Where Are We Going?

~ Nancy

When we left San Diego for home… we decided to take the less traveled way. We saw some beautiful country but I gotta tell ya… I got a little nervous with the ups, downs and all arounds! (Now this is from a girl who goes 4 wheelin’ in the desert with switchbacks and drop offs on both sides of the Jeep etc.!)

There were call boxes every few miles! The other side of that turn was a sheer drop off.

We just never knew what was going to come around each turn!

One minute there were switchbacks then a flat open area with a few lakes. We were still high in elevation to see the clouds by the mountains.

 

After a few miles of this… the vegetation turned quickly! Next thing we know… we are in wide flat areas of agricultural fields! One after another!

I needed to know what they were growing and it was so vast for miles upon miles!

After googling… ( what the heck did we do without google??) I saw that these were Sugar Beets!

According to Wikipedia (once again what did we do with out Wikipedia??) sugar beets when eaten raw taste like a potato sprinkled with sugar. 😳 Sugar Beets provide us with table sugar, molasses and animal feed. Which in just a few miles… we came upon several miles of cattle feedlots. These feedlots were HUGE! And one after another. Are they eating the sugar beets?

Remember… I said the vegetation changed… well it changed quickly!

Can you believe that we went from lush fields to desert like conditions in no time!

I asked “Where are we going?” (Hence my title for this post.) “Slab City!” Sweet man replied!

Next thing I see this!!

Hmmm…! Interesting!

Then ….

….we pull into here. 😳

Yes this is Slab City or Salvation Mountain. Out in the middle of the California desert.

A man by the name of Leonard Knight built this homemade mountain out of straw, adobe like mud, tree limbs, tires, and tons of paint! It was something to see!

Yes you can go inside! It was quite interesting! He wanted everyone to know about God’s love. This place has been proclaimed as a National Folk Art Site.

Leonard passed away in February 2014. However, people are trying to preserve it. This gentlemen was there painting on the interior while we walked around.

We were amazed!! To say the least!

You may read more about this place at SalvationMountain.org

Oh and of course I climbed the mountain. It was a little slick!

I had to show you all that I did climb it! And yes… this did collapse once! 😳😳

 

How many gallons of paint have been used??

It is estimated that 100,000+ gallons of paint were used over 25 years.

There are other objects painted as well!

So there you have it! Where did we go? To Slab City to see this unusual site called Salvation Mountain!! Located in southwestern California!

By the way… do I see a heart cloud in the above picture? I just noticed that while writing this post.

Thank you for time! This was a lengthy post. I promise the next post will be short! 😊

**All photos taken with my iPhone 7 plus. I also used the Mobile WordPress App. Thank You WordPress for making it easy to post in a jiffy! **

Published by Nancy

Two Trails become One Road in Arizona. Read All About the Adventures of this Arizonian.

26 thoughts on “Where Are We Going?”

  1. Sounds like you had a very fun San Diego excursion. A lot of RVers will stop by Slab City and blog about it. Interesting sight but not a place I feel compelled to visit.

    Reply

    1. Compelled is an understatement. However we saw amazing country to and from! Well worth the “off the unbeaten path road trip!”
      Plus… we will always be able to add this to our quirky places list. Ha! Ha!

      By the way… our San Diego trip was fabulous! It took me several posts to blog about.

      Miss you Miss Ingrid. An early May get together should definitely be in the works for us.

      Reply

  4. You must have been near the Salton sea. I went though there in early December, but didn’t quite make it to slab city. Lots of Rvers stay in slab city. I think you have to be part of the crowd though. They call themselves Slabbers.

    Reply

    1. We saw many R V’ers. Not exactly a lovely area around here…
      but just a few miles away beautiful agricultural land… full of Sugar Beets! HA HA HA

      Reply

    1. I have had 3 people tell me they have seen this place.

      So you knew of him and his place. How cool is that!

      Thanks for stopping in!

      Reply

  7. You found another fun place in the middle of nowhere! I had never heard of Slab City or Salvation Mountain before reading your post. Thanks for sharing about your visit.

    Reply

  8. What an adventure! Good to learn about the sugar beets. Wow, 100,000+ gallons of paint were used over 25 years. Thank you for taking us there. Great photos, Nancy! 🙂

    Reply

  10. Nancy, I have never heard of Salvation Mountain. Wow, what an interesting place and the man who built it. Thank you for sharing this and I am going to share it with my hubby!

    Reply

    1. It was quirky! And we are always up for exploring the unusual! Thanks for stopping in LuAnne! I am off to see where your adventure has led you both…next!

      Reply

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