Just outside Niland, California, and adjacent to Salvation Mountain, you'll find Slab City. The name derives from the concrete foundation slabs left behind when the government tore down what was once a World War II Marine barracks called Camp Dunlap. It apparently was the training ground for Patton's armored assault on Northern Africa. Before long, squatters began camping there and the city was born.
Today there are about 150 year-round residents and scores of snowbirds that enjoy no electricity, no running water and the desert heat of the "last free place" that is Slab City. Truly on the Backside.
The RV in the background was blasting "The Wizard" from Black Sabbath's first album and it somehow seemed the perfect soundtrack.
This is The Range. One of three bars in Slab City and a primary location for a Shooter Jennings video you all should watch. Slab City was also featured in the movie Into the Wild.
Absolutely fascinating! I harkened back to the '80s when I saw the van in pic #5.
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