Slab City

After the hectic day yesterday I was ready to drive off from Slab City before the sun even set. Upon arriving, sinking into the sand, and then digging my van out of the sand, I found little that kept my interest in the ‘city’ so I slept on it in hopes of a better mood in the morning. I did feel better and began walking around the city to see it’s residents and what is has to offer. I got to know Slab City from the Into the Wild movie from 2007. I had high hopes that it would live up to the open-arms-feel I had in my head, but it did not.

Slab City is mostly people seeking to escape or dodge someone or some government agency, and they do not want to be talked too, or photographed. They do not care to be friendly or comforting. These people “own” the property they camp on (not legally, but by the rights that they have been there for so long). They surround their old broken down RVs with old tires or large rocks to keep others from coming near them. These “fences” are sometimes clearly marked with a “don’t bother me” sign of one form or another. These are the people who live here year round and have done so for decades.

Others are tourists, like myself, in more modern rigs. It is obvious who is who as the tourists are there in trailers or RVs that cost as much as a house, while the live-in residence do so in something you would find for $200 on craigslist. My van was luxurious compared to the residence and was newer than 90% of all vehicles out there.

Now, I’m sure there are a lot of good folk in Slab City but the overall feel I got was one of the following; Either 1) I was not poor and run-down enough to fit in with the residence, or 2) I was not driving a rig cool enough to be looked at by the tourist crowd. I was an outsider even in a community of outsiders…

And this is when it hit me. These people are running AWAY from something. They HIDE out here away from society and the prying eyes of what ever they are hiding from. While they hide, I am SEEKING and prefer constant motion and adventure.  I enjoy the adventure of solitude and look forward to exploring new paths and areas, and when I do run into others on that path I enjoy coming together with that stranger to share experiences and ideas… and a beer or two.

Slab City is not for me so I moved on