Integratron, Landers, CA. George Van Tassel (1910-1978) held respectable jobs as an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed Douglas Aircraft and as a test pilot for Hughes Aviation, but arguably his real life’s work was as an inventor and UFO advocate. Van Tassel was the engineer behind The Integratron, a spherical, all-wood dome originally intended as an…
Blair Valley, Anza Borrego Desert State Park. For anyone who thinks of the desert as a monotonous and endless stretch of sand and ugly rocks: this is for you. The Anza Borrego Desert State Park is three hours southeast of Los Angeles, in the backcountry of the San Diego backcountry. It’s the perfect Southern California weekend…
Salton Sea, CA. The Salton Sea was two sides of a rusted coin: a place for people who were there for a dream, and a place for people whose dreams had died. I’m with my friend, and he’s never been here before. We’re taking a field trip to the land of wreck and ruin. We…
Salvation Mountain, Niland, CA. Since 1985 Leonard Knight has been in a tireless tug of war with the desert to create Salvation Mountain. Using adobe, straw, tree branches, car tires and other gifts spewed up on the vast shores of the desert as well as countless gallons of donated paint from visitors, he created the…
