From Artichokes to Salvation...

Early one morning, Mike and I headed east on Dillon Road (a cross between a roller coaster and Christmas ribbon candy) to meet 2Ls, a D and an M at the casino for a cheap breakfast.
Once our stomachs were full, we headed south on 111 in search of Salvation... We were only a few miles out of Indio when we spotted a field of artichokes that needed inspecting.

A few more miles and we saw a crew of hard working people harvesting celery. We watched for a while as it was the first time any of us had seen celery harvested.

And then we came to Bombay Beach which is at the north end of the Salton Sea. This body of water is one of only three salt water lakes in the U.S. and is the largest lake in California. The Salton Sea lies 220 feet BELOW sea level... and IT STINKS!

It is a very scenic area with the mountains and palms and years ago was a vacation spot. I am really not sure what happened to kill the fish and make the area smell so bad. The lake is shallow with a flat bottom and the tilapia in the lake are often found on shore, stinking to high heaven!
A tagger in the area still loves the spot.

It is a haven for hungry seagulls.

And a good spot for amateur photographers.

A few more miles and we see this advertisement... how could we not stop!
We bought an ice cream, used the restrooms, took a look around and decided we would not be staying here any time soon - $600 a month and you are at least 40 miles from a good grocery store - no thanks.

Then, finally, We all felt we needed to have the moment live on.

It seems that Leonard Knight, currently 81 years old, had a spiritual awakening many years back and decided to tell the world. He has been creating and making and building and collecting and painting ever since then. (This is worth reading so double click and make it bigger.)
This is where he lives. Only he wasn't around the day we were there. There some thought that he might be ill... maybe all the paint fumes are catching up with him.
At least there is an air conditioner on the roof - must get hot out in the desert in the summer.

I decided to attack Salvation Mountain from the top. This is a view from top of the structure. The rest of the group was inside this mess of logs.

and straw. Yes, much of the structure is made of straw.

The sun peeked from the clouds as I was "up top" by the cross.

To give you an idea of the size, those are our cars down there.
I used total magnification on my camera to photograph Lael through the branch supports.
Once I was down on the ground again, I could not stop shooting pictures - the colors, the shapes, the sizes, and the message...

That's Mel up by the cross.

The passage ways and colors would be great fun for kids. Heck, it was great fun for me!
All kinds of things are used as a part of the structures. And they are all painted with loud and bright colors and The Word.

In every little nook and cranny, there were words of encouragement.

This was on a car window.

And the piles of paint cans were everywhere. I read somewhere that he used mostly donated materials and paint - lots of people must have donated.

It was a joy playing peek a boo with the sun.

Salvation Mountain - WOW

Even the wheels on the old jalopy are painted.

The boat must be a fairly new acquisition as it is only painted one color and has no messages.

And messages are everywhere else.

Looks like a comfy squatting spot... or not!

And there is a swing. Our Pastor loves swings so I always try and find unique ones to photograph for her. This one is definitely unique. The covering is "used to be white" cloth strips tied to chicken wire.
And open on the swing, is The Bible.

After Salvation Mountain, we took a look around the rest of Slab City. Here is a sample of the desert community.

The people were interesting.

The vehicles were interesting.

Salvation Mountain was always visible.

Houses looked like bunkers.

Throughout the surrounding desert, which is an abandoned airfield, there are "homes". There was a MH similar to ours and other structures in which we wouldn't want to house our pets.

It was a day filled with adventure; from artichokes to salvation.