Churros

     Mike loves churros.  I don't think we have ever gotten out of a Costco without Mike having a churro or two.  Mike eats them, but I am the one who has to buy them.  That's because Mike is verbally challenged and can't seem to remember how to pronounce the name of his favorite wad of fried dough.
     Over the course of time, Mike has ordered a cha-burro, a cha-ruba, a chip-o-lito, and (my favorite) a chupacabra.  Add this one to the expanding list of S#*! Mike says.

Sculptures of Galleta Meadows, Borrego Springs, California

     Dennis Avery (1940-2012), of the Avery Labels fortune, commissioned Ricardo Breceda to build sculptures of southern California's prehistoric mammals.  Avery placed the metal figures on property he owned in Borrego Springs.  The property, called Galleta Meadows Estates, lies north and south of town.  There are 129 figures sitting on three square miles of undeveloped land.  After the prehistoric mammals, Avery added dinosaurs, giant bugs, human figures, and even a sea serpent to his "collection."

This is Gracile Sabertooth Cat and Extinct Horse.  The only known fossil of a Gracile Sabertooth (Smilodon gracilis) was found in the Anza-Borrego area.  This cat would like horse for dinner.

Mike tried his best to save the horse.

Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, the the sabertooth cat wins.

This is one of several clusters of sculptures.  

I liked the eagle, but I wondered if Ricardo Breceda could have figured out a different way to support the bird's wingspan.  Several of his works are propped up like this, and I find it distracting.  

My favorite part - the snake in the eagle's talons.

Mama Elephant

Baby Elephant
This is the only sculpture in the park that is not rough and rusty.  So many people have run their hands over this little guy that he glows.  Greasy, grubby hands aren't always a bag thing, I suppose.

This serpent starts on one side of the road ...

... and ends on the other side of the road.

Oooops!

A Young Couple Having Fun with a Cactus 

Is this Friar Felipe?  His dog wouldn't let go of that stick.

The Friar's rosary is made from rocks.

Local Pests

The migrant workers display is an homage to the region's agriculture workers.  Grapes grow well in the Borrego Springs area.

A few hours in the desert makes for shoes full of sand.  Warning:  Be on the lookout for rattle snakes when viewing the sculptures.

We went into the town of Borrego Springs and found a small market set up in Christmas Circle, the center of town.  Besides beef jerky, this man sold his own hand carved walking sticks.

Those strawberries are beautiful.

You can bring a picnic to Christmas Circle ... 

... or you can buy your meal from a food truck.

Dogs love hanging out in the circle.

     Borrega Springs is completely surrounded by Anza-Borrego State Park, California's largest state park.  Borrego Springs is a Dark-Sky Community.  This means there are no traffic lights and other night time lighting is minimal.  This makes the town popular with star gazers.  

Cabazon Dinosaurs, Cabazon, California

     Claude Bell, a sculptor and portrait artist, created the Cabazon Dinosaurs to attract attention to his Wheel Inn Restaurant.  He began Dinny the Brontosaurus in 1964 and finished in 1975.  Mr. Rex, a Tyrannosaurus rex, was built in 1981.  In Bell's time, Dinny's innards contained a dinosaur museum which expressed an evolutionary viewpoint of creation.  In the 1990s, after Claude Bell's death, his family sold the complex to a business group that closed the restauraunt and expanded the dinosaur park.  The new owners believe in creationism, so there are conflicting messages around the park.  Bell's original murals showing ancient hominids of 30,000 to 40,000 years ago still adorn Dinny's internal walls while the current management offers the biblical account of creation - that man and dinosaurs were created about 6,000 years ago.

The Entrance to Dinny
The park is located next to Interstate 10.  Dinny was built from salvaged highway construction materials.  His steel framework was covered with mesh which was fashioned into a dinosaur shape.  Finally, the mesh was covered with sprayed concrete.  Bell wanted Dinny's eyes to glow red at night, and he wanted to make the dinosaur's mouth spit fire, but that never happened.  Too bad, I think. 

Dinny is huge - 45 feet high and 150 feet long.

Mr. Rex weighs 100 tons.  You can walk around Dinny and Mr. Rex for free.  It costs $10.00 for adults, $9.00 for children, and $7.00 for seniors and military personnel to enter the park.

I don't know if this is a prehistoric snake or a present day snake.  He has a very important job ...

... He holds the surveillance camera.  There are numerous warnings that everything in the park is monitored.

We followed the dinosaur tracks to the ticket window.     

I never pass up an opportunity to get inside a dinosaur's mouth ...

,,, or pop out of a dinosaur egg.

Besides the conflicting evolutionist/creationist information, they don't always pay attention to the scale of the animals.     

I usually offer my non-dominant hand to dogs and dinosaurs, just in case they are unfriendly.   

This is the inside of Mr. Rex's mouth.  Mr. Rex originally had a giant slide inside his tail.  Later, the slide was filled in with concrete.

This has to be a blended family 'cause there ain't no way pops fathered that brood.

     There is also an automated dinosaur exhibit.  

Dead Celebrities

     Since Palm Springs used to be a retreat for celebrities, it stands to reason that a few famous people would be interred there.  We visited Forest Lawn and Desert Memorial Park.  Forest Lawn allows visitors to walk around, but they do not offer maps for locating notable people.  We checked in at the office to be sure we were following all the rules before we wandered around the mausoleums.  We were the only people there during our visit.  Desert Memorial Park is a traditional cemetery.  It was quite active with lots of visitors and a funeral in progress while we were there.

All interments are above ground at Forest Lawn.  The complex is peaceful and beautiful.  These tombs are outside.

These niches for cremains are outside behind a locked gate.  I like the glass fronts.  Some people include person effects of the deceased in these spaces.  I like that.  A lot of sand blows around in the desert.  The older graves show erosion in the outside areas.  There are also inside spaces which, I imagine, are much less subject to the scouring particles of sand.

Forty eight people lie behind this mosaic.  Even in death, they are part of something big!

The final resting place of Jerry Vale.

Mike remembers Guy Madison, but I do not.

Papa John Phillips
Rock Hudson, Dinah Shore, and Jane Wyman are also interred at Forest Lawn.  We did not locate their graves.

     Desert Memorial Park is part of the Palm Springs Cemetery District.  It is a public cemetery, and it is less impressive than Forest Lawn.  There are signs warning visitors that coyotes sometimes wander the remote parts of the cemetery.  We visited the graves of Frank Sinatra and Sonny Bono.  There are two Gabors at Desert Memorial as well as other entertainers, politicians, and athletes.

Frank Sinatra and his parents are buried at Desert Memorial Park ...

... as are Sonny Bono and his mother.   I love the fact that Sonny "autographed" his gravestone.

   
   

The Fountain of Life, Cathedral City, California

    The Fountain of Life, designed by Jennifer Johnson, opened in July 2000.  It shut down for repairs and updating in the spring of 2016.  When we visited in March of 2017, it was operating beautifully.  Here's an article that details the construction of the fountain: http://watershapes.com/fountains/at-play-in-the-fountain-of-life.html

There are statues at the entrances to Fountain Square.  I was always a sucker for guitarists.

Just chillin' on my chaise longue.

Stone figures were cut in Mexico, set on site, and embellished with tiles by Jennifer Johnson.  They call this the "sprayground."  It will be overrun with children during the summer.  The water is recycled, filtered, and treated so that water quality is healthy.  Also, removing calcium from the water eliminates dulling buildup on the tiles.

The animals around the fountain represent species that currently live in the desert or lived there in the past.

The sprayground sits on a soft surface made of recycled tires.  Putting cushioning in playgrounds is becoming the standard now, but it was forward thinking in 2000.

The soft surface was donated by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.  Beverly and Buddy Rogers were the fountain's major donors.  Their big gift got the project started.  For young blog readers, Buddy Rogers was a movie star of the 1920s and 1930s. 

Mike and the gunslinger.

Salvation Mountain and Slab City, Niland, California

     Salvation Mountain is Leonard Knight's masterpiece.  Leonard got right with God in 1967, but he couldn't seem to fit in with any organized religion.  In 1984 he traveled to Slab City in Niland, California and found his home.  His goal was to erect a monument to God.  The first attempt was to build a hot air balloon with the message, "God is love," written on it.  Every time he tried to launch the balloon it ripped.  Next Knight decided to build a mountain containing religious messages.  He used cement, but he added too much sand to the mix, trying to extend the material.  The mountain collapsed.  His second attempt at mountain building was successful.  He switched from cement to adobe mud and straw.  The mountain is covered with non-toxic latex paint - layers and layers of paint.  This prevents erosion of the adobe from wind and rain.  Leonard Knight had to enter assisted living in 2011.  He died in 2014.
     The state of California tried at times to evict Knight, but they eventually gave up.  The mountain was declared a National Folk Art site in 2001.  Today, Salvation Mountain is a non-profit charity run by a board of directors.  The structure requires constant maintenance, all of which is done by volunteers.

The site is open every day from dawn till dusk.  Admission is free, but donations of cash and latex paint are accepted.

Visitors should walk only on the yellow path.

I took the yellow path to the top.

Mike found an easier way to the top by going up the back of the mountain

They take any color.  The "ugly" colors are used as primer, and the "pretty" colors go on the top.

Empty cans - artfully arranged.

This is Ron, the caretaker.  He does most of the finish painting, and he supervises volunteers.

The mountain is held up with trees. poles, tires, and God-knows-what.  I had some concerns about walking around inside the structure, but I comforted myself with the fact that it has been standing for years.  It will probably stand for a few more.

Mike, inside the mountain.

This domed room was cozy and cooler than the outside air.  It was also covered with a thick layer of dust.

     Salvation Mountain sits at the entrance to Slab City.  Slab City is a community of squatters that live on public land.  The name comes from the concrete slabs on the site - the remains of World War II's Camp Dunlap.  There is no electricity, running water, sewers, toilets, or trash pick up.  Residents call Slab City the last free place in America.  My impression was that this is true enough: You are free to collect all the garbage you can carry home and toss around your tent, RV, or lean-to.  There are some art installations in Slab City, but an actual community of artists live further down the road in a place called East Jesus.  The road to East Jesus is unpaved, so we decided not to drive the rental car there.  Maybe next time.

This is called Soul Tree.  The tree is decorated with shoes.  

I think most of these shoes had some more mileage left in them.  Just sayin'.

This is the Bedazzled Truck.  I expected more shiny stuff like costume jewelry, but the bedazzling was mostly done with mirrors and pop-tops.

The crafter in me wonders what kind of glue they used.

The outside is fancy, but the inside is plain.

I liked this mural.

     Slab City residents travel four miles to Niland, the nearest town, for gas and groceries.  We stopped at the Buckshot Deli and Diner in Niland for a quick meal and bathroom break.

Duck hunting is popular at the Salton Sea.

The restaurant is a modest establishment, so we were pleasantly surprised to find the food so delicious.  We received salsa and chips to snack on before the meal.  We had sandwiches which were made with whole grain bread.  The cold cuts were as good as the meat at an east coast deli.  The lettuce was fresh and crisp.  The tomatoes were vine ripened, not picked green.  We had to leave the dining room and go around the side of the building to find the toilets.  The restrooms were clean, so no problems.