Slab Cityโs Salvation Mountain
Activated in 1942, Camp Dunlap โ just 85 miles southeast of Palm Springs โ was a Marine Corps training facility during World War II. When the base was subsequently decommissioned, the land was returned to Imperial County, California, and only concrete slabs remained. Today itโs known as Slab City โ a strange haven for squatters and off-the grid living. Itโs also home to two unconventional art installations: Slab Cityโs Salvation Mountain and East Jesus.
A year ago, Iโd never heard of Slab City, Salvation Mountain, or East Jesus. Yet again, Instagram was the instigator. It was the reason I first laid eyes on Salvation Mountain. And from the very first glance at images of the cool and colorful creation I thought to myself: โMust. Go. There.โ
Last Wednesday, thatโs just what I did!
Southwest Road Trip
Currently Iโm wrapping up a mini Southwest road trip that started in Las Vegas and ends in Tucson, Arizona. My sister and I decided to meet in Vegas two weeks ago to run the Rock โnโ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon. We successfully completed the run the Sunday before last and it was a blast! We had The Strip all to ourselves. Along with 25,000 other runners, that is!
I told my sister, Anne-Marie, of my plans for after leaving Las Vegas: to visit Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, Salvation Mountain, then on to Phoenix, Arizona. After that Iโd head to Tucson and even further south, to Rio Rico, Arizona, where our parents live.
Just like myself a year earlier, Anne-Marie hadnโt heard of Salvation Mountain either. But when I showed her some pics, she told me sheโd seen the iconic images recently in a new music video by Kesha. We looked it up on YouTube, and โ sure enough! โ there was Salvation Mountain.
(You can check out the video yourself below. But, FYI, the song starts one full minute in.)
Salvation Mountain also makes an appearance in the movie adaptation of Jon Krakauerโs Into the Wild, which Iโve yet to see, but have added to my watch list!
On the Road Again
After four nights in Sin City, I dropped my sister off at Vegas McCarran International Airport early Monday morning, crossed the Nevada-California border, and drove southwest to Palm Springs.
Two days later a beeping alarm woke me at ridiculous-oโclock. (Thatโs 3:30am, in case you were wondering.) I was up at that profane hour in order to check out of the downtown Palm Springโs Motel 6, so as to arrive at Salvation Mountain by sunrise.
Salvation Mountain
So letโs talk about the โmountain.โ
lovely post..
enjoyed reading it and some part of this city are like rainbow..
keep it rocking up !
I had seen photos of this before, but didnโt know where it was. I think I drove close by it back in 2011!
Oh man! Looking at all of your photos Iโm bummed we didnโt stop here on our own cross country road trip with the kids when we moved back east. We would have loved this stop! We keep talking about a trip back out west, so I think Iโm adding Slab City to our ever growing list.
Weโve just returned from nearby there and am so sad we didnโt know about Salvation Mountain. Looks amazing. It will have to go on our list for our next US road trip.
We are planning a California road trip for next Summer, so this is really interesting! Itโs easy to plan in the big cities but the quirky more out of the way ones are great to find.
Wow. This is incredible. If only Iโd known it existed a few months ago when we were on our road trip in Californiaโฆthis would have been a great additional stop. Great pictures!
LOVE this entry in your delightful adventures. So glad to be โalong for the rideโ. ๐
Awe, thanks so much, Sandra! Glad to have you along for the ride! ๐ ๐
Iโm lovinโ the hats! LOL (What an interesting place, too!)
Haha! Glad you approve of our hats! Happy travels! ๐
one of my favorite movies โInto the Wildโ is when I first heard about Slab City, next month Iโll be talking a road trip California and plans are to stop at slab city, Into the Wild is on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Thanks for the info, Arvin! And have fun on your trip! ๐
Itโs so funny how Instagram fuels our sense of wanderlust for these things, isnโt it?! You saw Slab City on the social media site, went and blogged. Now Iโve read your blog, I really want to go myself! Thanks for sharing, Iโm adding to my bucket list! x
So true, Becca! Thatโs how I ended up in Chefchaouen last year as well! Thanks for reading! Take care and happy travels! ๐
I too have never heard of this place but looks like a really cool place to go and visit ๐ Love how itโs been decorated, the artwork brings just brings it to life. It does look like a place that looks like itโs been made up for a movie rather than out there in there in the middle of nowhere ๐ โ Gonna have to see this place with my own eyes someday ๐
amit recently postedโฆMarrakech, Morocco: A spontaneous trip
Hope you get the chance to check it out sometime, Amit! Also, have fun in Marrakech! ๐ I went to Morocco last year and absolutely loved it!
Love hearing about new places like this especially when Itโs a bit off the beaten path ! I guess that the Salvation Mountain is something you really gotta see yourself, right ? Itโs like no otherโฆ In the middle of desert a huge colorful piece of artwork mountain praising God., so amazing !
C-Ludik recently postedโฆNormandy, between โWar and Peaceโ
Yes, I definitely recommend seeing it for yourself! Hope youโll get the chance to go sometime, C-Ludik! ๐
Really interesting place!! I actually JUST saw a photo of this for the first time on Instagram today, but had no idea where it was or what it was. How crazy! I will definitely head out to it next time Iโm in the area โ looking forward to learning about East Jesus ๐
Thanks, Kristen! Yeah, I also only heard about it for the first time within the last year! Happy travels! ๐
Never heard of Salvation Mountain.
Definitely gonna add it to my bucket list!
Happy travels, happily tanned! ๐
This is so interesting, and I never thought it would be in Las Vegas! I canโt remember where I heard of Slab City, but itโs so vibrant. Donโt get me started on that mountain!
Hi Followingtheriviera, Salvation Mountain is not in Vegas! Itโs in Imperial County, California, about five hours south of Las Vegas! ๐
Nice. It has got an interesting bit of history! I remember seeing it in โInto the Wildโ movie. And, it looks damn cool!
Thanks so much, Raksha! Iโve definitely got to watch โInto the Wildโ now! ๐ ๐
Never knew such places existed. Thanks to Instagram I should say and thanks to you for sharing it. I have Uncle who lives in Palm Spring, so I guess I have the reason the visit the place too. Nice photos! ๐
Thanks, Joy! Hope you make it out there sometime to see your family and to check out all that the area has to offer! Palm Springs is a fun place to visit too!
The number of times Iโve visited a place just because i saw lovely pictures on Instagram โ I can totally relate to you when you say that! I have never heard of the salvation mountain myself and I can see why you wanted to visit after seeing pictures- it looks very interesting!
Yeah, itโs a pretty unique place! Thanks, Medha!
I havenโt spent much time in America and had no idea this place existed! Looks super cool though. Iโd love to do a road trip at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later. thanks for sharing.
Thanks for checking it out, Nerissa!
Iโve not heard of Slab City โ this needs to be added when we eventually do our USA road trip. Instagram is great to find new places to travel to. Salvation is so vibrant โ love the colours and the artwork! Where does the yellow brick road lead to? Well done on completing the half marathon!
Thank you Whodoldo! The yellow brick road was the path to stay on for viewing the mountain without stepping on and possibly damaging the rest of the art. Plus, Greg told me itโs also for peopleโs safety! ๐
Iโve been to Vegas but never knew about these hidden gems. Thanks to you I now know where Iโm definitely going on my next trip to the US. Apart from driving, is there any other way to get to Salvation mountain?
Hi Chandrima,
Unfortunately thereโs not really another way of getting out there. I suppose a person could hitchhike if comfortable with that, but itโs kind of out in the middle of nowhere! Thanks for stopping by! ๐
I had never heard about this place before you mentioned it but looks super interesting and colorful. Also i am really intrigued about the sleeping cat on those colorful rugs. Is it from a shop in the same area?
Hi Ketki,
Actually, the cat is just a header picture on my website, so it doesnโt have anything to do with Salvation Mountain. Although, there were some really cool cats hanging around the mountain, which Iโll be posting more about in a post dedicated solely to cats soon! (I love taking cat pics when I travel!) But to answer your question, the pic of the cat sleeping on colorful rugs was taken in Istanbul! Thanks for stopping by! ๐
This sounds like such an interesting place! And the road trip brought you to some nice places.
It was fascinating! ๐
sounds like a great road trip! I think Iโve seen a few pictures of Salvation Mountain in Slab City but I had no idea exactly where it is. May have to add that to my SoCal Bucket List when I return to visit friends and family in San Diego. I mean who wouldnโt want to go to East Jesus
Yeah, who wouldnโt want to go?! Hope you get to make it there sometime soon, Eric! Thanks for stopping by!