I was very sad today when I heard the news that Leonard Knight had passed away. I met him a few years back on a road trip to the Salton Sea. Leonard was a very sweet man who let me take his portrait while visiting.
Leonard came to Slab City in 1984. The area is basically no-man's land. Squatters have taken over what was formerly the Camp Dunlap Marine Training Facility; a training ground for US troops during World War II. Only the cement foundations of buildings remain, providing a convenient name for the area, Slab City. Soon afterwards, people began to occupy the area during winter months to take advantage of the rent-free parking.
Leonard has been living in his truck here since 1984, exactly where he broke down. He shared his space with a variety of cats with no names, undeterred by the brutal desert heat. He has no electricity, no running water of telephone.
For 15 years he has been painting the mountain for God and building caves rooms with materials he finds in the desert. Over 500,000 gallons of paint were used to paint his mural.
Leonard played himself in the movie "Into the Wild", which had a scene set at Salvation Mountain. The movie brought in fans, religious pilgrims and curious people like myself to see the mountain.
Here is a portrait I took of him back in 2011.