Last part of the great summer LA trip. The best thing I have experienced in a long time was by far our trip to Salvation Mountain. A few years ago I saw "Into the Wild" and there was this one scene with this amazing little mountain painted with scripture and other saying of love. Anna and I had tried to plan this trip out to Niland, California last summer, but I am glad we waited. It was about a four hour drive from LA, going from nice 70 degree weather to over the 100 degree "bake your face off" mark. I still can't believe people actually take up residence out there.
Anyway, the amazing little mountain was thought up by the cutest 80-ish year old, Leonard Knight. He has lived and worked out there for decades, dedicating his life's work to spreading lavish love through Bible verses and personal stories. I prayed that he would be out there, willing to engage. We heard that he only comes out at night because of the heat, but that is not true. We arrived an hour before sunset and climbed the mountain and once on top I spied him below in a different, new section of his creation. I was so excited to get to talk to him, I was a bit nervous as I didn't know if he wanted to talk or if he wanted to be just left alone.
We walked up behind him and he slowly turned around with a big, perfectly white, symmetrical smile on his face. A greeting of "Welcome, do you have time for me to show you around?" Of course we did, I was so happy to see how personable he was and to think, we had him all to ourselves. He explained as he walked through the different sections and told us he's been out here for several years, all by himself and actually pretty "spoiled" by the people that come to visit.
Insisting that he is taken care of, he refuses money, food, and anything else, but notes that if its on someones heart to donate any of these he doesn't turn it down. Standing so close to him, listening to every word, I got a great close up of all his deep wrinkles around his kind little eyes and the smile lines surrounding his mouth (which, by the way, he had amazingly white teeth contrasting against his sun tanned skin).
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