Salvation Mountain

The idea hit me the other day. I had been planning a trip to southern California for some time and I started thinking about what I'd really like to do while I was there. The classics, Disneyland, Sea World, Hollywood, Sunset Strip, etc. held little interest for me at this point in my life. I did however realize that I wasn't going to be terribly far from Salvation Mountain, a place that I'd heard about before and read about in 'Into the Wild'. So I planned a side trip out to the desert. I headed east out the lovely beach town in the heart of the OC and made my way out on I-10 toward the Salton Sea. Not 2 and a half hours from Los Angeles lies Niland, CA, a small desert town on a small two lane highway to nowhere. Just off that road, towards the mountains a few miles you will find an interesting place and an interesting person. I often speak about how noticeably friendlier people are in the west vs. the east. Leonard Knight, the creator of Salvation Mountain, is a shinning example of that genuine attitude and truly a person who is filled with love. I arrived and after spending a good while exploring his creation along with a number of other tourists, I trotted off into the desert to check out the art on the nearby abandoned Air Force water tanks. They have since become canvasses for resident artists of the nearby Slab City, a campsite for all sorts of transients, travellers and the like. I made my way back to the mountain, and noticed everyone had left, but as I walked around the far southern part of the area I stumbled upon the man himself. He greeted me joyfully and immediately began to show me around. He was excited to show me exactly how he built everything and share his story. He is definitely the genuine article and I couldn't help but feel like the experience helped me to find some faith in people again. I left feeling better than I expected and I was certain glad to have made the trip. So I say, go see Leonard, he's there right now working on his project and excited to share it with you.