3 years since salvation

Today is the 3 year anniversary of my visit to one of the best mountains I've ever climbed. Problem is, it's a mountain in name only. In fact it's man made. This "mountain" sits out in the desert in Niland, California not far from the Salton Sea. Created from dirt, hay, paint and faith, it's SALVATION MOUNTAIN.

Leonard Knight created this mountain of a sculpture to relay his faith and belief to the world. Mr. Knight isn't a preachy man though. When we were able to sit and talk with Mr. Knight he put it in the simplest terms, "Love each other". That's it. He believes in God, but he also believes in humanity.
Here is an excerpt from my Jesse Walks America blog :
After the other people scattered around we were able to speak with Leonard more one-on-one. He is a very passionate man that my words couldn't begin to do justice. Talking to him was amazing. We have everything recorded on every format possible. When I told him I was walking across the country raising money for cancer he actually reached in his pocket to give me a donation. This is a man who basically lives on donations from tourists and he wanted to give that money to my cause. If everyone in the world had a heart like Mr. Knight it would definitely be a better place. Today's trip was more then I could have imagined. It will be a long time before I forget my trip to Salvation Mountain if ever. Before we left I wrote in the guest book, " Thank you Mr. Knight for allowing us into your home. It has been an eye opening experience. God speed. - Jesse "



You can see SALVATION MOUNTAIN in the movie "Into the Wild". Rumor is Sean Penn didn't have anything scripted for Mr. Knight. He just let him speak straight from the heart. After meeting Mr. Knight, he is exactly the way he is in the movie. Easily one of my fondest memories.