Truck Camper at California desert attraction Salvation Mountain

California is filled with many surprises and unique places. Traveling though the desert you never know what you will find. Find strange and unique places is part of the adventure.

Salvation mountain is located in the lower desert of Southern California.  The nearest town is Niland a small desert community. It is an agricultural town known for growing tomatoes.

The creator of the work of art is Leonard Knight a self-taught artist.  He has spend many years making the mountain what it is today.  The paint used by the artist has been donated over the years. He estimates that nearly 60.000 gallons has been used.

Salvation Mountain started when Leonard’s hot air balloon crashed on the site. Initially he was only going to stay for one week. At first he built a small monument.  One thing lead to another. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned in months. Everyday something was added to the monument.  The mountain is his tribute to God.  The message is very simple: “God is Love”. Unable to get the balloon to fly again he decided to stay at this location making it his home.  He lives in an old small house truck camper.

To create this mountain Leonard used adobe, straw and about 60,000 gallons of paint.  Using these material he was able to reshape the desert landscape.  It is a splash of technicolor shapes and textures.  It is covered with a multitude of religious images, symbols and messages.  Here is the size of the mountain.  It is 50 feet high and 150 feet wide at the base.California

Citation Sources:

• California’s Gold #806
• Salvation Mountain
• Congressional Record