I’ve been craving a 6 hour drive. I miss the road and beautiful blue skies. But a long road trip isn’t in the picture for a while, so Bowerbird and I had talked about going on a day trip for my birthday. It fell on a Wednesday of a relatively slow week, and I wouldn’t feel incredibly guilty taking the day off. So San Diego and Santa Barbara were thrown around as ideas, but when Salvation Mountain popped in my head, I knew that was the perfect adventure. We’ve been there before, it’s how I discovered Bowerbird has an aversion to the sun. Yes, I’ve fallen in love with a vampire. But it had been a while, and with the passing of Leonard Knight last year, I was curious as to how the mountain had been kept up.

I felt like a kid going to Disneyland on the eve of my birthday and woke up to four cupcakes from my favorite cupcakery Frosted. Bowerbird seriously is the best boyfriend, he surprised me with a cupcake in bed. We quickly got ready for the day and headed to Palm Springs for food at our favorite place out there, Lulu’s. Sadly we missed the breakfast menu. They serve the best salmon eggs benedict, we’ve ever had. Instead, we opted for other pescetarian fair, and enjoyed a tuna tower that was phenomenal and scallop and shrimp pizza.  Our meal is documented in my birthday vlog, along with other sites from the day.

After lunch we headed further into no man’s land. Stopping at what feels like the last gas station before Niland for a bathroom break, Bowerbird and I exited the car to be complimented by some other twenty-something’s. Bowerbird in his red doc martins got mad respect, and together we were dubbed a very stylish couple. We later saw our gas stations friends at Salvation Mountain, and acknowledge nods were shared.

We had managed to get to Salvation Mountain before a slew of people and explored on our own. I love being the only ones at a place, it feels more special. Ever since I was a child, I felt a lot of comfort in being alone. Exploring by myself. The world turns into the secret garden and I’m Mary. Bowerbird and I have said we are two loners who found each other – it’s pretty romantic.  The mountain was beautiful! The colors were brilliant and people have really kept the mountain up since Leonard, the man who built the mountain, passed. A Salvation Mountain host, a young girl, began to tell the tale of Leonard to a few men who had stopped by with a chip on their shoulder. Heading into the desert to see Salvation Mountain, seems to be a trendy thing to do, but I find it to be inspiring. I look at the work of this man, what he created to connect people and share his message or god’s message of love, and it moves me deeply. What better way to celebrate my birthday, then to visit a place that makes me feel alive.

Create * Explore * Love * Live