Great updates, all!by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
QuoteWizard Take the first right just before the Bowen Ranch. Sounds like 10 bucks for day use parking, maybe overnight. I think the snow will be melted enough for you to get up the Bowen Ranch Rd, warmer temps for the next week or so. Good luck on your adventure Hey Wizard, is the “new” access driveway just past Mikes and to the left? I know the road to theFreedom trailhead is on the rigby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
QuoteWizard AVJess, I see this is your first post to this forum. Are you one of the owners, or caretakers of this new property? Hey Wizard, based on a previous post, one of the new managers (along with Brett) is named Jessica. I don't know if AVJess is one and the same.by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Quotepeciousaitiff Exactly. My only hesitation parking w/ the new guys was that I feared Mike might come down there and slash tires of his competition's customers. Yes! This is a very real possibility, especially if Mike has already had any issues with the new guys!by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Those are great pics! That really helps to give perspective on where the new area is.by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
QuoteWizard " Mike's on his bullshit ", is this an indication that Ed and Mike have some issues? As you know, Mike has a ton of enemies.....by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Quotepeciousaitiff I’ve got a photo from the parking lot looking back at the old and new roads. I’ll upload soon! Excellent!by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Good information. Sounds like there is potential for an entrance fee bidding war between Mike and the other folks! I’m sure Mike is benefitting from the sale of that portion of his property to George Carney, so perhaps he’s not as concerned about losing some of his day use and campings to the Carney. Next time someone goes up there, please take some pictures of the new access point andby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Thanks for the report mdskibum. I’ve soaked at Buckeye and Travertine multiple times. Always great soaks, except one time at Buckeye there was a fast moving lightning storm and we thought it wise to get out of the water pretty damn quick!by Paul P. - California Hot Springs
QuoteWizard So, the SBNF officials who as far as I know have always had contact with the Bowen Ranch, now needs the DCHS Forum to provide them with info as to what is going on there ? Hey Wizard, I agree, something is a little strange here. Seems like there is not much factual information about what’s going on. So many questions....Is Mike staying at Bowen Ranch House still? Did he sell allby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Joe I answered you PM and gave you my email address. Thanks Paulby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Quotejobe At 10:30 am on Saturday morning I got to the freedom trail head. There were 4 vehicles there. There was no wind and it was 72 degrees. Before this I stopped and got some pictures of the two travel trailers parked at the north west corner of the Bowen ranch. There was a grey 90' s Ford explorer parked in front. Also a backhoe and mini excavator were there also. Mikes truck was not at theby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Yes I think it's clear now. Coming into the area from Bowen Ranch Road, it would be on the left side, just past the ranch house. Of course, this begs the question, will someone besides Mike be collecting tolls at this new access point? Here is another theory- perhaps Mike will be moving into the trailer homes, and the old ranch house will remain the access point? If anyone finds out anythiby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Quotejobe WHAT IS GOING ON ??? HAS the ranch gone out of his mind ? There has been a little bit of chatter here stating that Mike was creating a new entrance to Bowen Ranch to get people to not enter immediately adjacent to his Bowen Ranch House. I don’t know if this is what all the work is about.It would be helpful if someone could be more specific about the location of the potential new eby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I've seen a few other articles about the dam. I think there is a slight bit of fear-mongering , but I understand why the Army Corps of Engineers are planning for a worst case scenario. As Wizard said, chances of the dam being breached are probably minimal even during a heavy rain year, but the Army Corps does not want to be liable for not preparing for a 100 or 500 year flood!by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
A 1 in 10,000 chance of failing; nevertheless, a huge storm could breach it.by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Glad they got in under control quickly. It would be good to know how it started.by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Having worked for a few years with various land preservation groups, I am very happy to see this go through. Not only will this preserve the natural environment, but it will also prevent any possible residential development in the area. I look forward to them opening up Rock Springs Ranch for public visitation and environmental education purposes.by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
That's good news! I will need to convince by pilot friend who owns a Cessna 150 to fly us up there for some soaking!by Paul P. - California Hot Springs
Does anyone have more details on the separate access point that paulespo is referring to? Will the new new building be occupied by someone other than Mike? Im assuming it would be staffed by someone to collect the entry fee for Mike?Will the open and closed time frames for day use be the same or extended? I guess we will just have to wait until the fencing and building is complete......by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Rescue mission costs really vary depending on location and type of rescue. They can vary from a few hundred dollars to over $50,000. I don't know what San Berdoo County charges for helicopter time, but a friend of mine who does helicopter search and rescue says the typical charge forhelicopter use ranges from $1000 to $2000 per hour. I have always believed individuals need to pay for their oby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
QuoteMr crossup The hot spring scene in that movie was filmed at slab city hot spring. Yes!by Paul P. - California Hot Springs
I was a regular at Oh My God Hot springs back in the day. A really nice 3 season soak. Besides myself, there were a few other colorful characters who soaked there as much as I did. I'll never forget "The Mayor" who was older than dirt and was missing almost all of one of his ears. After a few years, some undesirable druggies started living full time at Oh My God. The County of Imperialby Paul P. - California Hot Springs
Well, nice beard, Joe! You'll make a good Santa Claus come Christmas! ..And the first time I've seen a Russian wedding. Would have been more fun if they were nude! I noticed none of the Russians went nude.....must be a cultural thing....by Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Personally I have nothing against Russians. However, during the times I went to Bagby Hot Springs, there was a group of Russians that were notorious for leaving their trash behind. Other people would pick up their own trash, but the Russians there were just pigs! I don't want to stereotype, and I don't know if the Russians at Deep Creek are worse about leaving trash behind than other ethnicitiesby Paul P. - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Greg, my friend said the spring is on a 10 acre private property parcel owned by a family with last name Martinez. It's in a Martinez Family Trust since November 2017. They live in the LA area. To the best of his knowledge it has not been sold to anyone else, unless it was an extremely recent transaction that did not get recorded yet at the Imperial County Assessor's office. The word is the Martiby Paul P. - California Hot Springs
Greg I told a friend about this alleged sale of Slab City Hot Springs and he loves to research this stuff. He doesnt go on this forum but I will let you know if he finds anything out.by Paul P. - California Hot Springs
Greg thanks for that info. I did see the comments in Slab City Chatter. Not much detailed information. Funny how it said the guy camping by the spring is paid to watch it! When I get out there Ill ask him who the new owner is. Another way to find out is to search assessor parcel records to find the previous and new owners, but I don't have time to do that. I would sure like to know what the futby Paul P. - California Hot Springs
Interesting! I searched most of the Slab City Facebook pages and didn't see anything about the spring being sold. And yes I did see some kind of a funky camp set up near the springs, but my impression was it was just some people who were trying to claim usage of the springs for themselves, but with no legitimate claim to ownership. Once the weather cools back down out there I'll go check it out.by Paul P. - California Hot Springs
Greg, I had not heard that about the Slab city spring. Please let me know if you consider the source of your information about the sale reliable.I've soaked there often. Yes, it is on private land but the spring has always been available for public use.The land parcel that is just up the road from it that includes Salvation Mountain is owned by the State of California, specifically part of the Cby Paul P. - California Hot Springs