Salvation Mountain | Vaylia Photography | Art is all around us

and I am like a little kid at a candy store. I am in love.

This past weekend I went camping with Kris in Anza Borrego, met some of the locals there, played pool very very poorly and drank like I was sailor (is that right or is it swear like a sailor?). It was the most fun I had in a very long time. Its just too bad I took a 5 hour nap at 5 and did not wake up til close to 10pm. Its too bad I didn’t see any shooting stars but it was a gorgeous night covered with stars.

We also met Don, CEO of the Niland Club Cafe, a jokester and a total sweetheart. He will sit you down with a few brain teasers (teased my brain!) and watch you, and I quote, while steam is coming out of your ears. And Don, steam was not coming out of my ears, another Budweiser please. I am so on to him, drink up and everything just might make more sense.

Again great company, cheap drinks and if you are looking for spicy olives stuffed with habanero peppers, this is the place.

JR, an 82 year old local we met from the Iron Door. He invited us over to his place and we chatted a bit, when it was time to leave, Kris gladly threw me under the bus and blamed it on my growling tummy. Its a good thing, I was in a hiccupy state to even mind.

Places I’ve visited:

Salvation Mountain

I had the pleasure of meeting Leonard Knight who created Salvation Mountain which has been designated as a National Folk Art. He is one of the nicest man you will ever meet and will happily give you a tour of his mountain. If he walks away from you while you are talking to him, he is not ignoring you. He has trouble hearing unless you are 3 inches away. Too bad the lady who was praising his artwork to him didn’t know that.

And a hop skip away is Slab City.

Celebrities like Kid Rock, have made their way into Slab City and performed onstage at The Range.

Second row seating, yah baby!

Check out Into The Wild, a movie based on a true story of an honors Graduate from Emory University named Christopher McCandless. Part of his life took place here, where few scenes from the movie was filmed.

McCandless was facscinated by Leo Tolstoy, a novelist who gave up a life of wealth and privilege to wander among the destitute, and so he decided to donate his savings to Oxford Famine Relief Fund and hitchhike to Alaska with the intention to reinvent a new life for himself.

Here’s a quote from Outside Magazine “Death of an Innocent” written about Christopher McCandless.

“I don’t want to know what time it is,” Alex declared cheerfully. “I don’t want to know what day it is, or where I am. None of that matters.”

Its not unusual to see vehicles painted or decorated with trinkets, gadgets, and gizmos.

The Salton Sea use to be a popular resort and place for beachgoers everywhere to come party, often frequented by stars like Frank Sinatra, Sonny Bono, and the Beach Boys.

Today the Salton Sea is a century old and is dying from the rise of pesticides, excess salt collected from the Colorado River and the water with no where to run except to evaporate. If you look closely at the white sand along the sea, it is covered with remains of dead tilapia and other sea life that were unable to exist due to high level of salt and pollutants that inhabit the sea.

A volcanic rock formed into glass.

Thank you so much Kris, I learned so much and saw so much in the 2 days I was out there. From mud pots to fields of beautiful flowers to volcanic glass and pumice stones to beautiful Anza Borrego in the springtime to seeing a rattlesnake and having the best beers Milwaukee has to offer. Oh and the best Caramel Pecan Apple Pie from Apple Valley that Julian has to offer. Sooo gooood in my belly. Yum yum! And a huge thanks for stopping every time there was a photo op, and for allowing me to be a bunny in a field of flowers and for letting me photograph you as a bunny in a field of flowers. HA. I think the photos will speak volumes cause I could go on.