While in town, Lisbon and Jane pop into the Borrego Gap Diner, which is actually the Ski Inn, Anthony Bourdain’s former stomping grounds. The spot where the body was found is located near Avenue D & 5th Street. In “The Desert Rose,” Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) are sent to the Salton Sea to investigate the murder of a real estate developer named Brooke Yardley (Alex Daniels), whose body was found on the shores of Bombay Beach. “The Desert Rose” was one of my favorite episodes of the show ever, so how I did not recognize the place when we visited is beyond me. I was absolutely shocked to discover while doing research for this post that the Season 6 episode of The Mentalist titled “The Desert Rose” was filmed on location at Bombay Beach. It’s actually a really catchy song, although I don’t understand a word of it. You can watch the “Millionen Lichter” video by clicking below.
GTA REAL LIFE SALTON SEA MOVIE
It is the Four Aces movie set in Palmdale, which has appeared in countless productions over the years and which I have stalked, but have yet to blog about. The motel that appeared in “Millionen Lichter” cannot be found in Bombay Beach, however, but about 170 miles away. and in front of several Bombay Beach houses.
You can watch that promo by clicking below.īombay Beach was used extensively in the 2013 music video for Austrian singer Christina Sturmer’s song “Millionen Lichter” (translation – “A Million Lights”). In 2013, Jeremy Wade shot a promo for the fifth season of his Animal Planet series, River Monsters, at Bombay Beach. You can watch the Bombay Beach trailer by clicking below. It won “Best Documentary Feature” at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit award. Appropriately titled Bombay Beach, the film was directed by Israeli filmmaker Alma Har’el and followed the lives of three Bombay Beach residents. The episode makes for a fascinating watch and is available for purchase via Amazon Instant Video.Ī 2011 documentary was also made about the township. Southwest.”ĭuring his sojourn, Bourdain partook of a patty melt at Bombay Beach’s sole restaurant, the Ski Inn.
GTA REAL LIFE SALTON SEA SERIES
In 2008, chef Anthony Bourdain visited Bombay Beach to film the Season 4 episode of his Travel Channel reality series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations titled “U.S. In the 1990 made-for-television movie The Great Los Angeles Earthquake, Bombay Beach was said to be the site of numerous foreshocks, but it does not appear that any actual filming took place there. I guess its immortalization onscreen should not have come as a surprise, though, considering its vastly unique and desolate landscape. Prior to visiting Bombay Beach, I had never even heard of the place, so I was absolutely shocked to discover how often it has been utilized for filming. Yep, the graffiti pictured below reads, “Abandon all hope ye who enter.” The entire area was just begging to be photographed. There’s also a restaurant, the Ski Inn, but I’ll get to that in a bit. and a “fireside lounge” named Blues After Dark, which is currently for sale. two mini-marts (I only got a photograph of one). Situated in the midst of this apocalyptic–like setting is a church.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s the Friends couch visible through the window below. Forgotten sofas, toys and even cars can be seen strewn about the landscape. It is this juxtaposition that makes the place so eerie.Īlso adding to the creepiness factor is the fact that many of those who fled walked away not only from their properties, but all of their belongings, as well. The tiny, 0.9-square-mile township currently boasts about three hundred residents. Oddly though, some stayed behind and still call Bombay Beach home to this day.
Then, when the storms of 19 hit and caused massive flooding, even more people fled. It was not long before animal carcasses covered the once-sandy beaches and the smell of their decaying bodies permeated the air. As the sea’s toxicity and salinity increased in the late 1960s, the fish and bird population died off. Originally set to be a Riviera-like resort destination on the shores of the Salton Sea, Bombay Beach suffered the same fate as its neighboring townships. It is also, according to this July 2013 article, the most-filmed location in the entire Imperial County. Situated about twenty miles south of the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club (which I blogged about here), the tiny census-designated place is made up of about two hundred homes and trailers, a great number of which are abandoned.Īt 223 feet below sea level, Bombay Beach has the distinction of being the lowest city in America. Out of all of the Salton Sea townships that I stalked while my best friend, Robin, was visiting in March, Bombay Beach was, without a doubt, my favorite.