Leonard spent close to 30 years building Salvation Mountain. Pretty much all by himself. He estimated once that he had used probably over 100,000 gallons of paint - most of it donated, some of it found. The mountain itself was built up from whatever he could find in the desert. Along side of the mountain he built a dome shaped hogan using straw and adobe, and also an elaborate series of rooms he called a museum.
The first time I saw this place was in early 2008, while I was touring around the eastern side of the Salton Sea. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, having heard stories and seen pictures of it - none of which quite prepared one for the real thing. Leonard was quite pleased to show us around and explain how he built things. His art certainly had a religious theme, but he never tried to push that on visitors. Everyone was welcome, the subject of what you may or may not have believed in never came up. I returned to Salvation Mountain a few more times, and on each visit Leonard gave us a tour and enthusiastically showed us what he was working on at that point.
Here is a link to an L. A. Times article about Leonard's passing.
You can see more of my pictures from visits to Salvation Mountain and the Salton Sea in this gallery and this gallery. Salvation Mountain is located just east of the town of Niland, California, on the road to Slab City. It's hard to say what will become of Salvation Mountain now that Leonard is gone.
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