Our next stop, was a dying little desert town, with abandoned buildings slowly eroding away like the surrounding desert sands and collapsing into rubbled ruin, a few old weathered desert people stand in front of the one store in town advertising Coca Cola via a rusted sign circa 1993. I think “standing” is the favored free-time activity in a town like this…. There isn’t any work here, so all there is, is free time, and it’s too hot and dry to do anything else but stand, drink an occasional beverage, and then stand around some more. I think for added excitement some folks might walk over to the only other building in town with a little shady spot, and resume their standing, there.
But just a little further outside of this pretty depressing little town, there is one man, who had one life-long dream, almost an obsession, who has become an inspiration. What he created required years of dedicated work, vision, inspiration, a touch of madness, and lots and lots of bright colors! Some of you might know this place from the movie “Into the Wild”… it is called “Salvation Mountain”. This man, named Lenard Knight crashed his hot-air-balloon into the desert and could not repair it. That crash happened almost 20 years ago, and once he realized he could not fly again, he began to construct- out of clay from the desert and some hay- a mountain and several “buildings” devoted to repenting to god and discovering God’s Love. What exists today, is a brightly painted mountain with flowers and waterfalls and a yellow brick road leading to the top which is crowned by a large cross. Amongst this fairytale landscape are verse after verse from the bible and in large letters at the top of the mountain visible from the road it is written “God is Love”. The area around is filled with abandoned farm vehicles and hippy vans also covered in colorful paint and bible verse. Every inch of the place in the desert is awash in color…. And Jesus.
Most of you know that I am not so religiously inclined, but I was truly touched by this man’s passion. Lenard himself, who must be about 70 years old, welcomed us and said “Well, Hello there! Feel free to walk around and take lots of pictures”. As you walk around you can hear him in conversation with other observers, mainly talking about just how tickled he is that so many people want to come and take pictures of his work… and tell their grandmas about it! He is such a friendly happy man, his love and his passion are truly infectious. He just wants people to be happy and find love. It is a truly inspiring site that a man, for 17 years, can devote himself to one great work of art, and this work has inspired so many people!!
With love and peace, our Great Adventure officially begins!
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