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DianaT
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Sony Bono Salton Sea Wildlife Preserve
Big guy checking out his beauty
And yes he is beautiful
They also were checking their beauty.
And they also are beautiful
Now it is difficult to believe that such beautiful looking water is so polluted.
But it does not stop a few of these guys from visiting.
OK, a lot of these guys visit
Maybe it is why this guy looks so angry
These friends are just enjoying their meal
Maybe he is going to join the feast.
This time we had very limited time, but it is a place where there is always interesting wildlife to see
If you are in the area, stop by and say hello to this proud looking guy
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jeans
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Sonny Bono Salton Sea Wildlife Preserve? I hadn't heard that. It's probably been 10 years since I was there. Your pictures are real nice and at least
it loooks clean. 10 years ago the beaches were covered with rotting fish...it was horrible.
Mom always told me to be different - Now she says...Not THAT different
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Ken Bondy
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Wonderful photos Diane!! That's such an interesting part of California in so many ways.
carpe diem!
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jeans
Sonny Bono Salton Sea Wildlife Preserve? I hadn't heard that. It's probably been 10 years since I was there. Your pictures are real nice and at least
it loooks clean. 10 years ago the beaches were covered with rotting fish...it was horrible. |
Usually I refer to it as the Salton Sewer, but the Wildlife Preserve part is well managed. However, in the summer, boy is it stinky.
On the positive side, they have over 400 species of birds that either live there or visit sometime during the year---and lots of other wildlife
including coyotes, bobcats, etc..
I sure would not water ski there the way we did when I was a teenager back in the Dark Ages.
Ken,
There are lots of really interesting places in the Imperial Valley that are ignored---very interesting. Glad you like the pix!
[Edited on 12-22-2009 by DianaT]
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k-rico
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I saw a jackalope there once:
The Western Jackalope
(Lepus Tempermentalus)
•Size: Males to 24". Females to 20".
•Weight: Avg 6-8 lbs. Binge up to 12 lbs.
•Horns: To 12 inches across. 2-3 points common.
•Coat: Tawny-brown, lighter on chest & underside.
•Disposition: Secretive. Easily agitated.
•Habitat: Sonny Bono Salton Sea Wildlife Preserve
•Range: West to Tijuana
•Diet: Hot dogs, beenie weenies, smores, pazole.
•Mating Ritual: Only during intense lightning strikes.
•Population: Less than 10,000. (2000 Census)
•Predators: Taxidermists, Tourists, Wall Drug.
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k-rico
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Great pics BTW. I like the guys eating together.
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BornFisher
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We (dog and I) were there about 3 weeks ago. We were on a road trip (Death Valley) and planned to camp in Joshua Tree NP. BUT is was freezing there,
so we went down to the Salton Sea. Right down to the American Legion Hall @ Bombay Beach, where the good bartender allowed us to park my van in the
lot for the night.
It really is a beautiful place. Heck with a little imagination you`re in Baja. Ever see those mud bloop bloops near Red Hill? Always tons of wildlife
and sea birds. Yes the rotting fish are still there, and the decayed mobile homes and structures, and yes the the boom is over. Something still draws
me back (Slab City?, Salvation Mountain?)
Beautiful pics, thanks!!
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Mexicorn
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Thats a great picture of the elusive Jackalope. How many have been sighted on the shores of Salton sea? Who knows of any good vacation stories from
the late 50's early 60's ?
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toneart
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Beautiful photos, Dianne!
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ELINVESTIG8R
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Nice Diana. The picture of the Rabbit Quail and Sparrow are what I see out my window every day. God I love it!
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BornFisher
Ever see those mud bloop bloops near Red Hill? |
No and we want to see them! Can't believe we have not seen them----we will, maybe next time.
Diane
[Edited on 12-22-2009 by DianaT]
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dtbushpilot
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I remember camping at the Salton Sea as a youngster in the 60's, wading out and catching huge corvina on mudsuckers.....a long time ago....dt
"Life is tough".....It's even tougher if you're stupid.....
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David K
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Used to boat, swim and fish the Salton Sea back in the early 1960's... Almost like going to San Felipe!
How time changes things! Went there a few years ago to show my kids where their dad played a few times when he was a little kid... DEAD FISH thick
along the shoreline, stinked, and everything abandoned at Salton City... sad!
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tjBill
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Nice photos. 
I've always seen Imperial County as an extension of Baja.
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Mexitron
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Nice photos Diane!
Wonder if they'll ever fix the issues there...one solution I'd heard was to make a shipping canal to the SOC and make the Salton Sea a port! Whatever
they do to make the water cleaner it'll be an economic boom to the area.
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wessongroup
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Really nice photo's.. I too can remember trips down there in the fifties as a youngster with the family.. it is a shame it has degraded so much, about
the only positive thing is that it has not kill off all the wildlife
Have also like the Imperial Valley, used to work down there for a few years.. always loved it early in the mornings after the alfalfa had been cut..
summers where a bit extreme.. at that time the car I was given to drive did not have air-conditioning.
To this day I remember setting in Brawley waiting to make a left turn south from 111 to 86 and the sun coming in through the windshield was hurting my
legs through my Levi's... yet in the winter it gets really quite cold.. very interesting environment to explore ..
Diane your fifth picture is just amazing.. has a "zen" like quality.. really a great shot. One in a million for me.
Thank you for the pictures and the memories 
edit as I just can't read or write
[Edited on 12-22-2009 by wessongroup]
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Russ
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Diane, You are doing some amazing stuff with your camera. Look forward to seeing a lot more.
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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DianaT
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Thanks---I am having fun with the camera, working on learning more, and have a wish list for the future.
Wessongroup, makes me very happy that someone else saw pretty much what I did in that water shot.
I think that when many of us were using the Salton Sea so many years ago, we really were not aware of how much pollution was there. My friend's
family belonged to the Salton Sea Yacht Club so we went often and loved water skiing there in the 60s.
But long before I knew him, right after the army in the early 70's, John did his Master's Thesis on the Salton Sea area, and yikes, what he found the
farmers were dumping into those "rivers", the New and the Alamo was incredible. So while maybe not as bad as later, there was also a lack of
awareness.
Today, they have "fixed" the part of the New River that runs through Mexicali---they built a highway over that open sewer. ---out of sight, out of
mind. And when we lived in Calexico, we became very familiar with the New River Committee and what a joke---but then again, so was the school board
and the city council, but it was interesting.
So, the future of the Salton Sea is up for grabs, but meantime the preserve is well worth a visit, if you like those sort of things. And it is well
worth preserving.
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wessongroup
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Diana,
Was working for the State of California in the early 70's Department of Food and Agriculture, Pesticide Use Enforcement.. and was concurrently working
with Federal EPA on special projects.
The period I spent with the State/Federal and dealing with "big Ag", Federal and the "major" chemical companies and how we balance food production
and the environmental impact of the process was instructional after just getting out of college.
I do remember a lot of the problems, along with the "New, Alamo and American Rivers".. used to be a joke that the American River was Mexico's thank
you to the Colorado River.. was a very interesting time in my life and thanks for the memories
You are truly Baja material if you live in the "Imperial Valley"...
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DianaT
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Wessongroup
You must have been there around the same time as John. He was not living there, but traveled back and forth from Los Angeles. It was many years
later that we lived there for 5 years.
While I am the one who prefers the organic, he is not against the use of pesticides But the things he found and documented were things like the
malathion containers the farmers threw into the rivers---that was not good.
He worked with the IID and last we knew they still had a copy of his thesis---old days, all typed and then bound. Computers sure make things easier.
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