It is not a city at all, just an abandoned military base on 640 desolate acres of desert in the southeast corner of California. Hence, the name. The military still drops bombs at a test site a few miles away. Years ago, a couple of foolhardy Slabbers, as old folks here are called, sneaked on to that restricted range hunting for scrap metal and came back with injuries. Others climb atop their rigs some nights and watch tracer fire streak across the coal-black desert sky.
Some explosions are close enough to shake and rattle the camp.
This is not the Riviera. California has tried to sell the land, but no one wants it, so few officials pay much attention to it anymore. For over a decade, he has been pouring buckets of wet clay down the side of a ridge in Slab City. He lets it dry, then paints biblical verse and multicolored images of children and flowers on it. The mural is three stories high and can be seen a mile away.