Skip to main content

Up Next

Devil's Jaw

Devil's Jaw

Season 3 Episode 303
25:40
Delta Encounters

Delta Encounters

Season 1 Episode 136
53:31
Scotty's Castle

Scotty's Castle

Season 6 Episode 607
28:17
Sidecars

Sidecars

Season 6 Episode 6009
26:04
Whistling Champ

Whistling Champ

Season 14 Episode 1407
25:55
San Luis Obispo Train

San Luis Obispo Train

Season 5 Episode 505
27:42
Desert Tower

Desert Tower

Season 5 Episode 5007
27:50
Things Beside The Road

Things Beside The Road

Season 8 Episode 8003
27:15
Back to Show
California's Gold with Huell Howser

Slab City

The California desert has always been a place filled with mystery ... and surprises! When you travel through our desert you're never sure what you're gonna see, who you're gonna meet, or what strange and wonderful experiences you're gonna have. Huell Howser discovered that first hand on a recent trip to the Salton Sea community of Niland.

At first glance, Niland is a sleepy little agricultural town once known as a major grower of tomatoes. But a few miles out of town -- out in the middle of nowhere -- Huell discovered two honest-to-goodness, little-known pieces of "California's Gold." First Huell visits with self-taught artist and desert character Leonard Knight and gets a tour of "Salvation Mountain," a huge multicolored mosaic of scripture, flowers, trees and the American flag all sculpted into the side of a mountain with adobe, straw, and as much bright paint as Leonard can lay his hands on. "Salvation Mountain" is an on-going labor of love that Leonard started ten years ago and he shares his enthusiasm and his mountain with Huell.

About a half mile down the road, Huell next visits a town that is like no other in our state. Everyone lives rent free. There are no landlords, no official rules and there are no utilities or houses, yet over 3,000 people call it home during the winter months. It's called "Slab City" and it sits on the sight of an old abandoned Marine Base. Its citizens are a hearty bunch of independent, self-sufficient folks who have turned this desolate, yet beautiful part of the desert into an unofficial RV park. Huell spends a day touring "Slab City" in a twenty-five year old dune buggy, meets many of its colorful residents, and finds out why so many of them keep coming back year after year. It's a real desert adventure as Huell Howser goes way off the beaten track to find two fine examples of "California's Gold."

Support Provided By
Season
Classic Arts Showcase
25:33
Huell tours the Glendale office of Classic Arts Showcase, a free cable TV arts program.
Whistling Champ
25:55
Huell visits with the Whistling Champ Carole Anne Kaufman at her salon.
Masumoto Family Farm
28:20
Huell travels to Central California to visit the 80 acre Masumoto Family Farm.
Capitol Steps
28:32
Huell goes straight to the top: California’s Capitol Building, a stunning neoclassical gem
Tall Ship Californian
27:03
Huell sails aboard the state’s official tall ship, Californian.
Point Fermin Lighthouse Lens
28:22
Huell tracks down Point Fermin's beautiful glass Fresnel lens.
Glacier
27:07
Join Huell as he hikes high up in the Eastern Sierra to visit the Conness Glacier.
Sea Caves
25:53
Huell travels out to Santa Cruz Island to explore its famous sea caves by kayak.
Persimmons
26:12
Huell spends the day in Granite Bay California learning the ancient art of Hoshigaki.
Gold Rush Medicine
28:19
"Doctors” of the Gold Rush did the best they could to care for California's immigrants.
Oil Islands
27:44
In Long Beach, Calif., there’s a 42-acre collection of oilfield islands.
Warnors Theatre
27:22
The Warnors Theatre, a Fresno landmark that opened in 1928, houses a unique pipe organ.
Active loading indicator