Salvation Mountain

We drove more than 180 miles yesterday.   Salvation Mountain and the Slabs are so close, but so far.

We drove south of the Salton Sea through some seriously agricultural areas in the Imperial valley near Westmorland.  

Huge fields of hay and lots of rows of leafy things that we couldn't identify at highway speeds.    Many of the fields were being flooded, attracting lots of birds.

We drove through tiny, seriously depressed Niland, California and turned down its Main street heading for Salvation Mountain.   It was the vision and passion of a local man, Leonard Knight (recently deceased).     Salvation Mountain was his tribute to God with a simple and powerful message "God is Love".

His folk art masterpiece covers the end of a hill in the Colorado Desert several miles from the shore of the Salton Sea, and at the entrance of an area called "The Slabs" (another post.....)

It is constructed of locally made adobe and donated paint, 50 feet high and about 150 wide.     Mr. Knight proudly greeted any and all visitors to his mountain and in his memory all are welcome to visit, crawl over and under and inside it, take photographs and enjoy his creation.   Donations of paint are gratefully accepted.

Mr. Knight lived here where he could wake and see his mountain

his "home" is parked directly in front of the mountain

We were happy to see that someone has taken over the stewardship of this gem and is at work repairing and repainting areas where the harsh desert climate has taken its toll.

In addition to his religious themes, he has painted flowers, birds, trees, and fanciful geometric shapes in a riot of bright color.   Its hard to describe, one really needs to experience it.

Dave stands atop and looks out over the slabs

back of a work in progress

hay bales and tree trunks and paint

simple building materials

follow the yellow brick road.....

The inside was as fanciful as the outside.   Tiny rooms filled with paintings and left offerings.    Huge neon rooms filled with tree trunks and flowers.  I felt like Alice in Wonderland.

Salvation Mountain was proclaimed a "national treasure" by the Congressional
Record of the United States and the Folk Art Society of America declared it "a folk art site worthy of protection and preservation".

Leonard Knight

a tired worker?

All in the middle of nowhere, in the dusty brown desert.

Slots x 2

Yesterday was a hiking boot sort of day.   We visited two very different slot canyons here in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.    John and Pam had been to them both before but wanted to show them to us.    Aren't we lucky?

We were able to drive right down to the first one, Palm Slot, off S22.    We left the jeep at the entrance and hiked in.   It began as a wide sandy wash with interesting patterns and details on and in its walls.

I'm afraid I slowed everyone down because I was fascinated by the rocks....over my head, under my feet and embedded in the sheer walls around me.

The trail gradually narrowed and the walls became higher.  We had to crawl up over some rocky areas, under some fallen boulders, and through a few narrow passages.  Friendly hands helped me over spots that could have hurt my knee.

Oh guys......

look up Pam!

You take the high road and I'll take the low road

peek a boo Dave

two through, two to go

a tight spot

We came to the end of the canyon, closed off by a boulder fall, and turned around to retrace our steps to the jeep.

Our next destination, slot # 2 was a bit of a drive in the opposite direction but it felt good to sit down.   To get to this one we had to park at the top and hike down into it.

Yep....going down in there!

This slot was much narrower and more twisting.   The walls were smoother without as many features.   I took few pictures because I had to pay closer attention to my footing and to not "notice" how tight the walls were.

is that leaning rock stable?

suck it in guys!

John's red shirt seemed to cast a glow on the rock walls

back out into the sun

It was a really good day.

out to lunch

Yesterday we had lunch at Marshall South's adobe homestead.    We watched a short movie on him (complete with some of his family home movies) at the Anza Borrego Desert Visitor Center when we first arrived in Borrego Springs.  Pam and John were kind enough to lead us on the steep and winding trail up Ghost Mountain to see the remains of his family's home.  

can you see our tiny black jeep below?

The trail wound back and forth as it climbed the mountain and I was glad to have my hiking sticks for help with some of the rockier sections.

Lots of cactus and yucca were growing on the slope.   Buckhorn cholla, teddy bear cholla, tiny fish hook cactus and many yucca dotted the landscape.

Dave and John wait on the trail for me to catch up

we wondered why this yucca grew
in such an odd way

dried seed pods 20 feet in the air

tiny fish hook cactus

cactus skeleton

cool rock!

As we zig zagged up and up we couldn't help but wonder what would possess someone to decide to make a home at the top.   Every single thing they needed to build their little complex and then survive there had to be brought up this very trail.   Concrete, wood, beds, mattresses, water, food, all had to come up on their backs.  If you'd like to know more about this unusual man, read about him here...
http://www.desertusa.com/desert-people/marshal-south.html

The view from the top of Ghost Mountain was fantastic.

   We walked around all that remains of the adobe cabin, cistern and meditation areas.   Soon the desert will completely reclaim them.

recycling center perhaps?

meditation room, hmmmm

this primitive sundial told us it was time for lunch

We "pulled up a chair" and enjoyed our repast with the ghosts of the South family.