The best words of wisdom I have to offer anyone visiting Slab City for the first time is to not judge this place or its people based on outward appearances.

Judge not, lest ye not be judged
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged…
Matthew  7:1

As often as St. Matthew is misinterpreted, this verse is especially relative when visiting the slabs for the first time. For starters, no slabber I’ve met is about to pass judgement on anyone. And any visitors who do judge, are not likely to make it past the Range.

I take that back. When it comes to justice, Slab City does have its own judges and juries.

Take for instance the slabber whose boat got burnt down by vigilantes after he mistreated a fellow resident of the opposite sex. But I digress…

I have never felt unsafe when visiting Slab City. Not even when Moth stabbed Sam. That’s because I live by the unspoken law of leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone.

But seriously, while judgmental folks may take one look at some of these souls and see a wild pack filthy miscreants and ne’er do wells, I see a bunch of fun-loving friends just doing what they can to survive and loving life to the fullest as they do.

Never mind their looks – and in some cases their smell – Slabbers really are some of the nicest folks I’ve ever met. I’ve never been greeted with a smile by strangers in Los Angeles. And I’ve never had such a warm welcome to a strange part of a big city, as I have to an even stranger Slab City encampment.

Take for instance one night at the Oasis, where those gathered around the fire might happily pass along whatever it is they may choose to partake. You don’t need to agree with their poison of choice, but ya gotta appreciate the offer! Then there was the guy returning to his seat who did not barge right in front of Rene as we talked. He politely waited, then said excuse me and even bowed before he passed.

Or how ’bout the boisterous gang in the corner at the pot luck?

A suspecting individual might wonder what mayhem was in the works. The quiet observer would soon discover the Mad Hatter was just having a tea party.

People Watching is Best Slab City Entertainment

People watching is one of my favorite activities at the Slabs. There is actually some amazing talent to be seen at East Jesus and heard at the Range. But the audience is often the best act. Where else will you see a drunkard don a helmet before hitting the dance floor, or a clean cut young lady give Moth a sweet kiss goodbye?

What I find most interesting, however, is the harmony that exists among such a striking dichotomy of economic classes. One Saturday night I observed an Audi convertible parked at the Range, clearly out of place. It was easy to identify the owner and his clique trying just a little too hard to fit in.

But then again, I guess that would just be me passing judgement.

If you have heard of boondocking for free the Slabs, but have never given it a try, what has kept you from joining the fun?

Today, as we travel Highway 90 to this weekend’s Texas Cowboy Poetry Festival in Alpine, we’re recuperating from a year’s worth of fun that was packed into one month at Slab City.

Cheap Entertainment for All

Fun is cheap at the Slabs, with free music and entertainment options for all tastes.

From Saturday night music at the Range to meandering through the East Jesus sculpture garden. From daily happy hours with the old-timer Travel’N Pals to Wednesday night gatherings at “A Camp,” hardly a day goes by without some type of gathering.

When there’s nothing going on, Slab City people watching can turn into a day’s worth of fun.

While some folks only see the downsides of this one-of-a-kind place, we think this fun factor outweighs the negatives, so we keep returning each winter. This time we only planned to stay a few weeks, but soon after arriving it seemed as if we were meant to stay longer.

Zen Harmony with NuRVers

Having ZenNomads Sam and Tracy as neighbors made it too easy to plant temporary roots; when two couples meet and everyone clicks, you just have to take advantage of that moment.

Being around their inspirational 20-something year-old relationship was good for ours, and we never ran out of fun times (or booze!). We love these two!

Wheelin’ It to East Jesus

Nina from the fabulous young, full-time RVer blog, Wheelin’ It, also made our stay worthwhile. She was nice enough to make the day trek from Anza Borrego to the Slabs to meet us for the first time.

Actually, we’re sure she just came to see Wyatt. But she put up with us anyways so we played hooky from work to show her around. Our tour took us to East Jesus.

Riding the East Jesus Roller Coaster

Dearly departed Container Charley’s desolate landscape is alive with creativity. These mind-blowing sculptures are made with found objects around the Slabs, reminiscent of Austin’s Cathedral of Junk.

Visit repeatedly and you’ll always see something you missed the first time.

East Jesus sits on abandoned Federal land, and it’s occupants could be considered trespassers if the government cared enough to pursue an eviction. But the high costs of cleaning up the toxic land on which it sits makes an eviction unlikely.

Even so, the boring “play-by-the-rules” side of Jim and I wondered out loud: don’t the artists have any concerns about putting so much effort into a project on land that could be shut down without warning?

“Nah,” our resident artist tour guide said, “Hey, life’s a roller coaster and we’re just enjoying the ride; it could roll off the rails anytime. We’re just gonna ride this roller coaster as long as we can and see where it ends up.”

Jim and I turned to each other and smiled. These crazy, talented artists are really living in the Now!

And isn’t that the way life should be?

Two years ago the Slab City Lizard Tree Library met a terrible fate. As I wrote in 2010, the library’s long-suffering caretaker had a melt-down and disassembled all of the quirky fixtures that would make anyone want to lounge within it’s walls. I was there the day Ron snapped.

“I’m sick of picking up after people and their dog shit!” Ron told me. “I’ve had it! If they want to trash this place they can have it!”

He ripped out the Library’s famed InterNut connection, which consisted of a manual typewriter and stuffed mouse. The lounge chairs placed underneath the canopy of a shade tree and the peaceful bottle fountain were gone.

To scare away any visitors, Ron had taken down the road sign too.

That was a sad day for anyone who had experienced what a special place the library was in its heyday.

Last year the library was obviously still in use, but rapidly becoming dilapidated. This year I feared what it would look like, so I avoided returning to the devastating scene . . . until last week.

I walked up to see that sadly, it’s still slowly deteriorating. Without someone to look after things, the ceiling is caving in and the dust is deep on the cobwebbed shelves.

The Slab City Lizard Tree Library is a sad ghost of what it used to be. While it does appear that some folks are using care to keep things as neat as possible, and a few like me are still donating books, the library is no longer a place you want to hang out. It’s actually a little creepy now.

Meawhile, Ron continues living next door in his RV-without-wheels, holding his permanent yard sale.

According to a long-time Slabber, he has no plans to leave and hand over the librarian duties to someone who cares.

It’s a sad time for literacy in Slab City USA.

It’s official: the media has run out of “recession victim” angles.

Time Magazine’s half-assed reporting about the Slabs gave us a good laugh today, just in time for happy hour.

Need a good chuckle? Here it is:

Slab City, Here We Come: Living Life Off the Grid in California’s Badlands

One would think that Time could afford to hire a reporter capable of uncovering a different angle, or talking to people who haven’t been interviewed several times over by NPR or CBS.

If you want some laughter therapy, read the full story here. But if your Time is more valuable, here are the hilarious highlights:

“a squatters’ camp deep in the badlands of California’s poorest county, where the road ends”

“dropouts and fugitives of all stripes”

“recession refugees”

“a former drug addict turned born-again Christian”

“tribes have emerged”

“soul-searching Gypsy Kids who arrive by train with little more than the ragged clothes on their back”

“the rowdy bikers who pass through, or the meth-addled loners on the outer edges inclined to greet a trespasser with a gunshot”

“disappearances, mysterious drownings in the mud baths, the man who showed up in camp with his finger apparently bitten off”

“The border patrol keeps a visible presence, searching for illegal immigrants that ply the region.”

Yeah, that pretty much sums up most of us, like Jim and I, or our super friendly, squeaky clean neighbors, the Bayfield Bunch, or the Canadian politician who was here last week.

Can you say “Sensationalism”? Remember kids, The Media Lies.

Which can be a good thing, I guess.

Long live the Slabs!

With thanks to Rhodester, who shared this on my Facebook page today.

The Slabs are a hotbed of serendipitous blogger meet-ups lately. Not only are we camped across from The Bayfield Bunch, down the road from HiTek Homeless and across from Tumbleweeds and Lemonade, but this morning we had the unexpected surprise of running into Kimberly, Renee, Darla and the kids from Fulltime Families!

As the enterprising founder behind FtF, Kimberly Travaglino recently published “How to Hit the Road,” a terrific guide to help aspiring families learn everything about the road tripping lifestyle with kids. We can’t recommend it enough!

The Fulltime Families group is a membership-based community of like-minded non-retired parents and kids who’ve made the courageous leap to living life on the road. Fulltime Families is also a terrific resource for dreamers who want to learn all they can about the lifestyle.

Are the Slabs Kid-Friendly?

Kimberly wanted to know the lowdown on the Slabs. Her tribe is camped on the perimeter near Salvation Mountain for the night, and was scouting around to feel around for a kid-friendly vibe. While we wouldn’t exactly call the Slabs kid-friendly, there are a few living here, probably year-round.

But as far as whether or not this place is a good place to bring little humans, our NuRVer friend Sam, who has a grown family of his own, put it best:

“Would I bring kids here and stay a while? Definitely not.”

This wacky, offbeat community with its somewhat seedy-underbelly isn’t the best environment for kids.

“Would I come here for a few days to see it with kids? Definitely!” he said.

Families can skip the local watering holes like the Oasis Club, but taking a trip out to the East Jesus art installations, the mud pots and of course Salvation Mountain, are a one-of-a-kind, eye-opening, unforgettable experience found only here at the Slabs.

Are the Slabs on Your Snowbird Itinerary?

What a hoot to finally meet Kimberly in person after meeting online last year.

We are so impressed with the FtF community she and her husband Chris have built, especially because Jim and I know much time and energy it takes to manage a busy online support group.

So, who else is coming this way in February? If you’re a fellow blogger pointed in this direction, be sure to stop by our encampment and say hello!