Got up bright and early Saturday morning and hit the road out of town. I had planned earlier in the week to visit my friend Denny Self who has recently relocated to the getaway destination of Salton City, California. For those unfamiliar with the area it’s a little south of Indio. Great big lake with a recreation area and miles of undeveloped desert lands. Pretty desolate but with little communities surrounding it. Sounded like a good opportunity to get out of the city for a day. That and the fact that Denny and his hound Junior are somewhat new to the area and are still getting acclimated. I figured he could stand a familiar face around the place for a day. Being the handy guy that he is he hooked up with a friend of one of his son’s who had a place out there that needed some work. Well, “some” is a relative term and being as the property is more of getaway residence than permanent. It’s in a stage of disrepair and neglect. Additionally since there are only a few permanent residents in the park and it butts up to the desert area, some folks have a tendency to borrow things from the site. The side door entrance to the mobile home for instance. He’s been there a couple of weeks now and has managed to clear almost all of the dead brush from the lot (3/4 acre or so) and has the home in livable condition. Once he gets his tools down there he can get crackin’ on the outside of the home and maybe even do a little landscaping. The lot is prime for a modular home. Salton Sea Beach has quite a few properties closer to the shore that are run down and even some that are burned out. I’m sure there’s a story surrounding that section of the park but I’ll let Denny figure it out through the local network and I’m sure he’ll tell me about another time. May have something to do with the “weekenders” that go out there to ride their bikes, quads and sandrails around the desert. Saw some really nice buggies out there Saturday. Quite a few parasail rigs further down by the boat launching area as well. I saw as many as 6 all up at one time. If that keeps up they’ll be needing and air traffic control center before long.
Truck ran great all the way to and from with no issues whatsoever. Part of the reason for my excursion was to deliver some supplies that had been gathered for Denny by Phyllis and Anton. They’re friends of ours from Lake Forest Lanes. Denny is going to be the live in handyman as it were for the next year or two while he’s whipping the place into shape and until all the utilities and such are up to snuff it’s going to be a somewhat bohemian existence. So Phyllis and Anton were kind enough the throw together a few staples and I ran them out there. Can’t thank them enough for this kind gesture. I’m pretty sure I arrived at about 8:30 or 9am and started unloading the truck. Denny greeted me and lugged the boxes inside. Just sat and chatted for a bit until I could coax him to start opening the boxes. I was probably more excited than him. Felt like Christmas morning to me and couldn’t wait to see his reaction(s) even though I had no clue at all what the contents were. I won’t go into detail as to the contents but will say that he was flabbergasted by Phyllis and Anton’s generosity. He should be set up for months to come.I think I’m going to get him a wristwatch and maybe some waffle knit shirts or something for the upcoming cold season. I hear it can get pretty nasty out there. He should be okay though as Phyllis and Anton (hereafter referred to as P&A) hooked him up with a nice 20 degree rated sleeping bag. Heck, I use one here in the city when it’s gets colder. I love sleeping in that thing.
We spent the morning at the Lion’s Den in the park. A little Bar & Grill that the locals run. Great burger and I polished one off along with a beer or two. Met the staff, Darren the day manager and Lindsay our server and just kinda took in the place. Interesting décor. From there we headed south on highway 86 and just cruised some of the more populated areas. Spotted another little pub down the way and decided to check it out as I spied a satellite dish on the roof. Good call as the USC game was on the big screen. I was afraid Denny was going to get shut out on seeing his Trojans. We stayed there for the second half and met some of the staff there as well. Most everyone in the area are pretty nice folks and very hospitable. 
Denny appears to be networking and getting to know people in the neighborhood just fine. Once his tools are in place I’m sure he will be able to pick up side jobs in and around the park and he’ll always have the current digs to work on. Given his talents in cabinet making and general skills as a craftsman, and given the time and funding I’m sure he can transform the lot into a little oasis. I’ll keep writing him and checking up on him from time to time and I’m sure I’ll get a phone call if anything really exciting happens out there. God help us if they erect a bowling center out there!
In closing I’d like to state that Mr. Self was and is deeply moved by the support from the Lake Forest contingency and in particular his special benefactors P&A. ( I knew I’d get that abbreviation in there!)
That’s it for now all. Back to the grind tomorrow. I have a hankering to live on a ranch now.
-Scott
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