If you dont already know, Salvation Mountain is a big hill in the middle of the desert in south eastern california, near slab city that a very old, amazing, big hearted man, Leonard Knight, has been pouring hundreds of thousands of gallons paint on top of for at least (at least) 22 years. he doesnt even own the land... just started pouring paint on it and now its his. he sleeps in his Salvation Van parked in front of the mountain and works on it tirelessly. it will never be "finished." when hes not working he is showing anyone who made the middle-of-nowhere drive out to see it around. he doesnt charge admission or solicate tips, he doesnt make you sign a waver if you want to climb it, there arnt even really signs for it until you get to the dirt road its on. he just tries to spread his messege, which is "God loves every person in the whole world" by painting this big crazy "mountain."
ive been dying to go ever since i first heard about it, and this past saturday, on the road to pheonix with jon, andrew and rebecca, my dream finally came true:
this is leonard:
the forrest: (he makes these giant "trees" out of old tires he finds in the desert, and adobe, and sticks and paint. so amazing!)
he also incorperates other junk he finds in the desert, like car doors:
man, the photos dont even do it justice! go see it yourself! im so serious.
some thoughts from roadsideamerica.com, where i first heard of salvation mountain: "A few years back, environmental fanatics stirred up the local government. Samples were drilled and tests were done -- Salvation Mountain was declared a "toxic nightmare" by county officials. Signs went up warning about "Hazardous Waste," and Imperial County was on its way to hosting a veritable Superfund cleanup site. Plans were laid to treat it like nuclear waste -- haul it away in trucks and bury it in Nevada.
We imagined a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" scenario: the first bulldozer cleaves into the sacred mound, and out bursts a blinding light. One by one, the bulldozers and environmentalists burst into flame, poisonous smoke filling the air. Soon, nothing is left of the troublemakers save for some greasy stains. Leonard pops out of his truck-house and starts incorporating the stains into his living masterpiece."
for the guided tour look here: (play number one then number two... they go together.)
(number one)
(number two)
