Ghost Towns: Introduction

Ruins of bombay Beach


Ghost Towns of California : Introduction

Written by Natasha Petrosova 

A two-hour drive in any direction from the beautiful California coast, one

 will discover a mostly unseen, but rather peculiar side of the Golden State. Set


 apart from the trendy, sophisticated crowds, delightful weather, densely populated


 cities, and busy freeways, a half rural/half abandoned region of California offers an


 uncanny experience within its two great deserts, the Colorado and Mojave. The


 deserts are well known for their strenuous summers, old mining towns, deserted


 Salton Sea shores, abandoned military bases, and other offbeat attractions.




    What makes those desolated buildings, places, and towns in the middle of the 

desert so interesting to visit? Why do people travel countless miles to explore and 


photograph them? From an abandoned building to a deserted town, these places 


evoke feelings, and ignite the imagination to ponder the past and the future. They are


 full of history, and rich with memories; they hint at the journeys of early settlers, full


 of big dreams and even bigger failures; they bring up tales of towns and communities


that, for one reason or another, didn’t make it; and they offer us a suggestive glimpse


 to a post-apocalyptic future… what happens when we are gone? 


    Most fascinating, almost none of these abandoned places are technically

 abandoned. Towns like Johannesburg, Keeler, and Bombay Beach, for instance, all


 claim full-time residents.  Abandoned Navy Base, Camp Dunlap was transformed 


into Slab City, with more than 12,000 winter residents. Abandoned buildings draw 


frequent visitors, tempted to explore what lies within their walls. Some of the 


buildings serve as a permanent residence for wildlife, and a temporary rest stop for


 passing drifters. 

         I visited these places, and this is what I found... 




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