Constructed “Construct”
by Pasadena Adjacent
In the Deserts of the West, still today, there are Tattered Ruins of that Map, inhabited by Animals and Beggars; in all the Land there is no other Relic of the Disciplines of Geography.
Jorge Luis Borges
These ruins in Jacumba once housed the Hotel Vaughn’s hot springs; 104 °F and…
across the street are the last remains of a fireplace belonging to the Hotel Vaughn. Destroyed by (pre) fire; 1992-ish
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This is post #330 and above is panel #330. In the last frame of the video, a border patrol vehicle is stragically placed on top of the hill. Jacumba loosly translated to mean “hut by the water’s” neighbor is La Rumorosa. It’s other neighbor is the Golden Acorn Casino. On one side it’s “rumored” that the Kumeyaay herd goats. On the northern side, the Campo Kumeyaay herd wind, coin and nuts.
[enlarge]
Jeanne-Claude and Christo’s “Running Fence” ran into the sea. This is where George Bush Jr’s “Running Fence” ends. here.
Pasadena Adjacent 
Road trip / Round trip
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We were just talking about Borges; what are the odds.
Interesting road trip to an area I’ve never explored and didn’t know how to pronounce, until I looked it up.
Congratulations on 330.
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Well Jean, it looks like it’s just you and me.
Jacumba is a surreal landscape. Poetic and intense. The industry based on hot springs is all but forgotten. It’s a border town now where the US border patrol leaves their empty vehicles parked here and there to increase the sense of their presence.
When I started putting the post together with it’s emphasis on borders/maps/edges Borge’s “On Exactitude in Science” came to mind.
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Where exactly is this? And how do you learn all this stuff? You are really doing some amazing posts of late.
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Mighty pretty ruins in the top photo. And that second postcard looks like something out of Bonnie and Clyde. Off to google. Jacumba. Have a feeling that story’s a heartbreaker.
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Oh, I see. Another victim of the interstate. So the hotel was “world class,” and a popular destination for film stars during the 1930’s. Here’s another view http://www.hbw.addr.com/images/jacumba2.jpg
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Margaret: One of my favorite road trips. Jacumba is in San Diego County on the border of Mexico (east of Tijuana and west of Calexico/El Centro) very close to a reservation and casino. It’s mainly bypassed now since interstate 8 was built. It’s 2 miles off of old highway 80. The “secure” border fence wasn’t built until the Bush administration. It was an open border till then. Some might say it still is (you can walk around the edge)
Hiker: Wow, you found a source that I hadn’t. Another “spring” related issue is that Palm Springs and locations closer to Los Angeles started gaining popularity. The main street is still in tact but the one time motor lodges and such, if they haven’t fallen into disrepair, are now housing field workers (lots of plastic baby vehicles strewn about). Mr V was nervous; not of babies but of the presence of the US government.
btw: still tragic
http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20030709-9999_2m9jacumba.html
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This is the Hotel Vaughn (or is it?) the signage says Jacumba. The other link of a post card (in the post) says Vaughn; possible misinformation?
our photo is taken from the position of the fireplace at the Hotel Vaughn/Jacumba
this is what may have eventually become the now defunct Highway 80 (and worth taking into or from San Diego). our next segment of the road trip will take you to Highway 80’s desert conclusion
**this is our most recent find***
while still a ruin, the Vaughn/Jacumba pre 1992-ish fire
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1-Before I forget the Hwy 80 link doesn’t work.
2-You’ve entered the “Holiday Blogging Void” so from now until after the first of the year comments could be sparse.
3-The confusion over the hotel name is great, look where it took us.
4-The “border” will always be one of the great pieces of artifice ever created. I wish Jeanne-Claude and Christo would take this stretch on and give us all something in common to talk about. We don’t have to agree, just transform it.
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Boxcars boxcars boxcars Happy Birthday Mr. V boxcars boxcars boxcars boxcars boxcars boxcars boxcars
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Happy Birthday Mr. V.
I went out to do an educational program at the 2-room school house located in Jacumba many years ago. I arrived and it was warm and sunny. By the time I finished my programs I was snowed in. I had to spend the night at the teacher aide’s house. We were without electricity, but were able to have a nice dinner because she had a gas stove. No lights, no heat, no television, we went to bed at 6:30 p.m.
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PJ: thanks for the heads up (fixed) The Department of Tourism added an extra link at the bottom. That hotel name keeps on confusing. It’s standing in 1992 but wiki has it burn to the ground in the early 80s.
“The “border” will always be one of the great pieces of artifice ever created. ” Your interpretation is spot on. It’s what I was trying to get at with the Jorge Luis Borges quote. When I was in grad school thats exactly the angle we used as examples of deconstruction and simulcra. Dang, that takes me back
Patrizzi I: Boxcar…now that has an ominous undertone to it. Mr V would appreciate it. Boxcars and Nazi Germany; that was Mr V’s description after a few fast rides at Disneyland. 1987: We haven’t been back since.
the other part of the fence looks like this Zoo Zoo Zoo Zoo
QV: Thats hysterical. Did you have a truck load of animals with you?; namely that
viscousMacaw Synbad.Re Mr V…Yesterday I gave him a hippie “leather working” book off the net, tube socks, a pair of dockers and a bowl of Tom Kha Gai soup. He said he had a very nice birthday
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This is a superb post, PA. I’m with Margaret. Hot stuff of late.
I didn’t believe there really was a fence until I saw your photo. It’s like a finger in the dike. Dumb dumb dumb. A fence! The more I think of it the stupider it is.
Happy birthday, Mr. V.
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Jacumba: google map location
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Looks like a safe plce to me, I bet Stanley did it in the study with a led pipe…
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Hey, are there still Hot Springs there?
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Happy birthday to Mr. V.
Maybe we should think of the fence as a type of WPA project?
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Update!!
the Vaughn/Jacumba Hotel pre 1992-ish fire
Petrea: Thank You. There’s a road that straddles the fence. You can actually walk around it. There is another road/trail in Jacumba called “Valley of the Moon” I found a quote on u-tube thats interesting
“i hiked here and got lost. Ended up on Mexico side where I got a ride from someone dropping off about 30 soon to be illegal aliens to the border 50 miles away.”
Evil Mid Night G: This one is for you It’s the Jacumba community board. About the springs? maybe. In Anza there is Augua Calienta Springs Hw S2 marker 37. You can pitch a tent among RV’s for 19 bucks or head to a primitive site (toilets only) at marker 46. Go up the road and pay a day fee to use the spring fed pools.
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Is that last picture the begining of the unpenetrable fence or the end of the unpenetrable fence? Just what you’d want in your front/back yard, box car inspired wall. And a happy birthday too, Mr. V.
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I had also been wondering if the hot springs are still there. Interesting stuff, and another fascinating post! I almost feel as though I’ve been there.
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I should head down there and explore this area – did you have to stay overnight somewhere? It reminds me of the old border between East and West Germany, which was where I used to live (in the west – barely). The buildings on the East German side were left unrepaired and became ruins – there was a whole zone of decay on either side of the fence. However, unlike this fence, there was no easy way to walk round it!
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D: Don’t ask me. I saw nothing. I heard nothing. (but rumor has it you can walk around it and be in La Rumorosa)
Shanna: I read one review, I don’t know when it was written but it was a dismal appraisal. I found this link
http://www.jacumbasprings.com/rates.htm
Bellis: This is a great area; especially driving old highway 80 towards San Diego.
Berlin: I remember all the rabbits that ran wild between walls in the dead zone back then. I spent a fascinating day on the eastern side. I remember how all the structures seemed to be soot grey and of an equal height.
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Congratulations on post 330, PA. I didn’t know the border fence panels were numbered. I don’t think I’ve never seen pictures of the fence. The photos make it all too real and ominous.
This is yet another fascinating insight into southern California’s historic, geographic and political landscape. Great stuff. I’m going to swing back again when I have more time to absorb and meander through the comments and links.
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Make that “I don’t think I’ve [ever] seen …” I should finish my coffee before I comment.
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Susan C: I took artistic liberties on this post. It’s actually #331. Close enough with or without a cigar.
I’m glad your enjoying the ride. More road trip to come! (spoiler alert) the next post has a dog in it.
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happy birthday to Mr. V. road trips on birthdays are the best.
the wee-docu-video is frightening – congratulations on leaving a lasting impression. no fluttering fence here. (did you see the Cristo video – a farmer slept by that fence.
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