Calipatria, in southern California, boldly claims to hold such distinctions as possessing the “World’s Tallest Flagpole” and being the “Lowest Down City Below Sea Level in the Western Hemisphere”.

The population is around 7,700. That includes the 4,000 inmates at the Calipatria State Prison. If you’re as good at math as I am, you’ve already figured out more than half the population consists of incarcerated criminals.

I only take you guys to the best places.

While the library is the size of some apartments I’ve lived in, it still has several internet access stations.

As I walked toward the intersection, a young gal was leading her cow across the street. Yup, she was out walking her cow. On a leash.

Calipatria is known locally as “CowPat” because of all the cows, and more to the point, because of their numerous patties, the pungent scent from which is often blown all the way to Slab City, a beefy 12 miles away.

Calipatria, California: Lowest Down City and World's Tallest Flagpole - according to the local government. Who just may have escaped from the local prison.

At 184 feet below sea level, Calipatria claims to be the “Lowest Down City in the Western Hemisphere”. Not far from Slab City, and the Salton Sea, it’s been known to flood in the not-too-distant past. At some point, the local government decided, in the event of another flood, they wanted someone to be able to locate their submerged town. To that end they erected the World’s Tallest Flagpole.

There's a teeny little flag at the top. It's to make the pole look bigger. I've known some men who employed similar tactics.

The height of the flagpole is also 184 feet so I’m not sure they’ve accomplished their plan to have the town discovered/uncovered during a future flood. Should a major flood occur, I think the best they can hope for is a ship’s hull hitting the top of the flagpole.

Before you put this Lowest Down City and their World’s Tallest Flagpole on your bucket list, you might want to note that Wikipedia says Calipatria’s claims to fame are not true. Many other cities are lower and still others have much taller flagpoles. Tall flagpoles… mmm.

Alas, it seems not all of Cowpat’s criminals are contained in the local prison. Some of the criminals must also be working in Calipatria’s local government, crafting exaggerated claims. I bet the fish are “really big”, too.

A hearty Welcome! to all of you readers coming over from To Simplify. As you may have noted, I’m posting a bit behind in my actual travel timeline. I hope to be catching up to my current Texas locale soon!