Hysterical Journey to Historic Places

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SALVATION MOUNTAIN

If you find yourself in need of spiritual comfort you would perhaps be best off to locate the head clerk of a gospel mill, throw some loose change into the poor box, and pay heed to his sermon. If, however, you are facing hard times, find yourself without prospects, and have the bad luck to be stranded in Niland, CA head east on Main Street to Slab City and visit Salvation Mountain. A poor sinner named Leonard Knight found himself in similar circumstances in 1984. He felt called upon by the Good Lord to start in painting a hillside in bright colors with water based exterior latex paint. Leonard kept right on painting the hillside, and several vehicles, for the next 30 years. It became his life’s work, but it could not have been easy. He put out his own poor box, accepted donations of more paint, such loose change as came his way, and along the way was joined by several stray cats. What he has created is kind of a joyful monument of love to other sinners. Leonard died in 2014 but before going up the flume he had the good sense of setting up a foundation to continue the good work and keep the cats fed and happy. God’s own handiwork on that hillside was bleak and dreary before Leonard came along. The property is most likely administered by the Bureau of Land Management and normally they forbid such desecrations as painting a hillside in gaudy colors. Apparently he had it about finished before they noticed his vandalism. It certainly does not much hurt Slab City and the cats seem to like it.



The drive over from Yuma takes you by Holtville and Imperial. Holtville is notable for its annual Carrot Festival. They supply much of our domestic production of carrots. The festival is held during the first week of February each year. Contact the chamber of commerce for details. It has got to be an entertaining event. The big dog with the brass collar over in Imperial is the Imperial Irrigation District. They have clout enough to have gotten their own diversion dam on the Colorado River. Most of that diversion goes into the All American Canal and the Imperial Irrigation District manages most of that water. One of the early managers of the water district was a fellow named Ellsworth Lay. As a young man he was known as Elza Lay and was Butch Cassidy’s mentor in crime. Elza was convicted of disrupting the mail as result of a train robbery near Folsom, NM and had to serve a stretch in the New Mexico Territorial Prison. When he was released he went straight and did well. Niland sprang into being as an important rail junction. It was the eastern terminus connecting the San Diego and Arizona Railroad (SD&A) with the Southern Pacific mainline and the southern terminus for a spur serving tungsten mines. The SD&A is sometimes called the “Impossible Railroad” because of the difficulty and expense of crossing the Peninsular Mountains between San Diego and El Centro. It remains mile for mile the most expensive railway ever built up to that time.

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Photos

SALVATION MOUNTAIN
It kind of gives new meaning to the term "Painted Desert". The BLM probably had to give Leonard some sort of special permit for vandalizing the land. It may be where the stipulation for water based latex paint comes from.

THE GOOD LORD'S TRUCK
The hillside was not the only thing that Leonard Knight painted.

WASHOUT
The roadbed for the mining spur north of Niland never had adequate drainage. Erosion caused by flash flooding has the tracks in need of a trestle.