Slab City | Salvation Mountain

Monday | 15 January 2007 | Martin Luther King Day | Indio, California: When you think of lakes in California, do you think of Lake Tahoe or maybe Mono Lake? Did you know the Salton Sea is the largest lake in California? It sits in the southern California desert  - almost to the Mexico border - and covers nearly 380 square miles. Over the centuries it has been flooded over and over again by the Colorado River but is now in serious trouble due to the delicate balance between waters coming and waters going out of the lake. The Salton Sea, while high in saline, is just a bit more salty than the Pacific Ocean and is not as near saline as Mono Lake, Great Salt Lake or the Dead Sea. It is an important fly-way for birds and the Salton Sea supports up to 40 percent of the entire US population of the threatened Yuma clapper rail, 80 to 90 percent of the American white pelican (we saw hundreds!), and 90 percent of the eared grebe. The Salton Sea sits at 200 feet below sea level.

Our route today took us south of the Palm Springs area, on Highway 111, around the east side of the lake to Brawley, where we followed Highway 86 north around the west side of the Salton Sea back to Palm Springs. It is nearly a two hundred mile round-trip drive and it took most of the day - but we stopped quite a bit to explore, bird-watch and check-out campsites We also visited Salvation Mountain and Slab City. Fill your tank before leaving the Palm Springs area - fuel is expensive in the desert - and bring water.

And don't forget snacks! One of our favorite stops south of the Palm Springs area is the Oasis Date Garden at 59-111 Hwy. 111 in Thermal, California. We feel they have the best walnut-stuffed dates (my personal favorite) and the best date milkshake in THE WORLD. (But, what do we know?) This is a great place to stop for road snacks.

Driving our little Honda, we took Highway 111 around the east side of the lake, stopping a few times to examine the state campgrounds around the lake and a few huge RV communities built into the hills (around thermal hot springs) above the lake.

Camping at Salt Creek Beach

Along the east side of the Salton Sea are there are nearly 2,000 public campsites. Most are dry campsites with very low nightly fees. Plus, nestled into the hills above the Salton Sea near Niland, are several private RV Parks. They all feature hot mineral pools. The largest is the famed Fountain of Youth Spa RV Resort. This RV park is a city itself in the middle of nowhere. They offer 800 full-hookup gravel sites and over 200 dry-camp sites. This park has every amenity - clubs, sports, pools, spas, shuffleboard, tennis, a cafe, store, laundry, cable TV, a medical clinic, beauty salon. wifi, card games, and many organized activities. There are a lot of park models in the campground and the Fountain of Youth Spa RV Resort isn't the most modern-looking RV Park, but everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun and many of the visitors return year after year. Maybe it's the water? (Our host today said winter rates are $1350 for three months in a full hook-up site, including water, sewer, cable TV and electricity.)

Just east of Niland is a famous community of RV campers who live in Slab City - around the remnants of the now-deserted cement slabs from World War II Marine Camp Dunlap. (Turn east on Main Street in the middle of Niland and drive a few short miles to reach Slab City.) "Slabbers" live in the middle of the desert (in the middle of nowhere) using only generators or solar power to supply their RVs. All do not live in RV's... people live what they refer to as a "carefree" existence in sheds, shacks and homes made of bits and pieces of old trailers and wood. There is no fee to camp here in the middle of the desert and many people come every winter - others live here full-time. There is an organized night club, church and library. Some think this is the place to spend the winter - free of charge - in the warm desert. Others feel Slab City is an environmental nightmare and a refuge of crime and criminals. There is no organized sanitation. The garbage and litter is appalling. (I suggest you read a recent article from the Desert Sun about Slab City before planning your next vacation.)

Slab City

Just as you enter Slab City, it is impossible to miss Salvation Mountain (GPS: N33° 15.235'/W115° 28.396' Altitude 5'). Built by Leonard Knight as an offering to Jesus Christ, Salvation Mountain is either a work of art and love - or an abomination covered in lead paint in the desert. You will have to decide this yourself

Salvation Mountain - built of clay and love

Leonard Knight has become a cult figure in the desert. He grew up in Vermont and is a Korean War veteran. In 1967 he discovered G-d in a life-altering experience and after moving to Niland, California in 1984, Leonard began building Salvation Mountain.

As it reads in a plaque in the monument: The mountain is about as tall as a three-story building and as wide as a football field. Colorful decorations and religious texts cover Salvation Mountain. Most prominent is the statement "God is Love." Salvation Mountain is molded with adobe clay. Most of the clay and paint Knight uses are donated to him. When he first started working on the Mountain, Knight used concrete and stretched it with sand, but the entire artwork collapsed, so he set to remaking it with solid clay. Knight uses window putty to shape decorative elements such as flowers. The mountain is constantly changing, due both to Knight's ongoing work and to the elements, including the desert sun. Knight has decorated numerous other objects surrounding Salvation Mountain, including the truck in which he lives. Next to the Mountain, Knight is currently building a museum out of hay bales, used utility poles, and found objects such as tires. Leonard Knight describes his work as a love story. "I painted the mountain because I love God and I love people."

Leonard was very happy to greet DT and myself. He was overjoyed, in fact, to tell us that over 125 people from the east coast were coming to see his mountain next weekend.

Leonard Knight in front of Salvation Mountain


I think this car is decoration-only


Under Salvation Mountain - with trophies

After visiting Salvation Mountain and Slab City, we continued south to Brawley. This area is planted 99% with vegetables and is one of California's most prolific gardens. Actually, the north and south fringes of the lake are fertile fields - with the center of the lake sides are desert. Busy rail lines carry the crops north, east and west from Brawley. We began the journey back to Indio along the western shore of the Salton Sea. We did a drive-through tour of Salton City, but could find no redeeming features and did not see one living person in our 30 minute tour.

RV Park: Motorcoach Country Club in Indio