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Salvation Mountain a Monumental Must-See
In 1984 Leonard Knight arrived at Slab City - just outside of Niland, CA, a deserted military base where snowbirding RVers come to winter, with a heap of fabric that was intended as a hot air balloon with letters big as day proclaiming God is Love. No matter how he tried, the balloon wouldn’t fly. With plans to leave in one week Leonard still wanted to make some type of small statement. He found half a bag of cement and created a monument – coloring it with paint which he was fortunate enough to come across. One week turned into four years and the monument grew with the help of junk picked up at the local dump. Then disaster struck – the monument crumbled under the weight, heavy on unstable sand. Perhaps you or I would pack our belongings and call it a wonderful experiment but not Leonard. Instead, he saw it as a message from God, was thankful no one was hurt and proceeded to fashion what is known today as Salvation Mountain.
This truly inventive and amazing site, at one time thought to be an environmental hazard, is now famous the world over as a spectacular work of Folk Art. Salvation Mountain and its creator have been featured in Preservation (magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation), National Geographic, several newspapers and books, a sit-down on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings back in 2002, a Discovery Channel special and photos of the mountain reportedly hang in a military mess hall in Baghdad. Senator Barbara Boxer of California even entered Salvation Mountain into the Congressional Record as a National Treasure – something Leonard is very proud of. And if you imagined Leonard out of touch with technology you’d be wrong. Not too long ago Leonard and a local friend created a DVD of the tour he gives visitors and offers a free download on his personal Salvation Mountain website. He also hands out the DVD at the end of the tour. He told me, “The young kids are incredible in helping me get my message out - they burn the DVD and pass it out to their friends. The big churches, well, they’ve written me off. I just want to spread the word around the world - God is Love.”
Whether you subscribe to his message or not, Leonard and his mountain inspire passion and a renewed belief in “anything is possible” and that in itself is a blessing.
If boondocking at Slab City isn't your bag there's a fabulous park just down the road called Fountain of Youth. Call for reservations if you're visiting in the winter (and prepare to be thrilled). I think this park is a 10!!
Good stuff, huh ?
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