Slab City Community Group, Inc.

10/20/2026

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1088610217262689&id=100083411613490&post_id=100083411613490_1088610217262689&mibextid=Nif5oz

NEW UPDATE. A city just tried to attach mandatory jail time to sleeping in a vehicle, and backed off within a week. Bismarck, North Dakota pulled a proposed ordinance on September 22 that would have required a minimum of four consecutive days in jail for a second public-camping conviction in a year, seven for a third and fifteen for a fourth, with vehicles listed right beside tents and tarps in its definition of a campsite. Residents and shelter operators filled the meeting, and the commissioners voted to study a shelter site instead.

I have slept in vehicles all over this country, a Prius on city streets, the Astro and the Sprinter in trailheads and quiet neighborhoods, and we have had the knock exactly once. We choose our spots carefully and we read the rules, because since the Supreme Court's 2024 decision the rules have real teeth: fines, tows, and in some places jail on repeat offenses. What changed, the three shapes every one of these bans takes, the fifteen cities where it bites hardest, the newest one, and the five-minute check that keeps you out of all of it, in the comments 👇

10/19/2026

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1540055358161937&id=100064724614250&mibextid=CDWPTG

CA voters: TODAY is the last day to register online to vote in the 2026 General Election! 🗳️ Go to RegisterToVote.ca.gov and make sure your voice is heard this election.

10/17/2026

Blue Angels winter training works at NAF El Centro near Slab City and there are spots to watch the Super Hornets.

Where to Watch Blue Angels Train at El Centro
You're sitting in one of the best seats in the country for this — NAF El Centro is the Blue Angels' winter home every year from early January to mid-March, about 30 miles south of you. It's where they rebuild the entire show from scratch before anyone else sees it.

How the winter training cycle works

It's a 10-week boot camp, about 120 flights per pilot, 6 days a week.

Arrive from Pensacola: Right after the Pensacola Homecoming in November, the new pilots join.
Start big and high: First flights are at high altitude with wide separation — think hundreds of feet apart.
Work down and in: Twice a day, sometimes three flights a day, they tighten the formation and lower the altitude. The goal is that famous 18-inch wingtip separation at 50 feet.
Desert weather is the point: The Imperial Valley has reliable clear skies, so they can fly that 2-a-day schedule without weather cancels.
Finish with a check ride: Ends with the Festival of Flight airshow at El Centro in March — that's their first public show of the season.

The "120" number is the safety minimum — no pilot flies the show until they have those 120 sorties in El Centro.

The jets you'll see now — Super Hornets

They switched from the legacy Hornet to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2021.

What it is: Twin-engine carrier fighter, 60 ft long, 44 ft wingspan
Power: Two General Electric F414-GE-400 afterburning turbofans — about 22,000 lbs thrust each
Speed: Top speed Mach 1.8 / 1,190 mph at altitude, though the Blues fly the show subsonic
Blue Angels mods: No weapons, no tailhook for the demo jets, smoke oil tank, and a spring added to the stick so the leader can fly with constant back-pressure — that's how they stay so precise. They also fly the two-seat F model for media rides.

You'll hear them way before you see them. In the desert air the sound really carries.

Best local spots to watch

NAF El Centro is a working Navy base — you can't watch from inside unless it's airshow day — but the desert around it is wide open:

1. Low Road / Evans Hewes Highway — the classic spot. Just outside Runway 8/26 and 30. This is where most spotters set up. You can watch takeoffs, landings, and feel the afterburners. Park well off the road, don't block farm gates.

2. Aten Road and Drew Road corners. North and west sides of the field give you a side view of the diamond working over the field. Great for the high loops and breaks.

3. Main Gate overlook on State Route 86. Higher ground, good for seeing the whole pattern.

4. Superstition Mountains area. If you're out toward the bombing ranges, you can see them transit and practice far out.

Local tips:

Flights are usually mid-morning and early afternoon, Monday-Saturday. No official schedule posted — check NAF El Centro Public Affairs Facebook or listen on 119.1 MHz.
Bring binoculars, water, sun shade, and a scanner. No drones — it's restricted airspace and they will shut down training.
Don't trespass on base or agricultural fields. Imperial County Sheriff does patrol.

If you want that first-show experience, the NAF El Centro Festival of Flight in mid-March is worth the short drive — that's literally the debut of the show they spent all winter building in your backyard.

10/08/2026

Hurricane Rachel is expected to pull subtropical moisture northward into Southern California, but its exact path and impact depend heavily on how the storm tracks as it approaches Baja California and the Desert Southwest.
Here is what you need to know regarding the potential impacts on Slab City and the surrounding Imperial Valley:
Core Threats & Potential Impacts
* Flash Flooding & Heavy Rain: Desert lowlands like Slab City and Niland are highly vulnerable to localized flash flooding during tropical moisture surges. Even if the core of the storm degrades into a remnant low or turns offshore, outer moisture bands can trigger heavy downpours over short windows, causing rapid arroyo washouts and standing water in low-lying off-grid areas.
* High Winds & Dust: Gusty winds and localized squalls could impact unanchored structures, solar setups, shade tarps, and loose gear across the Slabs.
* Uncertain Track: Forecast models show the storm weakening as it moves north due to cooler coastal waters and high-pressure blocking systems, which could push the main energy further west or west-northwest. However, tropical surges in the Salton Sea basin are notoriously volatile, meaning rain totals can shift rapidly.
Recommended Precautions for Off-Grid Living
* Secure Camp Equipment: Batten down solar panels, heavy tarps, awnings, and temporary structures against sudden wind gusts.
* Move to High Ground: Avoid parking or camping in dry washes, dips, or natural drainage paths around the base of the Chocolate Mountains or canal corridors where flash runoff collects quickly.
* Elevate Supplies: Ensure battery banks, electronics, food, and clean water storage are elevated off the soil in case of sudden ground pooling or mud accumulation.
* Monitor Local Warnings: Check updates from the National Weather Service (Phoenix / Imperial County zone) for active Flash Flood Watches or Wind Advisories before the weather system moves in.

10/06/2026

The Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range (CMAGR).

It is located immediately to the east and northeast of Slab City. While Slab City itself sits on the remains of the abandoned WWII Marine Corps base, Camp Dunlap, the land just across the Coachella Canal remains a very active military installation.

It is a primary training facility for the U.S. Marine Corps managed by Marine Corps Air Station Yuma or MCAS Yuma and the U.S. Navy. The range is a 459,000 acres (1,860 km2) open-area, approximately 20 miles wide, east to west, and 50 miles long, northwest to southeast, with a special-use airspace of 700 square miles (1,800 km2)[1] which is used for aerial bombing and live fire aerial gunnery practice. It straddles the northern portion of the Chocolate Mountains to the east of the Salton Sea in Imperial and Riverside counties, California, with restricted airspace in both California and Arizona. The boundary is roughly 1 to 3 miles east of the main residential "slabs." The Coachella Canal serves as a unofficial physical barrier between the community and the military land. Part of Bob Stump Training Range Complex Imperial County and Riverside County, California in the United States.

The range is used for live-fire aerial gunnery, bombing practice, and Naval Special Warfare training (including SEALs). The United States Department of Defense aviation combat crews have trained at the CMAGR and within its airspace since World War II. The CMAGR's live-fire aviation training ranges provide training for air combat maneuvering and tactics; air-to-air gunnery; airborne laser system operations; close air support; and air-to-ground bombing, strafing, and rocketry. The CMAGR also supports ground training to include air defense, air control, communications, demolition operations, as well as the support of small arms and artillery. The Naval Special Warfare Command also use a portion of the CMAGR for desert warfare training. Camp Billy Machen is a Navy SEAL desert warfare training facility, located on the edge of the Chocolate Mountains by Siphon 10 within CMAGR. Steel targets simulating Afghan insurgents stand at the Al Brutus training complex within target area 15 North. CMAGR also supports the Weapon and Tactics Instructor course (WTI). It is a seven-week period of instruction, hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 at MCAS Yuma, that incorporates Marine Corps planning and implementation of advanced air and ground tactics through a series of escalating evolutions in order to produce certified Weapons and Tactics Intructors. WTIs serve as squadron training officers who use their skills to act as aircraft and weapons subject matter experts to provide their units with proper training and evaluation to ensure exceptional combat readiness. Each course runs for seven weeks: ​WTI Class 1 (Fall): Runs from early September through late October. ​WTI Class 2 (Spring): Runs from March through late April.​ Each iteration consists of three weeks of intensive academic instruction followed by four weeks of practical flight and tactical operations, culminating in a final exercise (FINEX).

If you are in Slab City, it is common to hear and feel explosions and see low-flying aircraft during the day or observe flares at night.

10/04/2026

Welcome to Commifornia!

Generator loses California-compliant option on Harbor Freight website, fueling discontinuation fears

"What do we make of this other than it might be discontinued?"

09/27/2026

At first glance, it looked like a giant glowing person floating through deep space.

But the universe was playing a trick on our minds.

Astronomers captured an image of a vast cloud of glowing gas and dust that, from Earth's perspective, appeared to resemble a human figure stretching across the stars. The remarkable shape quickly spread across social media, leaving many people amazed by its uncanny resemblance to a person.

Scientists explain this phenomenon as pareidolia—the brain's natural tendency to recognize familiar shapes, such as faces, animals, or human figures, in random patterns. The same effect makes people see shapes in clouds on Earth and has also produced famous astronomical illusions like the "Face on Mars", the "Hand of God" Nebula, and other nebulae that appear to resemble birds, skulls, or animals.

There is no evidence that the glowing figure is a real object or living being. It is simply an extraordinary alignment of gas, dust, and light viewed from our particular vantage point in space. These visual coincidences remind us that our brains are exceptionally skilled at finding meaningful patterns—even when they arise naturally.

The universe isn't hiding giant people among the stars.

Yet sometimes, through nothing more than light, dust, and perspective, it creates illusions so breathtaking that they seem to come straight from science fiction.

09/27/2026

Gemini AI:
Is the Trump administration restricting snowbirds from coming from Canada?

The Trump administration is not explicitly banning Canadian snowbirds from entering the country, but it has instituted stricter border requirements and registration mandates that impact long-term Canadian visitors.
The main changes and how they affect Canadian snowbirds include:
1. Mandatory Alien Registration (Stays Over 30 Days)
Under a tightened enforcement of existing U.S. immigration laws (specifically Section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act), non-U.S. citizens staying in the country for 30 days or longer are required to register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
* Requirements: For standard land entries without a generated I-94, visitors 14 and older must register, submit fingerprints, undergo photographing, and pay a administrative processing fee (typically $30).
* Penalties: Failing to comply can technically trigger civil or criminal penalties, fines, or prosecution.
2. Exceptions for Trusted Traveler Programs
The USCIS updated its guidance to streamline travel for frequent border crossers.
* Canadian snowbirds who enter the U.S. using NEXUS, Global Entry, SENTRI, or FAST are automatically considered registered and are exempt from submitting extra registration forms (such as Form G-325R) for stays over 30 days.
* Air travelers or land crossers who are issued an electronic Form I-94 upon entry are also generally satisfied under the registration requirement.
3. Biometric Tracking
The administration expanded biometric entry-exit tracking, requiring non-U.S. citizens to be photographed and fingerprinted upon entry and exit at designated ports.
While Canadian citizens still retain their general allowance to visit the U.S. for up to 182 days per year for tourism without a visa, these additional administrative burdens, paperwork, and stricter compliance enforcement at ports of entry have added new hurdles for long-term winter stays.