Last Friday, August 01, 2008, I had a life-changing experience. Jeanette and I visited Salvation Mountain and spent some time with Leonard Knight, its creator. Salvation Mountain is located just east of Niland, California at the entrance to the infamous Slab City. The painted mountain is one man’s solitary effort to communicate two very simple messages: God is love; and repent your sins to Jesus.
Although I had seen pictures of the Salvation Mountain on television, I was never quite sure if it was a real place. Recently though, I watched Into the Wild (2007) and got a glimpse into the history of the area. I decided that it was a place I’d like to visit. Since we were going to be in Southern California, I had my chance. Incidentally, the scene in the movie, in which Leonard plays himself, accurately captures his true spirit of hospitality and in many ways parallels our time with him.
The journey to get to Salvation mountain is not a particularly easy one, being roughly 55 miles south of I-10 and in the middle of the Southern California desert. It isn’t, however, particularly hard either as a main state road (Hwy 111) runs right to it, skirting around the Salton Sea. I am still amazed at how few people live on the eastern shores of this large expanse of water. My timing of the visit on a day when the temperature was over 110F was my own choice, not a requirement.
The town of Niland isn’t the world’s largest (pop. 1,143). Don’t blink or you might miss the road to get to Slab City and have to turn around. I did exactly that and was directed to head east on Main Street by a friendly guy at the gas station who told me, “You can’t miss it, partner.”
About a half mile past the first indication of Slab City, we saw the mountain. Upon arriving, you see Leonard’s 1950’s pick-up truck and vintage Airstream trailer, along with a sign that welcomes you onto the property. We parked and walked up to the mountain, but there was no sign of anyone else braving the mid-day heat. There was no sign of Leonard, almost leaving me to question if he really was the approachable caretaker that I had read about. I hadn’t given up hope completely. We did see some open cans of paint, thickly skinned over but not dried up and a cat dish with water in it.
Jeanette and I toured the property — the igloo (”the hogan”), the blue-green sea, the yellow brick road, the internal rooms (”the museum”) adorned with hand-made trees, glass windows, and adobe flowers. No pictures can convey the majesty of the site. The same goes for the beauty of the desert landscape. The color and energy just can’t be properly captured on film.
We had taken our pictures and were all but ready to leave when Jeanette spotted a painted car driving up the road that we had come in on. At the entrance to Salvation Mountain, it turned in and stopped next to the dump truck. Leonard Knight got out and I walked over and introduced myself. Leonard smiled broadly, thrilled to have visitors. He nervously tried to tuck in his shirt, but quickly gave up in his excitement. Leonard was returning from getting ice in town, something he said he has to do twice a day in the summer. By some means that I can’t even comprehend, Leonard has lived at the mountain without electricity or running water for the last 24 years, yet shows no ill-effects of it. That’s not to say that he doesn’t come off as a little bit eccentric. He was wearing two different shoes.
Leonard immediately offered to give us a guided tour, saying simply, “If you have a minute or two I’d love to show you around and tell you my story. Then, we can sit down and I’d love to listen to yours.” The most noticeable thing about Leonard was his passion and enthusiasm. He truly could not wait for you to hear his message. In the shade of one of the domed rooms, we sat together and talked. Leonard told us the story of his personal salvation, his failed attempts at building a hot air balloon, and the amazing history of the mountain. After hearing his story, we discussed God’s love, how simple His Message can be, and how confused this message can be at so many modern “churches of confusion” as Leonard put it.
About that time, some other visitors arrived, a couple from California. Leonard encouraged us to all walk to the top of the mountain. When we reconvened at the bottom near his car, he gave us a gift: a DVD entitled A Lifetime of Childlike Faith: The Leonard Knight Story (2006) telling his story, as well as a souvenir picture puzzle of Salvation Mountain. Never during our time with him did he give any indication of need or want of anything; leaving us to feel that a donation would be insulting. He only gave examples of how much people have given him and his desire to give more back.
If you know me at all, you know that I am not one for tourist attractions and am not easily moved by feel-good stories. Leonard Knight and his life-long project are both truly inspirational. My advice is for everyone to experience them for themselves. You won’t regret it. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to my blog. I hope you like what you find here. --jrs





