| Maybe you've seen Into the Wild and wondered just | | | | closed down and the concrete slabs were left to |
| what Slab City was or where to find it. Maybe you've | | | | show where the base had been. Everything else was |
| never heard of The Slabs but are looking for a place | | | | stripped from the facility. But, a few ex-military |
| where you can do whatever you want (within | | | | personnel stayed behind, presumably for lack of a |
| reason) without your neighbors or the home owner's | | | | better place to go. |
| association telling you what color to paint your house. | | | | Today, Slab City is as much as or more of a real |
| Either way, here's the straight dope on this small, | | | | town than Niland, depending on how you judge a |
| anarchic community. | | | | town. During the winter, the population easily |
| First off, you've got to understand where Slab City is | | | | outstrips the official town three miles to the west as |
| before you can understand what it is. Slab City is | | | | people roll in seeking a warm place to wait out the |
| located near the Arizona and Mexican borders in | | | | winter. There are people from all walks of life. You |
| southern California. Just east of the Salton Sea, you'll | | | | may very well see a million dollar motorhome parked |
| find a little town called Niland that's seen much better | | | | a few hundred yards from a squatter's camp built |
| days. If you turn east on Main street and drive three | | | | from junk that was left in the desert. Most of them |
| miles out of town, you'll end up in Slab City. You'll | | | | show up because its a free place to live. They often |
| know you're almost there when you see Salvation | | | | stay or come back because its a free way to live. |
| Mountain. Salvation mountain is a large adobe | | | | Many of the inhabitants of Slab City can't afford to |
| structure that's been built over the past two | | | | live anywhere else. Many just don't fit in anywhere |
| decades as a monument to God by long-time Slab | | | | else. For the most part, people at the Slabs have a |
| City resident, Leonard Knight. The bright colors and | | | | live and let live attitude. If you don't want to talk to |
| bible verses are unmistakable when viewed against | | | | your neighbors, they won't bother you. If you feel |
| the harsh backdrop of the southern California desert. | | | | like being social, all you have to do is walk around. |
| Slab City derives its name from all that was left | | | | Conversation is often the biggest form of |
| behind when Camp Dunlap closed. With World War | | | | entertainment, at least, until the weekend rolls |
| Two in the history books, the marine barracks was | | | | around! |