee areas but Bombay beach is free and is like open museum containing relics that symbolize raise and fall of salton sea as a recreational area. Although this whole area is full of abandoned houses there are some people who actually live here.  The beach itself is full of relics from the past - abandoned boats, fallen apart pier and other structures that I have no idea about. This time I did not see any dead fishes but lots of birds and quite a

few visitors which was a bit surprising to me but there are plenty of birds who flock together at whatever the feather composition maybe. And beware! There are no public bathrooms here either.

 

 

 SONNY BONO WILDLIFE REFUGE

After feeling bit burnt after a visit to Leslies Canyon Wild Life Refuge when I saw signs for this refuge I was bit tentative and was in no mood to drive on a unpaved road again but decided to check this out anyway.  After driving for about five miles from Highway 111 turn off i was rewarded with a field on the side of the road filled with snow geese and a handful of birds whose name I have no idea of, some kind of crane I imagine. They were pretty patient with me walking around at the edge taking photos but very watchful. This encouraged me to continue on with the exploration to the visitor center.

View from Rock Hill

The visitor center is small but adequate with bathrooms and plenty of parking. There is a observation deck near the visitor center, but there was not much to observe from that vantage point. The bird viewing area is along the Rock hill trail, an easy one mile trail (one way).  It starts at the visitor center and ends on top of Rock Hill. Rock hill is one of the 5 small lava domes in Salton sink area, also known as Salton Buttes. Salton Buttes are the only active volcanoes in Southern California. The last recorded volcanic activity was around 900 B.C., way before the modern Salton sea was formed.

Just before the Rock hill there are few man-made islands meant as breeding grounds for some of these birds.  Top of the hill offers the vista of entire salton sea and an encounter with visitors who were gracious enough to share their knowledge of the birds.

UNIT - 1

This is the habitat for thousands of migratory birds and is 14 miles away from the visitor center. It is also easily accessible from highway 78 which runs parallel to the west shore of salton sea. It has a couple of observation decks and a photo blind. Coming from El Centro, CA, it would have made more sense for me to have visited this area first if I had known about it and then proceed to the visitor center. It has couple of observation decks few hundred feet apart.

Unfortunately, there was not much to be seen from these observation deck either and there was not much human activity here. Probably because of the time of the day.  One can see abundance and variety of birds in the neighboring fields. However, due to widespread nature of this area density of the bird population seemed bit sparse. The photo blind is located a short hike from the observation deck. There are different fields with different levels of water to accommodate

different species of wading birds. Around 2 PM when I was about to leave it was getting real toasty. Considering it was early Feb one can only imagine how brutal it could be few months from now. On my drive back I could see flocks of birds coming back and it probably is a great place to visit later in the afternoon.

Yuma

MY MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT YUMA 

Yuma was always my stop over during my trips from Tucson to Los Angeles. My impression of Yuma was that of a small town centered around a prison with over priced hotels and higher priced coffee in Starbucks compared to neighboring cities including Phoenix, AZ.  The rugged dessert surrounding this town with oppressive heat most of the year made sense for building of a prison. I would imagine no one in their right mind would want to escape into the neighboring desert or to neighboring mexico. But then one could argue people in prison are hardly in right frame of mind.  A visit to Yuma Crossing National Heritage area, and a e-visit to Yuma Chamber of Commerce helped shed some of my misconceptions. However, I am still at a loss to understand why the cost of coffee (2.15$ for small cup) in Starbucks here is higher than Tucson since the sales tax in Tucson is 8.6% as opposed to 8.41% in Yuma.  For now I am just going to attribute it to entertainment tax for listening to loud sales people making their sales on phone in that starbucks. This time since I had plenty of time I decided to stop and explore Yuma and enjoy its weather at this time of the year. No wonder tourism is the third biggest industry here mainly relying on snowbirds followed by agriculture (which was a big surprise to me) and military.

Yuma Crossings National Heritage Area

This was the spot for my daytime activity in Yuma, Buffalo Wild Wings being the spot for night time. This area as I later found out is actually divided into

• Sunrise Point Park
• Pivot Point Interpretive Plaza
• Gateway Park
• Riverside Park
• East and West Wetlands
• Historic Territorial Prison

On the main side road leading into this area there is a big traffic roundabout, which is huge, reminding me of the so called "traffic circles" in India while growing up which survived for a long time even in big cities like Bangalore. Depending on which exit you take you would end up in one of the above areas or on I : 10 to Tucson. 

Sunrise Point Park 

This is a very relaxing park right next to Mission Puerto De Purisima and Paradise Casino. There is no entry fee to the park but I put in a 20$ in Paradise Casino in one of the slot machines anyway. 

Mission Puerto De Purisima is a beautiful historical landmark building nestling on top of a small hill overlooking the Ocean to Ocean bridge and the historical territorial prison. On a sunny winter day it is a great place to relax and watch the trains crossing the bridge. 3:10 to Yuma may or may not be running but there is a train every 10 minutes or so it seems crossing the Ocean to Ocean bridge carrying lots of cargo. I also saw few homeless people cross the bridge and walk into the sunrise point park, not sure if they got off these trains or it was just a coincidence.

There is a small pond close to the entrance of this park where I saw few people fishing. I also saw an Eagle dive into the pond, apparently it was fishing as well not sure if it caught anything but it was fun to watch. This area is alive with bird activity but none of the cooperated to pose for my camera. There are few trails leading into the wetlands which I did not explore on this occasion. There are couple of historical remnants of Quechan tribe right next to the river.

Pivot Point Interpretive Plaza 

I ended up in this area only because I thought this was the main parking lot for Gateway Park. Having reached decided to explore it especially after seeing a 1907 Baldwin locomotive right next to parking lot. It is mind boggling to imagine this locomotive logged few million miles, at least two million if my memory serves right. There are panels on a sidewalk giving excellent introduction to the history of Yuma, the booming of this area because of California gold rush as this region offered the narrowest crossing of the colorado river at that time. I did not need a mirror to answer the question "mirror, mirror on the wall who is the misconceived of them all".  There is a stairway behind the locomotive that leads to the Gateway Park. 

Gateway Park/Riverside Park 

Gateway Park has a great view of the Ocean to Ocean bridge part of former US 80, especially around sunset, commemorates the first highway crossing of the lower colarado river.  The other side which is part of the Riverside park of this one can view love immortalized.  The bravery of these love birds to write their names on top of this bridge should put Romeo to shame. One can also view wading birds fishing in the river. There is a paved bike path and a trail that meanders parallel to the river. The trail is lined with trees and provides a welcome shade in summer.



I followed the trail till I hit the historic landmark "Emily & Luis" drawn on the side wall of canal.  One can only wonder, if the blackening of this original writing was the work of Veronica who always had a crush on Luis. There is always a third side to every love story.  Somewhere along the trail there is a branch off that leads to the base of historic territorial prison and it has nothing to do with any of the lover birds. Unlike Sunrise point Park this area seems more popular with the locals as well as visitors probably because of the rich local history. 

Historical Territorial Prison 

Like the slogan of democracy this prison was built by the prisoners for the prisoners to the prisoners. If they had any complaints about their cells at least the first six first ones who built it and imprisoned themselves they have no one but themselves to blame. In all honesty I visited it and went through the introductory panels but did not enter the fee area. The entry fee is 8$ which is not much. But it seemed bit strange to pay to see the symbolism of human mistakes. When I read the panel that described some of the prisoners who were Mormons men of character, but got imprisoned for having more than one wife and ended with the question "Did these men got imprisoned for their religious beliefs or crime on society" it became intriguing.  I compromised my dilemma by promising myself a serious inquiry into "crime and punishment" over a 8$ beer in Buffalo Wings and I kept the beer drinking part of the bargain.

Sivan Vahkih - Casa Grande Ruins

Sivan Vakih

The primary motivation to visit this monument was not only to get the most bang for the buck out of National Park Pass but also to reply in affirmative to a good friend of mine, who always queried if I visited the Casa Grande Ruins whenever I told him I was in Casa Grande.  Incidentally Casa Grande Ruins is not located in the city of Casa Grande, AZ but Coolidge AZ a neighboring town.  Probably the fact city of Casa Grande which was founded in 1879 during the mining boom and Coolidge was founded later in 1924 explains how Coolidge ended up with the custody of the ruins.  While looking at the google maps I also saw a attraction called "Sivan Vahki".  Being of East Indian heritage the word Sivan which stands for the name of a Hindu God attracted my attention and decided the added attraction is worth the detour on my journey from Phoenix to Tucson. Upon reaching the destination after several changes of mind every time it sprinkled on this cold blustery day I realized Sivan Vahki is part of the National Monument and the words "Casa Grande" in spanish and "Sivan Vahki" in O'odham mean the same thing "Big House".  I also realized I had zoomed past this area quite a few times without realizing this was a archaeological site.

One enters this archaeological site through the visitor center after paying the requisite fee. There is a ranger lead tour every and a volunteer lead tour alternating every hour. As soon as I entered the exhibit hall mentally congratulating myself upon getting 5$ return upon my 80$ investment on the National Park Pass ( the fee is increased to 10$ in 2018 ) I was met with a Volunteer who introduced himself and explained the tour is about to start in few minutes and in all probability I would be the only one and if I preferred I can watch the video which is about to start soon and then take the tour the next hour which is what is recommended so one can appreciate the archaeological site and ask intelligent questions.

But I decided to do it the other way and the tour ended up being more personal one on one tour. The tour consists of a introduction to the Ancient Sonoran People and their way of life including their primitive tool set followed by a tour of the archaeological site.

Area surrounding Casa Grande Ruins

It is hard time for me who would have a miserable time spending a night without air conditioner, let alone a day, in this area to imagine ancient people choosing this area to settle down and flourish. Probably a testament to human endurance.  Upon watching the Video I realized  there was flowing water in this area at that time and the modern human settlement which necessitated the construction of diversions and flood control structures changed this terrain.  It was also interesting to note they dug irrigation canals spanning hundreds of miles using very primitive tools like sticks and cactus spines. To my great surprise I learned how tough a Saguaro Cactus spine is. Also considering its length they were also used as a tool to pick fruits from the tall saguaro trees. Interestingly the saguaro fruit also  referred to as "bahidaj" was not only used in food preparation but also to prepare intoxicating drinks. Fortunately or unfortunately no sample of that drink was available, maybe NPS should consider that to attract more visitors.  Saguaro spines were also used as calendar sticks with symbols of important events carved on it , Saguaro eMojis!!.

Sivan Vahki 

 The main attraction of this monument is the remnants of a four story house - Sivan Vahki, built out of natural concrete like material called "caliche". The significance of this house was not entirely clear, at least to me. There are three big holes on top of this structure and one of them coincides with the direction of sun on summer solstice.  One of the conjectures, as the volunteer told me, this was a multi use structure, abode of a priest, to note astronomical events of significance to their culture and probably a store house of seeds.  Currently for sure it is of significance to few owls who nest there, whose glimpse I did not catch. It probably was too cold for them to say hello to visitors that day.

Building housing structures using caliche was a gradual transition in dessert dwelling where in pit houses were the norm, interestingly something in common between Eskimos and dessert dwellers.  Caliche is supposed to become soft after a period of rain.  Probably it takes lot more than a few sprinkles of rain to have that effect. Must have been a big nightmare to manage kids a from poking holes in the houses during monsoon season.  I guess, the beauty of this housing is all one needs to fix leaks or cracks is some more caliche, pick up some caliche and plaster it.  Small footprint on the environment indeed!

There is also overlook next to parking lot which is supposed to be a platform where the ancient people played ball. One can only hope they fared better than the Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix suns, local football and basketball teams.

East Indian Connection 

Since I was familiar the usage of word "Siva" in the jewish culture I was intrigued by its reference in this context. However finding any link between the ancient East Indian Civilization and the ancient Sonoran people seemed far fetched to me, even under the influence of the intoxicating juice made out of Saguaro.  Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this website Ancient India's Emperor Priyavarta Invaded Arizona! where the author not only finds quite a few parallels between the words used by ancient sonoran people and Sanskrit a ancient east Indian language, but also corroborative stories between the two cultures. It is fascinating but I did not venture to verify the authenticity of the author. However, I did find a book ancient history of India which SEEMS authentic where there is a reference to similar story of one of the sons of Priyavarta invades a land whose describes is similar to America.

However far fetched the above theories might be one thing for sure, at least to my mind - all types of Indians considered land to be sacred and found god in all living creatures.