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David Chambers of Oklahoma speaks about coming to the Valley for the winter at Naval Air Facility El Centro on Jan. 4. (STEVEN ESPERANZA PHOTO / January 13, 2013) |
As local residents begin to reunite with the familiar cool-winter conditions, some visitors are finding salvation in Imperial County, having escaped harsh below-zero temperatures.
Snowbirds from all over the Northern Hemisphere began flocking to the Valley as early as late October in search of sunny skies and warmer weather, with the hope of waiting out their hometown elements.
With a majority of snowbirds retired from lives lived on the daily grind, many are migrating to the Valley seasonally to find their home away from home.
Winter visitors have a variety of expendable incomes to travel with, which can affect where they decide to stay, explained former executive director of the El Centro Chamber of Commerce, Cathy Kennerson.
The Valley helps to provide a variety of lodging accommodations for snowbirds including RV parks, the local naval base and open lands.
Currently a majority of winter guests are in the middle of their seasonal stay with about two to three more months expected here; leaving weeks before the Valley’s notoriously scorching summer days.
RV parks
Freshly cut green grass layered over golf courses and heated swimming pools equipped with hot tubs await some snowbirds who decide to stay at one of the Valley’s many RV parks.
With a majority of parks not far from local shopping centers and restaurants, many northern visitors are enjoying the easy access that the parks provide them.
An avid golfer, Alberta, Canada, resident Dick Willcock has been spending his winters at the Rio Bend RV and Golf Resort in El Centro with his wife for seven years.
“The golf course is the biggest draw,” Willcock said in reference to the resort.
Most parks also offer a variety of activities for their guests to participate in, including shuffleboard, billiards, horseshoes, as well as craft classes and dance nights.
Like many snowbirds who return to the Valley year after year, Willcock says he appreciates the welcome feeling he gets from coming to the Valley resort.
Sharing similar sentiments, British Columbia, Canada, residents Barry La Pointe and wife, Elaine, also return to the Valley each winter to escape freezing temperatures.
Having been retired for five years, La Pointe shared how he felt the local weather was the “warmest area in the continental U.S.,” and that he would be returning next year for the golf and staying for the community of friends he and his wife have made year after year.
NAF El Centro
With retirees of all sorts occupying local RV parks, many retired military men and woman are finding their own temporary homes beside other veterans while staying at the Palms Oasis RV Park within Naval Air Facility El Centro.
“We are all basically retired military and just one big fraternity; we are all brothers and sisters,” military retiree and Shelton, Wash., resident Rick Lanphear said.
Apart from all the common amenities that come with staying at NAF, such as a nearby grocery market, free movie theater, bowling alley and high-level security, snowbirds staying on the base also build familiar friendships with their park neighbors.
This united camaraderie unique to retired military veterans is what Lanphear says keeps him coming back year after year.
“When we were active duty our family (was) spread out across the country so we all became family to one another and I think we kind of continued that into retirement life too; we all just blend together,” retired military woman and park guest Marti Bagwell said.
The park military-based security is another feature that keeps retired snowbirds coming every year.
“The older people are quite often preyed upon by other people, so security on the base is really good. We have our own police here, so this is a very safe environment compared to, say, some of the other parks,” retired military veteran David Chambers of Oklahoma said.
NAF is one of many naval bases that contain its own RV park, all of which are only accessible to retired military and their guest, explained park director Gilbert Reid.
Slab City
Other Valley visitors looking for an economically and slightly eccentric dry-camping experience are finding their winter home in Niland’s Slab City.
With open mountains surrounding the state-owned land, some retired snowbirds are saying it’s exactly what they’ve been looking for.
“There is a lot about this place, in some areas there’s poverty despair, crime, but there is also love, community and great dignity,” second-year snowbird to the Slabs and Northern California resident Kim Brooke said.
“There are all types of people living out here; there are retirees with very expensive RVs and then there’s people living in tents,” Brooke said.
As the area provides no electricity, water or sewer, many visitors staying here understand that it’s all a small price to pay for the gratis living the area provides.
Some advantages to staying in the Slabs include not having to pay rent, property taxes or gain too much notice from government officials apart from Imperial County sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and ambulance personnel, explained Brooke.
“Many snowbirds come here because of money and their economics; your dollar can stretch a lot further here,” she said.
Brooke, however, acknowledges that Slab City does contain its own drawbacks.
“There are some not-nice people here, but that is true of any place,” she said.
Retired truck driver and eastern Oregon resident Bob Joseph is spending his second winter at the Slabs, as he recalled his first impression of his now-winter home.
“When I first came in here last year I parked and thought I’m just going to stay here overnight; I don’t like all this garbage and I’m leaving in the morning. But I got to walking around and meeting the people and stayed here like two months,” Joseph said.
Having returned with his wife and their aunt, Joseph shares his attraction to the little community.
“I like to walk in the desert and it’s been really fun; no one really bothers you. It’s pretty peaceful here,” Joseph said.
Staff Writer Celeste Alvarez can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at calvarez@ivpressonline.com
Breakout
Definitions
Snowbird A person who vacations in or moves to a warmer climate during cold weather
Dry camping Camping without or with limited amenities visiting for three weeks for the second year
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