Earlier this week I flew from the Southern California desert to the Polar Vortex of the upper Midwest. The difference in temperature was 100 degrees from the time I left to when I landed. Being in the
We were visiting the Palm Springs-area with trips to Joshua Tree National Park and areas around Slab City. In Joshua Tree we saw the mythical tree known to only grow in a few places on Earth and live for hundreds of years.

Slab City was once used to train Marines but is now an encampment in the desert where campers, artists, snowbirds, and others live without running water, electricity, sewers, taxation, or government.
All of these areas had a feeling of intensity, whether it was the splashy mid-century modern architecture that had once housed Hollywood’s stars in Palm Springs, or the ramshackle huts of Slab City. But we also saw something we weren’t expecting. Art in
Salvation Mountain
In Slab City we also saw Salvation Mountain, the brainchild of Leonard Knight. If you saw Into the Wild about Chris McCandless, you remember the scene where the real Leonard Knight shows the actor playing Chris, staying at Slab City, his mountain.
Knight worked on Salvation Mountain for 30 years with no running water or electricity. He wanted to share the message that “God is Love” but did not belong to a particular religion. He passed away in 2014.
The structure is a massive colorful beacon in the desert. You can walk through a section of grottoes and passages and climb to the top of the 50-foot mountain and take in the vista. The structure is made of adobe, straw, tree trunks, telephone poles, and layers of paint. Volunteers carry on Knight’s vision and the day we were there were making touch-ups on the bottom portion of the mountain.
Leonard Knight Chris McCandless’ last photo is on the shelf
East Jesus
East Jesus, a community of artists who have
East Jesus was the vision of Charles Stephen Russell. He left his tech job in 2007 and packed his belongings in a shipping container and set out to Slab City. Russell planned to work on Salvation Mountain, but began working on sculptures that would become the first at East Jesus. He built a complex for the site including hospitality, administrative and performance space.
Russell worked on East Jesus for five years before passing away in 2011 of a heart condition at the age of 46. A board of directors now leads East Jesus which founded The Chasterus Foundation in his honor. They are trying to raise money to lease the land so that the state of California does not buy it.
East Jesus is powered by solar panels and has cell and wifi, but no running water.
Noah Purifoy’s Outdoor Desert Museum
This outdoor museum was located near Joshua Tree National Park. Unlike the other two men, Purifoy was a trained artist.
Purifoy created a traveling exhibition with six other black artists after the Watts Rebellion in 1965. His work is featured in the Whitney Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and many others. He moved from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree in his later life and worked there from 1989 until his death in 2004.
Many of the exhibits are big enough to walk in and through. It reminded me a bit of Dr. Evermor’s Forevertron in that you could look at the larger piece and then when you looked closer you started to see what the individual bits and pieces were made of — toilets, half barrels, bowling balls, or whatever. As with East Jesus, since all the material was discarded it made me think about all the waste in our daily life.
As expected based on his background, Purifoy’s work was more political. There was a
The complex was massive, covering 10 acres of land. It was at the end of a dusty road, with the desert beyond and houses that were weather worn across the street. It wasn’t
[…] only been really cold and/or snowy and/or icy for about six weeks. I know because I flew home from the desert in the middle of the first cold snap. Before that winter seemed like it was going to be a […]
The Joshua Tree national park looks like a really interesting place to stop by.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us at #MMBC. 🙂
There is a lot to explore their, it is beautiful.Thanks for stopping by!
This is amazing. I would love to see it someday!
Thanks for sharing. I have never been out to the desert and I honestly don’t know if I could survive but these art exhibits are a testament to the strength of the individuals who created them.
It is definitely a harsh environment. I know I couldn’t live full time without electricity and water.
What an amazing set of sites (and sights)! Absolutely fascinating reading. Thank you for sharing. #MMBC
Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you for sharing! I now have new places and experiences added to my bucket list! Schools were closed here today because the temperature is below -40. Just last week, we were above freezing!
It was such a nice place to get away to when it was cold.
The Joshua Tree national park is on my list of places I’d love to visit. Seems there is more to see there too. So colourful and interesting. #MMBC
There was a lot to explore out there. We were only there for four days, but could have spent more.
You got out of the Midwest at the perfect time and saw so many wonderful places. Great post! #MMBC
Now I know what else I can do in the Palm Springs area. I never go there because I don’t know what else to do besides venture into the city. Thanks for sharing!
We barely saw Palm Springs so we’ll have to go back and do more there.
Oh my goodness, 100 degrees is quite epically insane!
I have to ask, how does one prepare for such a temperature change?
Also, thanks for sharing your adventures in Southern California. I go to the desert a lot but didn’t know about the community behind Salvation Mountain until recently.
It was awful to come back to the cold. It won’t be as warm as it is in CA here in Wi for another 5 months!