for sure you need to see the integratron and giant rock out in landers. i am a riverside resident but i go out to the high desert alot to shoot trap. the integratron and giant rock area has a history of UFO stuff and the actual builder of the integratron claims to have been giving the instructions on how to build it by the aliens themselves. although i do not buy into the whole alien/UFO thing it is still pretty cool and majestic out there. Giant rock is claimed to be the worlds largest freestanding boulder and has a history all its own. a man lived under it and actually died under it in a dinamite "accident"(UFO people claim government conspiracy of course). and giant rock is the site of a big ufo convention/meeting with speakers and everything annually. do a web search for...Giant rock Landers/Giant rock/Integratron. you will come up with a bunch of info. the road to integratron is paved but the road to giant rock is not. the giant rock raud is usually easily made with any car but can get difficult depending on time of year. motor homes often go there so it is a decent road. also I know of a ton of open mines and mineshafts out there that are definetly TRIPPY. some go deep into the earth and have a ton of the old carts and equipment still there. let me know if you are in terested and want more info.

Damon
slazyks@gmail.com

http://www.integratron.com/Welcome.html

http://www.aliensonearth.com/place/us/ca/giantrock/

both these are good sources of info. please let me know if you are interested in going i can give you a bunch of tips on driving directions and especially what to bring.

damon
slazyks@gmail.com

that is my all-time favorite joke! somehow it still makes me snicker every time, and it's short enough that i can actually remember it to retell it.

Hey, just stumbled across your LostDestinations site and saw your call for suggestions in Cali/AZ.
For people like "us", the Salton Sea is not to be missed. It is a huge lake probably 2 hours or less from Riverside (east of Indio). I go there a few times a year to do some photography. About 50 or 60 years ago the sea was supposed to be a major holiday destination but the salt level in the water rose dramatically and started killing off all the sea life and made life unbearable for just about all the residents. So, whats left is a lot of abandoned building, vehicles, etc. Be sure and check out the Salton Sea Yacht Club, classic example of the "astro" age architecture of the time. Be warned, the sea can be horribly smelly at times but is so worth the trip. Plan ahead, do your research and allow for at least 2 days to properly explore as the lake is huge and you can drive 50 miles or more from one place to another. Another cool spot nearby is Salvation Mtn in Niland, ca. this old fella painted the side of a mountain for God. Great Folk art if youre at all interested in that.
An awesome website to check out for all things good and abandoned in the Southwest is www.lostamerica.com Hope this gives you some good ideas for you stay here.
John