Salvation Mountain

On our way home from Encinitas we stopped in Niland. It was a good 45 minute each way "pit stop" to/from I-8. We spent an hour there with Leonard Knight, the creator of this awesome colorful place. Salvation Mountain is the name of this very cool place devoted to God. I saw this place in an article online, then on the movie "Into the Wild". Everything he uses either comes from the desert or donations. The hill is made of adobe and straw. Then painted with donated, or found, cans of paint. He does this all year long and lives in his old brokedown 1939 firetruck. He has no eletricity or running water. Since 1984 he has been there working on his expression of faith. He is 77 years old......and boy, did he light up when we arrived! In the winter time he gets up to 400 visitors a day since "Into the Wild" was released. In the summer he gets maybe 12 a day. The moment we pulled in he jumped up and greeted up with a big wave and a "hello, make yourself at home". Then he took us on a personal tour. His life is his devotion to God and getting the word out, and so this was the path God gave him to get the message in the public eye. Oh, and he LOVES when people video and photograph. It is all about spreading the word. Everything he is, and does, is dedicated God. No material possessions, except for some awards and trophies for his mountain that are in his "museum", which is a replica of an old balloon (that read "God is Love") he tried to make once, but rotted in the desert sun. The donations people leave go right back into buying paint and supplies. He gives out a picture puzzles to the kids, and a dvd about the mountain and his faith to everyone who comes to visit him. Which I am sure was donated. Donations or an admission fee is not expected. We did give him a donation to continue and he was happy and accepted it, as long as it came from the heart. He does receive $250 in Social Security I read in an article, which I assume feeds him and clothes him. Since he is rent free, out in the desert, by "the slabs" (an old military base, now bulldozed). The mountain is a national treasure and now protected, so it will be there for years to come.....ok, enough rambling, take a look at the photos we took :)

http://www.salvationmountain.us/

He lives what he teaches.......which is humbling :)








We walked the "yellow brick road" to the top of the hill by the cross and took this photo by the GOD letters.













Up next, the surprise party photos!