Be careful what you ask for...

You just might get more than you bargained for. Here is the first batch of pictures of the trip to the desert and our visit with Leonard.


Three miles down this road, in Niland, California...

We meet Leonard Knight and start the tour...


Leonard remembers everything he has done here over the past 20 years and explains it lovingly,



Since this is a man-made structure, you can walk in and out of all kinds of rooms he has built.



Here DH tapes Leonard's "10 second message of hope". He always has a thumbs up, he is one positive guy.



Leonard always needs paint, as he paints everything, not just his mountain. ( We took several gallons in bright colors and a gallon of white). The one thing I didn't realize until I got there, is that he has sculpted the letters on everything in adobe. They are not just painted. He fashions each letter individually and then decorates them.

He has even painted all his vehicles in this fashion, in fact he lives in this truck. He has no electricity and no running water. His, really is a simple life and a sincere message.

The message shows up here, also.

He has even been working on a miniature version of the mountain.




So we climbed the big man-made mountain ....

To get there we had to "follow the yellow brick road"



The things I do...last post it was caves, now it's an adobe mountain. Yes, I made it all the way up, (me, who can't even get on a ladder) right behind DH, and being urged on by our friend Mark, who was behind me.

Here are some views from atop the mountain.

Man, I didn't realize it was this high. Yikes.


Leonard is really on fire for the Lord. He lives in the desert wilderness and wants nothing more than to see the message spread. He has been in several books and movies, but that's only to make sure more people know about what he feels, is the simplicity of God's love. He told me that about seven years ago, he felt he had been putting too much of Leonard out to the people and not enough God and Jesus. He said after he prayed about it, he realized he just needed to keep it simple. Here is a man without electricity and water, worrying that he has complicated things too much. I like his philosophy. Keeping it simple. Maybe I needed to hear that life really is simple. Sometimes we are the ones that complicate things. I am going to try to grow from this trip. I thinks I already have. It was a long drive to get there and then a long walk to get even further. I'm ready to keep walking, because it was worth it.


We really did seem closer to God.


Here is a shot of Leonard handing out a picture puzzle of the mountain. In fact, when he found out that I am from Virginia, he got so excited. He gave me several puzzles and lots of postcards, so I could spread this message on my side of the country.

He was a lovely, kind, intelligent man. Some might call it folk art, or outsider art. I just call it art. His passion is his love of God and his art, this art that spreads the message of love, hope and forgiveness.

I will be posting a few other shots later this week, but for the most part the trip to the desert was the main thing. I hope you liked this.

I'll be back with shots of all the yarns, polymer clay and new beads that I got out West. I am going to teach myself to knit. So any tips will be appreciated.

That's all for now. Take care and check back soon.