Annual Desert Travel Issue, February/March 2010

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The Sun Runner The Magazine of the Real California Desert February/March 2010—Vol. 16, No. 1 The Sun Runner Magazine 61855 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree, CA 92252 (760)366-2700 • www.thesunrunner.com Publisher/Executive Editor:Steve Brown publisher@thesunrunner.com Founding Editor Emeritus: Vickie Waite Associate Editor: Ed Munson Theatre Editors: Jack & Jeannette Lyons Literary Editor: Delphine Lucas Music Editor: Judy Wishart Calendar & Social Media Editor, Asst. Publisher: Barbara Buckland

Contributing Writers Lorraine Blair • David Brown • Steve Brown Bill Cook • Emma Dee • John Di Pol Jack & Jeannette Lyons Ed Munson • Denise Ortuno Neil Steve Salkin • Linda Saholt Seth Shteir • Paul F. Smith •Judy Wishart Contributing Photographers: Liz Babcock • Steve Brown • Tom Budlong Bill Cook • Emma Dee • John Dittli Tony Foutz • Stephenie Jenkins David Lamfrom • Barnes Miller Ed Munson • Denise Ortuno Neil Linda Saholt • Judy Wishart Advertising Sales: Sam Sloneker (760)366-2700/advertising@thesunrunner.com Distribution Manager: Sam Sloneker People We Can’t Live Without: Billy Makuta, Ellen Brenner, Michael Klem Bruce Miller, Rik Livingston, & you!

The Sun Runner Magazine features desert arts and entertainment news, desert issues and commentary, natural and cultural history, columns, poetry, stories by desert writers, and a Calendar of Events for the California desert region. Published bimonthly.

MAGAZINE DEADLINE: March 22 for the April/May issue, for advertising, calendar listings, & editorial. To list a desert event free of charge in The California Deserts Visitors Association Calendar, please send your complete press release to calendar@ thesunrunner.com, or mail to: Calendar, c/o: The Sun Runner Magazine, 61855 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree, CA 92252. Please include all relevant information in text format.

Notices submitted without complete information or in a wrong format may not be posted.

Event information will not be taken over the telephone or psychically.

SUBMISSIONS: By mail to the address above; by email: publisher@thesunrunner. com.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $22/year U.S.A. ($38/ year International).

Copyright © 2010 The Sun Runner. Permission for reproduction of any part of this publication must be obtained from the publisher. The opinions of our contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the magazine. We have made every effort to be accurate, but we are not responsible for errors or omissions in material submitted to us, nor claims by advertisers. Advertising, press releases, and public service announcements accepted at the discretion of the publisher. Z 8 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

The Sun Runner The Magazine of the Real California Desert

February/March 2010 The Desert Travel Issue

Inside this Issue:

Dry Heat, by Steve Brown ... 11 The Tortoise Telegraph News gathered from around the desert – at our own pace ... 12 Letters from ... you! ... 14 Scenes from the Rains of January ... 15 Desert Art News, by Barbara Buckland & Steve Brown ... 16 The Desert Arts Connection ... 21 Joshua Tree Green Business Logo Contest Winner Profile: Rik Livingston, by Seth Shteir ...22 Coachella Valley Confidential, by Denise Ortuno Neil ... 23 Woven Words, the Authors’ Page ... 25 Twentynine Palms – Spend some time doing nothing – & doing it well,

by Steve Brown ... 27 Special Section: Unfinished Business – Desert Protection Act 2010,

by Paul F. Smith ... 33 Into Death Valley – Exploring a Dreamscape, by Steve Brown ... 41 The Back Nine with Bill Cook – Ashwood, Apple Valley,

by Bill Cook ... 49 The Search for the Holy Grail of Putters, by Bill Cook ... 51 The Dinah Turns 20, by Emma Dee ... 52 Desert Survival DeRanger Steve: Road Trip ... 54 Desert Environment Climate Change and the California Desert Conference,

by Mike Cipra ... 55 Historical Perspectives on the California Desert Camels in the Desert, Part 2, by Paul F. Smith ... 56 Ridgecrest: The Other “Indian Wells” The Historic WWII USO Building, The Heart of Ridgecrest,

by John Di Pol ... 57 Ramblings from Randsburg On the Trail of... Henry G. Tinsley, Reporter of the Early Rand,

by Lorraine Blair ... 58 Native Americans Honoring the Feminine, by Linda Saholt ... 59 Desert Theatre Beat, by Jack Lyons ... 60 Theatre Spotlight on Wendy Cohen, by Jeannette Lyons ... 61 Film Talk, by Jack Lyons ... 62 Sun Runner Events & News ... 63 Coachella Valley Music News, by Ed Munson ... 64 Hi-Desert Music News, by Judy Wishart ... 65 Sustainable Living Laundry Day Stories – Have They Figured Out A Way to Tax the Sun?

by David Brown ... 66 The California Deserts Visitors Association Calendar ... 68

Cover Art — by Mary-Austin Klein

What better to grace the cover of our annual Desert Travel Issue than a stunning landscape painting by Mary-Austin Klein? Klein found inspiration in the California landscape at an early age. She returned to landscape painting in 2001. She and her husband spend many weekends at their desert cabin in Twentynine Palms, and take numerous trips throughout the desert to gather new material.

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Stay up to date on culture & life in the California desert with The Sun Runner Magazine!

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The Sun Runner, The Magazine of the Real California Desert, is published bimonthly. Subscribe now for only $22/year. Receive 6 issues a year in your mailbox.

Mailed anywhere in the USA! (International Subscriptions: $38/year) You can also subscribe online at www.thesunrunner.com or at www.magazines.com.

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The Sun Runner, 61855 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree, CA 92252 (760)366-2700 • www.thesunrunner.com 10 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

T

he storms that hit the desert (and the rest of Southern California) in January, brought flooding and a bit of chaos and mayhem to our lives. But they brought with them the likelihood of a superb spring wildflower season.

We’ll be getting our Desert Wildflower page up and ready on our website, so if you’re planning to go hunting for the best wildflower spots, check our site first.

Here at Sun Runner World Headquarters (sounds impressive, right?), things are in transition (a nice way of saying that the office is a disaster area at the moment), as we remodel the office to include space for a retail store that will offer desert art, gifts, cards, books, music, and more. We have also installed a color copier, so Joshua Tree locals don’t have to drive to Yucca Valley to make a black and white or color photocopy. We needed a machine like this ourselves, and for the California Deserts Visitors Association, which is also based at this location, so we decided to offer the service to the community while we were at it (plus, while folks are in making copies, it’s a good way to catch up with everyone on all that’s going on).

Speaking of the California Deserts Visitors Association, we’ll be offering desert-wide visitor information here, and are setting up Wi-Fi access and refreshments for visitors to Joshua Tree.

We’re also heading “down the hill” to Los Angeles on Valentine’s weekend, to host the annual CDVA booth at the L.A. Times Travel & Adventure Show. This is the third year that the CDVA has been at the show, and the second year that I’ll be there to man the booth. It’s encouraging, if exhausting, to see a non-stop line

of people (who pay to learn about where to go) interested in discovering our deserts. If you’re in the neighborhood of the L.A. Convention Center, February 13 & 14, drop by the CDVA booth. We’ll be giving out information on the California deserts (including this issue), and encouraging travel show visitors to come discover what our deserts have to offer (which is plenty— I’ve been exploring for years, and I’ll be able to keep busy for the rest of my life without getting bored).

I encourage everyone in the desert who has a business or organization even remotely related to tourism, government agencies, and individuals who would like to see more job creation and a vibrant tourism industry here in the California deserts, to join the CDVA and take part in this effort. The CDVA is the tourism marketing organization that partners with the California Travel & Tourism Commission, and receives matching funds for marketing from the CTTC, for domestic and international promotion of the entire desert region. I am honored to have been chosen as president of the CDVA, and to have a strong board of directors to make this mission succeed.

One of the aspects of the CDVA’s role that I’m looking forward to, is working with communities in the desert that are often overlooked by visitors. I think that these communities have more to offer than they sometimes may be aware of, and together, there may be ways for us to work together to do a better job of providing desert visitors with information, and to provide each other with the resources necessary for all of us to succeed.

On the magazine front, regular readers will notice that this is our biggest issue yet, and, I am pleased to say, our broadest distribution in our 15+ years.

The Sun Runner now reaches over 50,000 readers each print issue—more than 300,000 readers annually. And that doesn’t include thousands more who visit our websites, use the coupons from DesertFunCoupons.com, read our digital editions online (where you can print out stories, download the whole issue, share them, etc.), listen to our weekly radio show on KX96 FM, or get our weekly

Sun Blast e-mail newsletter.

Our distribution area continues to grow along with the numbers of readers we reach. You can now pick up a copy of this magazine at any Kern County tourism kiosk along Highway 395. The Sun Runner is increasingly found in high traffic spots in L.A., Hollywood, Orange County, and other Southern California locations, as well as hundreds of points in the hi-desert, Coachella Valley, and elsewhere across the desert.

Desert-minded readers can now subscribe to the magazine at Magazines. com, the country’s largest online magazine subscription service. We’re looking at other outlets as well, from the U.S. to Europe. And we’re looking at producing more specialty publications, working some of the desert’s finest talent.

Editorially, we’ve added a golf column by Bill Cook this issue. Some of our longtime readers may question this move (some of you who don’t remember our former sports column, perhaps), but golf is definitely a part of desert life, and Bill’s goal is to share the courses and information from pros around, and near the California desert region, so visitors and locals who enjoy the game can discover new favorites. We’ll also keep up on green course trends, and let you know who is doing the best job of managing their water use and using native plant landscaping.

It’s looking like we may be picking up more editorial content this year from the Death Valley area as we continue to expand our coverage across this great desert region.

After all, it’s about stories and adventures, explorations and the folks we meet along the road (and those who came this way before the road), isn’t it?

For me, ultimately, it’s the glimpse of mustangs grazing off in the distance, the deepening purple shadows of mountains across the desert floor, the glow of the Milky Way late on a moonless night, the twisted shadows of the Joshua trees, and canyons where the silence amplifies the beating of a lone raven’s wings and you can no longer distinguish between its flight and the beating of your own heart.

It’s at that point, when your own physical, mental, and spiritual existence are placed within the silence, the vast distances, and the ageless winds of the desert, that you can begin to understand why humans have sought God in places such as this for thousands of years. The beauty of the mystery lies before you, running ridge after ridge to the horizon.

It is all here, worn smooth by the wind, waiting for the beating of wings.

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Saving our State Parks California State Parks are getting treated like the ugly stepchild by our state government these days. It’s not only unforgiveable, but depressingly deplorable as well. That our government could, and would, treat our most valuable state cultural, historical, and natural possessions like yesterday’s garbage, does not bode well for the late great state of California’s future, but I doubt that comes as a surprise to most of us.

In January, California State Parks Foundation reported that the governor’s proposed fiscal year 2010-11 budget included a rather convoluted funding solution for our state parks. It seems that the Governator’s budget zeroed out all General Fund funding for our state parks, but would restore it—by assuming that an offshore oil lease in the Santa Barbara area will be approved, and therefore will provide $140 million for the parks.

Never mind that the aforementioned drilling proposal got itself defeated twice last year. Even if the lease went through, that’s a one-shot solution that doesn’t provide for future parks funding. The foundation is backing a more reliable, if less cleverly devious, solution, called the State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010. Let’s hope it becomes reality.

At least the Governator can’t say, “I’ll be bachkkk,” any more.

The California State Parks Foundation isn’t giving up the fight for our parks though. In fact, on Monday, March 8, they’ll be holding their 8th Annual Park Advocacy Day, with a rally in Sacramento. If you’d like to attend 12 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

and lend your voice to reminding our representatives in Sacramento that we haven’t forgotten our heritage, or our parks, then check out www.calparks.org, or call the foundation’s Sacramento office at (916)442-2119.

New, Somewhat Abrasive, Media While The Sun Runner is, strictly speaking, old media, in that the magazine gets printed on paper using ink, of all things, we enjoy and support independent media in its many forms. Lately, the rabblerousing (actually, come to think of it, they’re the rabble...) CactusThorns.com blog has been getting our attention.

They’ve been tackling issues that all too often don’t seem to get much play in the other old media out this way, and raising Cain in the process. From 29 Palms politics, to off-roading, and media bias, CactusThorns hits on a multitude of topics relevant to hi-desert life. And they also post news items, sometimes scooping the traditional media of the area.

It’s not that they’re perfect. We’re not saying that. We don’t always see eye-to-eye on issues, and their approach occasionally lacks tact, and sometimes civility, they do allow for an avenue of discussion to take place, and if you can hold your own, you might even pick up a little respect. If other traditional media tackled some of the topics that wind up on this blog, there might not be much need for it. But until they do, this blog provides a needed outlet for information and public input.

So, while we’re not going to tell you to agree with everything posted on the blog and forums (we don’t), we do

recommend checking them out at www. cactusthorns.com. Jump into the fray!

Sailors off to Haiti Twenty staff members from the Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital (on the Marine base in Twentynine Palms), deployed recently to Haiti as part of our country’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of Haiti’s destructive earthquake. The duration of the deployment was not known, but three staff members are to be assigned to an Emergency Medical Facility in Haiti, and a Castualty Receiving and Treatment Ship.

Plane Crash in Joshua Tree National Park Two very lucky people survived the crash of their private plane in a remote area of Joshua Tree National Park on January 18. Rocky Harvey of Joshua Tree, and his flight instructor, took off from Joshua Tree intending to fly to Palm Springs.

When their Cessna 172 didn’t arrive, the Civil Air Patrol notified park rangers who sent a team out to search for the missing aircraft.

The Civil Air Patrol had tracked the plane to the general area of Quail Mountain, the national park’s highest peak, before losing contact.

With weather in the area dishing up blowing rain, hail, and snow, it was imperative to find the plane. Incident Commander Dan Messaros called out the Joshua Tree Search & Rescue team to assist with the search effort. A team was put into the field that evening, and about 10:15 p.m. the plane was located near the summit of the 5,814 foot Quail

Mountain.

The two victims were trapped in the wreckage of the plane and had to be cut from the aircraft using battery-powered saws. They were flown from the site by a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department helicopter adn then airlifted to Palm Springs by Mercy Air. The two received a variety of injuries, and hypothermia, but were expected to survive. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

Dubious Honors The Desert Lodge of Palm Springs received a dubious honor this year, by being listed in TripAdvisor’s 2010 Dirtiest Hotels. Desert Lodge ranked ninth in the top 10 for the United States, based on TripAdvisor traveler reviews.

TripAdvisor is a great site to entertain yourself with frank and useful reviews written by fellow travelers who rate accommodations based upon value, quality of the rooms, location of the hotel, and cleanliness. And while Desert Lodge did receive one excellent, three very good, and one average rating, it also received six poor, and 21 terrible ratings.

Reviews with titles like, “Biggest Rip Off,” and “Don’t think I have stayed in any place worse,” conjure up images unlikely to garner much enthusiasm with Internet-savvy travelers.

Adios Andy Yucca Valley Town Manager Andy Takata hits the road on Valentine’s Day. Takata is going downhill (literally) to become city manager for the City of Banning.

Takata was the longest tenured town manager in Yucca Valley’s brief incorporated existence (since 1991). Takata began working for the town in May, 2004.

Takata has earned $176,000 per year while working for Yucca Valley, which is probably about ten times the average salary of folks who live here. That’s not to say Andy’s not worth it, he could have saved the town ten times that (though looking at recent purchasing decisions, like paying wads of cash in the midst of a recession for an abandoned bank, who knows?).

Life gets so confusing Last issue, we ran a story about alchemist Art Kunkin, who believes radiation may be the key to the Philosopher’s Stone and its ability to prolong life. In the story, we noted there are mines where people go to treat themselves for various ailments using the abundant natural radon gas found in the mine shafts. Many seem to report

positive results.

Then we get the news that the Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that radon gas kills over 20,000 Americans every year—more than drunk driving, home fires, falls in the home, and carbon monoxide.

What to do?

International Film Fest – International Incident Boy, the Palm Springs International Film Festival folks had their share of fun with this year’s festival. First, there was Mariah Carey (enough said), and then the Chinese decided to start throwing their weight around.

The Chinese government got upset because Tibet, which they have colonized, had the freakin’ nerve to actually make a movie about it.

Not that the Chinese are bullies or anything, but they “requested” the cancellation of the festival’s screening of the documentary film, The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom, and when PSIFF Director Darryl Macdonald “respectfully declined,” the Chinese yanked two Chinese films selected for the festival and stomped home.

The festival didn’t miss a beat, quickly replacing the Chinese films (good job Chinese government—punish your own filmmakers because somebody somewhere else made a movie you don’t like—yeah, that’s a mature approach toward life), and announcing that they were “saddened” that the Chinese film authorities (petty bureaucrats), had chosen to act like fools (well, the festival didn’t say it quite like that...).

Kudos go to the festival for not bowing under pressure, and refusing to be censored by the Chinese authorities.

Luckily for the Chinese authorities, Google’s probably removed any links from Chinese computers to stories about the festival’s refusal to comply.

Water, Water, Absolutely Nowhere Toward the end of 2009, our State Department of Water Resources, the folks who manage the State Water Project, including the California Aqueduct, informed the 29 State Water Contractors (the people who send the water along to you and me), that they may only be able to provide as little as five percent of the maximum allocation, the lowest amount since deliveries began in 1967.

The Mojave Water Agency says they’re not worried because they actually have bought up water and stored it underground. So, unless L.A. folks have figured out how to get it.....

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Send us your letters to publisher@thesunrunner.com.

The Mojave Cross Controversy (Note: This is an exchange of letters regarding the case of the Mojave Cross in the Mojave National Preserve, which has now gone to the Supreme Court. We reported on the case in the last issue, and we may have news from the Supreme Court by the next. – Steve Brown) To Whom It May Concern: Your point of view regarding the Mojave Cross and its implications toward our constitution border on the willful ignorance that envelopes, and perpetuates, the cancerous fugue that is destroying this country today. In other words, you entirely miss the point. We that oppose the use of government land (which means, owned by ALL the people) relative to religious monuments, or religious speech, keep a keenly objective awareness on what freedom really means on land owned by all the people. This means, that if the courts allow just one precedent set on the use of government land for religious purposes, they have to, by PRECEDENT, allow the use for other religious, and anti-religious, or atheistic groups, or individuals, equal opportunity. This means, that any group will have the right to put a symbol of their beliefs (imagine devil worshipping, or neo-Nazi, or anything symbol) beside that cross. BTW this goes true of prayer in public schools, too. For if one prayer of particular persuasion is allowed, every point of view has to be allowed. Imagine the sundry abuse of that. Now imagine the sundry of abuse of precedent allowing the use of public land by one religious symbol.

James Hammons, Joshua Tree Hi James, While I enthusiastically disagree with you, and I think my perspective is anything but “willful ignorance,” I’d like to run your letter as a letter to the editor in the next edition, if that is OK with you.

By the way, it was interesting this summer to go to England and visit the North York Moors National Park there. Their logo is the image of a Celtic cross erected in the national park as a memorial. Oddly enough, they are mature enough in their attitude toward religion and government, that they can discern that a cross erected as a memorial does not constitute government endorsement of religion, nor does it establish some kind of precedent that forces the kind of stupidity you refer to upon them, and they are entirely comfortable with it as part of their history. It was quite refreshing actually.

I would note that this cross out near Cima does not, by precedent, mean that anyone can run out and stick some kind of Satan-worshipping Nazi symbol in a national park and we have to accept it. That’s silly. This was a war memorial erected prior to any kind of lands designation other than that of BLM administered federal lands (ie: it was not a national preserve, 14 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

monument, or park, etc.), that the preserve inherited (in other words, someone didn’t run out onto the grounds of a national park and erect this—it was already there). It was erected by a war veteran in memory of his fellow dead war veterans in a very rural area where many war veterans went because of lung damage they had suffered during the war. I think that is a significant milepost in desert history, and the National Park Service could use the cross to elaborate on it. The cross had played an integral role in the community that lived there prior to the establishment of the preserve, which provides a culturally signifcant aspect to its preservation sociologically, while adding to its historical significance.

A simplistic viewpoint of the separation of church and state is as dangerous in your direction as it is the other direction—that we need, as a society, to not allow anything with a religious overtone to be preserved if it has any association with our government, because of some extremist fear-based interpretation of our Constitution. If we really need to go down that road, we’d better start by burning our money because it says “In God We Trust” (better yet, just drop it by my office).

Then, we can rip out the crosses in military cemeteries, etc., etc.

For me, I’m going to go with the approach that most Americans can and will figure out that a war memorial in the shape of a simple cross, stuck way out in the middle of nowhere on a rock, does not constitute government endorsement of a religion, nor does it endanger us by allowing devil-worshipping Nazis to erect their symbology at will across our public lands.

Imagine a country mature enough to be able to handle a harmless six foot cross without getting fanatical about it—one way or another. Imagine a country that could actually not hand a lot of taxpayer money to the ACLU for something so trite as a six foot cross that 150 people a year notice as they drive north to Baker, or south to Cima.

I think I get the point quite well, thank you.

Thanks for writing in! – Steve Brown Hi Steve -- thanks for the response. “Willful” ignorance” means that one has all the tools and resources to figure something out, but refuses to see, for whatever reason, the objective essence of the point. I don’t mean that in a mean way, it simply is the way things are now. Everyone seems to have an agenda. Everyone is willing to twist the facts, the laws, the precedents, even the constitution for that agenda. Remember, this is not about the “cross” way out there in the Mojave. Federal law usurps state and county laws, and the USSC decides what constitutes what fed laws outweigh the local laws. This seperation of church and state is of obvious interest, because western civilization is filled with not so good results when the two cross (pun intended) each other, and sometimes become one. Thus, if that cross out there is allowed to stand on federal land, then any group, anywhere in the states, on any federal land, according to precedent set by the USSC and the constitution, have the right to fair and equal access. That doesn’t mean a devil worshipper would put up a symbol next that that particular cross, but he/she might want to put that symbol up, say, on the national mall. Guess what?

If the precedent is set that one religious group can use federal land? The court(s) would ultimately have to grant access.

What I think really needs to be stated here is this: if you want to express your religious point of view, (or non-religious), buy some land. Why make an issue of federal land that everyone owns ... That’s what’s silly.

Yes, of course you can run my response, and your reponse, and my response to your response. Perhaps we can get someone thinking out there.

Have the best Holidays ... James

Scenes from the Rains of January, 2010

It may be messy, but the wildflowers will be great!

Stephenie Jenkins took this shot (right) of a freshly washed cactus during a 10 minute lull in the rain. We’re sending Stephenie a $50 gift certificate to the 29 Palms Inn for her photo.

Our next issue is our annual Desert Ecology Issue. Send us your photos of the desert in danger and if we pick yours, you’ll receive a $50 gift certificate to the 29 Palms Inn too!

January brought flooding to downtown Joshua Tree and the hi-desert. Kayaking, anyone?

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 15

Geoff Voigt shows his stuff at the Maturango Museum.

Live Art, Give Art!

ART CLASSES & MORE 6847 Adobe Road 760.361.1805 Located across from Barr Lumber

www.29PalmsCreativeCenter.com

ART

A ROADSIDE ATTRACTION 69197 29 Palms Hwy., 29 Palms (Near Indian Cove Entrance to JTNP)

760/362-4100

Open Mon.-Fri. 10-6 & Sat. 10-2

Art news from around the desert...

29 PALMS 29 Palms Art Gallery For February, it’s the Students’ Art Show (judged), featuring notable works from Morongo Basin high school & junior high school students. The opening reception will be held from noon to 3 p.m., Sunday, February 7. The March exhibit features works by Scott Monteith (acrylics), Guild Members, Audrey Gillick (watercolor) and Anne Lear (acrylic/ collage/assemblage). The opening reception will be held from noon to 3 p.m., Sunday, March 7.

Open noon-3 p.m., Wed.-Sun. 29 Palms Art Gallery, 74055 Cottonwood Dr. (off National Park Drive), 29 Palms, (760)367-7819, or www.29palmsartgallery.com.

Custom Framing & Matting

D.L. BOWDEN FRAME MAKER

367-1174 • 73487 29 Palms Hwy. Canopy Row in Downtown 29 Palms

Simi Dabah Sculptures

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16 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

29 Palms Creative Center The Mad Veritas of Robyn Goudy, a mixed media mosaic installation, runs February 20 - March 16, with an artist reception Saturday, February 20, 6-9 p.m.

Goudy notes, “Only the corrupted torsos of what were once entire bodies of thought, are squeezed through the keyhole of consciousness; they become opal in the pupil, fluid and wrinkled in the brain, bastardized by the nexus, and by the time it takes them to trek down my arm into my fingers, and at last unto the picture plane, the images are literally stripped down blobs of mad veritas goo!

“Are we supposed to save this splendid goo from transcending itself? I doubt it!

“My ritual obsession is to glue all these grains of sand back into stones, and place

the stones back into sheer cliffs of poetry, and treacherous canyons of Art.”

We’re not sure we quite understood all that, but that means we’ll just have to go take a look-see for ourselves.

James Hammons’ work will be featured March 20 - April 20. An artist reception will be held March 20, 6-9 p.m.

Hammons received undergraduate degrees in History and Psychology from the University of Redlands, and later earned a Masters of Fine Arts from University of Southern California’s famed film and screenwriting program.

Creative Center Classes: Tin-Tear Your Heart Out! February 13, Noon to 2 p.m. Tin-Tear Printing explores the unconventional use of aluminum foil. The foil is torn as you print your monotype series on Gretchen’s etching press. $55/person.

Desert Collagraphs March 27, Noon to 2p.m., Desert Collagraphs will show you the impressions desert debris makes when inked & pressed through an etching press. Bring your desert debris. $55/person.

Van Gogh Monotypes March 13, Noon to 2 p.m., Van Gogh Monotypes is an excellent source of “instant-gratification-make-you-feelgood-art-making.” Gretchen will show how layers of colorful brush strokes will resemble the dynamic energy of the famous painter. $55/person.

Rembrandt Dry Point Prints Mar. 27, Noon to 2 p.m., Rembrandt Dry Point Prints is an intaglio workshop. A Plexiglas plate & a sharp metal needle will allow you to scratch your image into your plate, resulting in a series of prints. Bring an 8 x 10 drawing, photo,

etc. $55/person.

Monday - Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday call ahead. 29 Palms Creative Center, 6847 Adobe Road, 29 Palms. (760)361-1805, www.29PalmsCreativeCenter.com.

The 29 Palms Inn, Oasis of Mara Works by Scott Monteith and Bonny Brady on display. The 29 Palms Inn is open seven days a week, 73950 Inn Avenue (off National Park Drive), 29 Palms.

(760)367-3505, www.29palmsinn.com.

29 Palms Art In Public Places Works by Ray Yaeger are on display through February 25. Yeager, from Yucca Valley, began painting acrylic landscapes as a hobby in the early 1980s. In recent years, he became involved in the study of Dadaism and Surrealism and its influence on modern art. In 2004, Yeager began exploring digital photography and its possibilities for photomontage and now is fully dedicated to using digital photomontage for his artistic expression.

Yeager’s photographic art has been exhibited in galleries throughout the Morongo Basin and Palm Springs. He has shown his work and lectured at the 29 Palms Art Gallery, and for the past three years he has organized the annual Art Seminars series for the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council.

The months of March andApril feature Pat Flynn’s desert flora watercolors.

The Art in Public Places exhibit is sponsored by the City’s Public Arts Advisory Committee. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 29 Palms City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road, 29 Palms. (760)367-6799, www. ci.twentynine-palms.ca.us.

Art at the Oasis – Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival The 18th annual Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival is coming April 2-4, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. The festival is held at the National Park headquarters and Oasis Visitor Center, with more than 25 artists exhibiting their desert-inspired work. Meet the artists, and support the work of the Joshua Tree National Park Association, a non-profit organization that provides support and assistance to the park’s interpretive, educational, and scientific programs. Admission is free.

74485 National Park Dr., 29 Palms.

(760)367-5500.

JOSHUA TREE Art Queen Art Queen, in Joshua Tree East, currently

PROSE, featuring new paintings by Bret Philpot and writings by Reggie McAtee, runs through February 27 at The Red Arrow Gallery in Joshua Tree.

features works by resident artist Shari Elf. Elf’s works are also available for viewing online at www.sharielf.com/gallery.html.

Art Queen Gallery, 61855 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree.

The Red Arrow Gallery February 6 marks The Red Arrow Gallery’s three year anniversary. Catch PROSE, New Paintings by Bret Philpot and Writings by Reggie McAtee, through February 27. On March 6, From There From Here Series #2, featuring works

by Lily Stockman (Joshua Tree) & Kay Tuttle (Denver), opens, and runs through March 27.

Gallery hours: Friday 5 to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Arrow Gallery, 61596 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree. (760)366-3700, www.theredarrowgallery.com.

True World Gallery Two Visions, One Love: Robin L. Becker and James Chressanthis, runs through February 28. Chressanthis, ASC, has been looking through a camera and making images since he was 10 years old. He met Becker, a mixed media artist, in the photography darkroom in college.

Hours: Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday - Wednesday by appointment. True World Gallery, 61740 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree. (760)3662300, www.trueworldgallery.com.

Weekly Life Drawing Group The Morongo Basin Life Drawing League meets Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 17

(formerly Mentalphysics). Bring drawing or painting supplies and a drop for the floor. The $40 model cost is split among attendants (about 5 or 6) plus $1 for the facility. No membership or prepayment required. Room locations are subject to change. Contact Janis Commentz at elpres2@msn.com or (760)365-4955.

Joshua Tree Retreat Center, 59700 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree. (760) 3658371, www.jtrcc.org.

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Crossroads Café Christy Anderson, license plate artist extraordinaire, has works on display through February. Christy is a talented painter, sculptor and stained glass artist, who likes to use recycled junk in her art.

License plates are the best! Each Trailer Tag is a signed, handmade original work of art.

Crossroads Café, 61715 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree. (760)366-5414.

Closed Wednesdays.

Glass Oasis Gallery This gallery in Joshua Tree East features a steady stream of colorful new glass works by artist/proprietress Paris Birdwell.

Glass Oasis Gallery, 61855 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, (808)268-6731, www.parisbirdwell.com.

The Sun Runner Gallery The new Sun Runner Gallery at the headquarters of The Sun Runner Magazine in Joshua Tree East, features works

by Karin Mayer, Rik Livingston, Bruce Miller, Steve Brown, and others, along with a growing collection of desert books, CDs, cards, and gifts. The Sun Runner, 61855 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, (760)366-2700, www.thesunrunner.com.

Last minute news...

Artist Andrea Zittel will be taking over the form Joshua Tree Chamber of Commerce offices for a new gallery.

18 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

And JTAG, the new Joshua Tree Art Gallery, opens February 6 with a new show.

JTAG, 61695 #A, 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree. (760)366-3636, www. joshuatreeartgallery.com YUCCA VALLEY Tamma’s Magic Mercantile The work of David McChesney is featured through February. Hosted by the Morongo Basin Historical Society.

Tamma’s Magic Mercantile, 55727 29 Palms Highway, Yucca Valley, (760)228-0700.

MORONGO VALLEY Morongo Valley Art Colony Hazel Bader and Darrell Sanders offer a workshop at Covington Park, February 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., $25 fee. Phone Hazel (760)366-2104 or Darrell at (760)364-3771 by February 5 to reserve.

Gallery meeting February 17, noon - 3 p.m., public invited, potluck. Bring a dish to share and your bird photos and paintings to be sold. On February 20 & 27, Ron Churchwell demonstrates gourd art and the gallery is open for “birders,” from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Artwork received on February 17 will be shown.

Gallery meeting and potluck, March 17, noon - 3p.m. David and Stephanie Salter present a photography lecture, entries accepted for the March 27, Spring Judged Art Show (8 a.m. - 4 p.m., ribbons and prizes awarded, fee of $5/Morongo Valley Art Colony members, $7/nonmembers).

Morongo Valley Art Colony, Covington Park, Morongo Valley, (760)363-7927.

PALM SPRINGS Palm Springs Art Museum The Palm Springs Art Museum continues

its Free Second Sundays program with a special Valentine for museum goers. The museum is screening a documentary, VDL Research House: Richard Nuetra’s Studio and Residence, hosting a family activity, Hearts, Venus, and Valentine’s Day, in the Hoover Gallery, with a performance of classical and popular romantic compositions on the harp, and artists in action with a focus on ikebana flower arranging.

Valentine’s Day also marks the opening reception and silent auction for ACE 2010, a juried exhibition showcasing the work of local member artists. The exhibition opens at 4:30 p.m. with an awards ceremony and is followed by a free opening reception in the museum’s lower level, catered by Cowboy Way Barbeque. Approximately 70 out of 135 entries will be selected for inclusion in the show, and all will be available for purchase through a silent auction, and later an online auction.

The show closes March 28.

The fifth annual Palm Springs Modernism Week begins February 15, and the Palm Springs Art Museum’s Architecture and Design Council are featuring a number of events. Frey House II tours will be offered February 15-17, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., with tours running every 45 minutes. This is the only time of the year the house is open to the public. Tickets are $50, or $100 for a sunset tour and reception. (760)325-4490.

An Albert Frey lecture will be given by Bill Butler, vicechair of the museum’s ADC, on February 16, from 2-3 p.m.

The focus will be on Frey’s early, formative years in Europe and New York, emphasizing the experiences and influences that would ultimately find expression in the landscape of the desert.

The lecture is free with museum admission. Other Modernism Week events include a lecture by Frank Escher, architect and co-curator of the museum’s latest exhibition, Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner. The February 19 lecture at 5:30 p.m. is free, but open only to museum members.

The public opening of the exhibit is February 20. The exhibit runs through May 23.

A symposium: From Frank Lloyd Wright to John Lautner and After: Reassessing the Organic Tradition in American Architecture, will be held at the ACE Hotel & Swim Club, Saturday, February 20, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. An outstanding group of scholars and architects will look at the architecture of John Lautner within a national and international context. An afternoon motor-coach tour will include visits to Lautner sites such as the Desert Hot Springs Hotel and the Pearlman Cabin.

Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Dr., Palm Springs.

(760)322-4800, www.psmuseum.org. For Modernism Week information: www.modernismweek.com.

Palm Springs First Wednesday Art Walks February and March 3. Backstreet Art District hosts their First Wednesday Art Walk. Galleries include Art By Peter, Dezart One, Galerie Mystere, Images By Gideon, Red Dot Gallery, Showcase 5 Gallery, Studio 3, Trevor Goss Gallery, and Ted Phillip Denton Working Studio & Gallery. Wednesday 6-9 p.m.

2688 Cherokee Way & Matthew Drive, Palm Springs (behind the Mercedes dealership, off Hwy. 111 & E. Palm Canyon), (760)328-1440, www.backstreetartdistrict.com/galleries.

Palm Springs Downtown/Uptown First Friday Art Walk February and March 5. The Palm Springs Downtown/Uptown First Fridays will be hosting their Art Walk from 6-9 p.m.

Browse galleries along Palm Canyon drive from Amado Road to Tachevah Drive.

The Desert Art Center The oldest non-profit artists’ cooperative in the valley presents February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 19

a new group show February 5, 6-9 p.m. in conjunction with the Friday Night Gallery Walk in the historic uptown district.

Meet some of the 100 artists as they display works in sculpture, painting, glass, jewelry and gourds. Enjoy refreshments and the miniature art show.

The Desert Art Center,550 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, (760)323-7973, www.desertartcenter.com.

Dezart One Gallery Urban + Modern Conversation, new works by Kim Chasen & Aaron Jasinski, runs through February. Artist reception, February 13, 7-9 p.m.

Dezart One Gallery. 2688 Cherokee Way, Palm Springs, (760)328-1440, www.dezartonegallery.com.

PALM DESERT Heather James Art & Antiquities Through February, Art of Japan brings together an outstanding selection of the finest Japanese antiquities.

Heather James Art & Antiquities, 73-080 El Paseo #5, Palm Desert. (760)346-8926. www.heatherjamesartandantiquities.com

TWENTYNINE PALMS ART GALLERY AND GIFT SHOP Desert Art Native American Jewelry and Southwestern Gifts 74055 Cottonwood Dr. (off National Park Dr.) Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 www.29palmsartgallery.com (760)367-7819

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20 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Heather James Fine Art Lost at Sea connotes the timeless struggle of man versus nature, overcoming challenges, shipwrecks and ghosts, and the idealized notion of isolation and alienation invoked during the Romantic era. Influenced by the Pattern and Decoration Movement of the mid-1970s and Jean Dubuffet’s Art Brut aesthetic, Obsession, showcases art which is universal, organic, and reflects the tangible comfort inherent in the human tendency towards repetition and pattern. The gallery’s major Picasso exhibit remains on display through March 14.

Heather James Fine Art, 45188 Portola Avenue, Palm Desert, (760)346-8926, www.heatherjames.com.

LA QUINTA Art Under the Umbrellas Located in Old Town La Quinta from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., February 13 & March 27. Up to 70 artists participate. Art, live music, and wine tasting. Free admission, ample parking. Visit www. lqaf.com or call (760)564-1244.

BORREGO SPRINGS Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center The Anza-Borrego Foundation Photo Contest Awards Ceremony and Reception is slated for 7 p.m., February 6. Contest judge Paul Johnson will present the winners. After the ceremony, join the Foundation at the Borrego Art Institute for a reception and silent auction. Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center, 590 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs, (760)767-3180, www. borregoartinstitute.org.

RIDGECREST Maturango Museum The museum hosts a Geoff Voigt exhibit through March 17.

Voigt’s artwork is extremely energetic and colorful and presented in a large format. An excellent show for all ages. Please consider bringing your kids to see this colorful exhibit.

Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Avenue, Ridgecrest, (760)375-6900, www.maturango.org.

A

rtist Randy Polumbo, who has homes in both New York and Joshua Tree, has been featured in the Fifth Avenue (and side) windows of Manhattan's Museum of Sex. His Love Sacs, lead crystal Birkin bags filled with hand-blown glass, errr...., blossoms, have been brightening up the museum's facade for a couple of months now, to the delight of museum goers and passersby.

More of Polumbo's work, including his first silver soldered wire-frame condom solar powered space vessel, and a latex condom oscillating creature, are now part of the exhibit: Rubbers, The Life, History & Struggle of the Condom. The show opens February 4, and runs, apparently, indefinitely.

A little closer to home, our cover artist for this issue, Mary-Austin Klein, enjoys an opening of her own the day after Polumbo's. California Contemporary, a group show featuring Klein, John Brosio, Joshua Tree's talented Tina Bluefield (who is finally getting the attention she deserves, and has earned), Lily Stockman, Art Sherwyn, and Keith Wicks, runs through March 27 at Metro Galleries in Bakersfield.

In addition, the band I See Hawks In L.A., has chosen Mary-Austin's painting Wonder Valley Claim Shack for the cover of their latest album, Shoulda Been Gold, 2001-2009.

DEATH VALLEY - TECOPA Tecopa Basin Artists Group TBAG hosts a reading event for “Open Book” at Pastels Bistro, February 7, 7 p.m. At Tecopa town center, turn north on Tecopa Hot Springs Road. Pastels is two miles ahead at the northeast corner of Tecopa Hot Springs and Noonday Road. (760)8524505, www.pastels1.tripod.com.

Tecopa Basin Artists Group Gallery “Love Thy Neighbor”– Works by Jennifer Viereck, runs from March 3 through April 13. Artist reception March 6, 5-7 p.m.

Photography and collage pieces offer portraits of both the Tecopa community and some of its residents. TBAG Gallery at Tecopa Hot Springs Resort. www.tecopahotsprings.org.

DEATH VALLEY - FURNACE CREEK RANCH Death Valley Chamber Annual Art Show.

This year’s show will run March 13-14, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Saturday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sunday. Enjoy beautiful paintings, photography, jewelry, wood, ceramic and fiber arts all in a relaxed and festive atmosphere on the lawn in front of the Furnace Creek Ranch in the heart of Death Valley National Park. For more information and to apply online: www.deathvalleychamber.com.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 21

Joshua Tree Green Business Logo Contest Winner Profile: Rik Livingston

by Seth Shteir, NPCA

W

hen Rik Livingston moved to Joshua Tree from San Francisco in 2006, the art scene was hopping. Livingston immediately found inspiration in the desert.

“I love the wild Joshua trees.

The plant life here is really surreal and so are the Daliesque rock formations in the park. It’s great fodder for artwork.”

Rik has designed posters and fliers for business around the Morongo Basin, including The Roadside Attraction Gallery and Joshua Tree Retreat Center, but also designed the “Stop the Green Path Invasion” postcard that features caricatures of transmission lines invading our desert. Livingston enjoys creating art out of found objects and recycled materials. “It’s a good way to go for the environment and as a business decision because art materials are pretty expensive,” says Livingston.

Some of his work will be featured in the Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Show at the Roadside Attraction Gallery in 29 Palms.

Rik was awarded $150 from the National Parks Conservation Association for his outstanding Joshua Tree Green Business Logo design. The design will be featured in promotional materials for the NPCA’s Joshua Tree Green Business Program, which encourages businesses to make voluntary reductions in energy, waste and water to help protect the fragile desert ecosystem. Rik’s’s art can be found at www.zonoart.com.

22 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

S

o there I was, in downtown Palm Springs on a sort of reconnaissance excursion to see what was new in town. You know, new shops, new restaurants, new ways to spend my hard-earned money, or rather my husband’s hard-earned money.

But in my quest to find what was new, I came face to face with what used to be. As I meandered around Palm Canyon I found myself at The Vineyard, which houses a small cluster of shops and restaurants. It has several nooks and crannies that give it a true “Village” feel. I passed by what used to be St. James restaurant and bar, a place that had birthed a multitude of fond memories for me, that is now Sammy G’s Tuscan Grill.

I stepped inside to see what it had morphed into. Gone were the cool and sometimes creepy masks on the wall, as was the intimate ambiance it used to have that was now replaced with a bar twice the size of the old one and a real stage for entertainment, opposed to the prior makeshift one that would delightfully encroach on the dancing crowd.

I stood in the midst of it all and stepped back into my memory, and as I did the apparitions of good times past seemed to emerge, inviting me back for one last go ‘round. As tempting as it was, I retreated from their ghostly proposal, leaving behind debauchery gone by, in search of new opportunites.

As I exited Sammy G’s, I noticed other things had changed in the area as well, including a couple more “for lease” signs than I’m sure the landlord prefers. But LG’s Steakhouse still stands proud, while its nemesis, The Chop House, glares in annoyance at LG’s longevity (just guessing). For the most part, the view from The Vineyard remains unchanged, with the anchor of Palm Canyon, The Village Pub, still serving up their lengthy menu to precious tourists and partiers, as Pomme Frite satiates us with Moules Maniere and other Belgian/French faire.

Then there’s that lingerie shop, which never seems go away and I have only entered into once, no really. And I’m convinced

that at the world’s end, only that lingerie shop and The Village Pub will be left standing.

In my discovery, I thought of the saying, “The More things change, the more they remain the same,” and how it was wrong.

The more things change, they really do just change. I realized that, sure, the town has moved on, but there will be new memories for new people who come to enjoy all the wonders of Palm Springs, and that the town, in a sense, will always stay the same, and the only thing that has really changed, is me.

It is one thing to want to do something creative and quite the other to do it. That was not the problem for Missy McCoy, who four years ago walked into a boutique and was inspired so much by what she saw, that she decided to do it too. We’re talking beautiful, hand embellished bottles that infuse vintage style art with a modern day eclectic twist. They are hard to define. All I know is I love them, and apparently so does Missy.

After being taken in by the art, she did some research with the help of a friend, and taught herself how to make the striking bottles. She had to learn about soldering, different types of glass and how to put it all together. The base of the art is predominately recycled bottles that she gets from all kinds of sources. Friends and family are always on the lookout for unusual bottles to donate to her creative cause. She also finds the unseemly treasures when she goes hiking on our local desert trails, like old Coke and medicine bottles from decades past.

There are more ornate pedestals as well—the possibilities are truly endless. But as purposeful as the base is to the art form, it is the decorative crowns that make for stunning eye candy.

They range from peace signs to star shapes, but it is the variety of crosses that have become an indelible part of her work.

Tall, short, thick or thin, the crosses that top the bottles are delicate, yet almost boldly command a sort of respect and a light whisper when admiring them. From the look of her art, you’d February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 23

Bottle artist Missy McCoy, above, Indian Wells Arts Festival, top right..

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think she’s been making these bottles all of her life. They are simply glorious.

Bottles range in price from $50-$200 and she honors custom orders. You can find her art locally at Martha’s Boutique on El Paseo, and Moeller Nursery on Painter’s Path in Palm Desert. To view her art, go to www.goddessglass.biz.

It seems the art cup will runneth over in the desert when the 8th Annual Indian Wells Arts Festival comes to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on April 2-4.

Dianne Funk Productions produces the show with over 200 prestigious artists from across the country taking part. Funk has been a Coachella Valley resident since, as she puts it, “ BW,” which stands for, “Before Westfield,” and I remember that time too, Dianne (30+years ago).

She has seen a lot of things happen in our desert area including the progression of her Indian Wells Arts Festival production that she started eight years ago, with an expected attendance of over 10,000 festival enthusiasts this year.

The fest promises to be a whirlwind of visual fun for all with art exhibits such as, “Super-Size This,’ from world renowned artists, Karen and Tony Barone and “Faces of Hope,” from artist Ricardo Aguilera, which serves as interactive art for festival goers allowing them to leave a literal brush stroke behind.

Snake Jagger will also be featured at the event with his “Enchanted Desert” poster. Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert will be on hand to captivate and entertain little ones with a variety of activities. There will be entertainment and refreshments galore, with music by artists such as INCENDIO, “Latin Guitar World Fusion,” and you can satisfy your thirst with wine tasting, or at the beer garden if you’d prefer. A special Easter Sunday Brunch menu will be offered on the holiday until noon. Art featured at the festival is available for purchase directly from the artist, giving those who

are shopping for art a special experience.

Admission is $10 for adults, children 12 and under free. For more information, go to www.IndianWellsArtsFestival.com.

There is a tornado of events tearing through the Coachella Valley, so let’s all click our sequinned red shoes together ( if you’ve got ‘em) and repeat after me, “There’s no place like the Coachella Valley. There’s no place like the Coachella Valley……….”

On February 5-7, Blanche, Dorothy, Sophia and Rose come to town at The Temple Isaiah Pavilion in Palm Springs for a spoof of the adored TV show, “The Golden Girls,” incorporating music, humor and a touch of “drag” in their befitting show, “The Golden Gays.” The show has already received high praise from performances in L.A., and as an admitted “Golden Girls” freak, I will totally be there. For show times call (760)766-3474.

Make sure you hold on to your cotton candy when the 64th annual Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival blows into Indio, February 12-21, with a variety of sweet flirty dates, a colossal load of exhibits, livestock, old time carnival attractions and entertainment by acts such as Kansas and Night Ranger. All that just scratches the surface of what this event has to offer, so more information can be found at www.datefest.org.

At the La Quinta Resort & Club you will find The Desert Classic Concours D’Elegance firmly parked from February 25-28 where over 150 classic cars will be on display, as well as other exhibits including private collections, all highlighting automotive prestige and excellence. Scrumptious fine food and drink with an assortment of exquisite art, jewelry and more, will supply added enjoyment to the show. Proceeds benefit desert charities. Additional info is at www.desertconcours.com. And in March, the 2010 BNP Paribus Open runs from the eighth through the 21, with the best of the best tennis stars struttin’ their stuff on the courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens, www.bnpparibasopen.org.

We can all click our heels again and go home now, but I think I’ll leave mine on for a bit, because as a resident of the Coachella Valley I am home, and there’s no place like it.

W

hile we wait for a spectacular bloom of wildflowers this spring, the desert is already alive in literature! First comes historical fiction author Robin Maxwell's latest epic —O, Juliet—with a retelling of the Bard's Romeo and Juliet. The novel is already creating quite a stir.

"A page-turner that will leave you breathless," writes Lalita Tademy, bestselling author. "Not many writers would dare to compete with William Shakespeare. But Robin Maxwell pulls it off.

Her star-crossed young lovers are just as unforgettable as the Bard's, and now readers get to see what happens off-stage," raves bestselling author Sharon Kay Penman. “A reigning queen of historical fiction takes on the treasured tale of Romeo and Juliet in a tribute that would make Shakespeare stand up and cheer...

I love this book!" exclaims bestselling author Michelle Moran.

Verily, you get the idea, we doth believeth. Pipes Canyon's own Bardess appears to have another hit on her hands. Barnes & Noble and Borders have O, Juliet featured—just perfect for Valentine's Day! As if that's not enough, O, Juliet now has its own iPhone app, while a story Robin has written on The Huffington Post has gotten picked up by bloggarians all around the Internet, and The O,Juliet Love Poetry Competition deadline has been extended to April 1 (for all you fools out there). Check it all out at www.robinmaxwell.com.

Speaking of Shakespeare, sort of, the English Speaking Union's Desert Branch competition is right around the corner at the Pollock Theater, College of the Desert, February 12. Students from quite a few desert high schools from Twentynine Palms to Indio, will be competing in Palm Desert, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., for the chance to go to the national competition at The Lincoln Center. Should one of our desert students take that title, then it's off to England for a summer acting course.

Students must memorize a Shakespeare sonnet and perform one of the Bard's great monologues. Unfortunately, performing a monologue from O, Juliet will not be acceptable. This year.

ADVANCED HEARING AIDS (760) 365-0691 Ellin Loveless, BC-HIS FREE CONSULTATION

Former Sun Runner writing columnist Mary Sojourner has a couple books coming out. One is Going Through Ghosts, a novel Publishers Weekly calls "suspenseful and finely observed... reaches deeply into Native American lore as it pursues an unlikely friendship between two hard-luck women—one living, one dead." It's a spiritual journey through smoky casinos and the Mojave, launched from a heinous murder, and it'll be out this month from the University of Nevada Press.

Sojourner's other book is her memoir/self-help book, She Bets Her Life: A True Story of Gambling Addiction, due out in May on Seal Press. Literary Editor Delphine Lucas has already digested an advance copy and says it's a strong book, full of information and insight into the world of gambling addiction. That's good news for the six to eight million gambling addicts estimated to exist in the U.S. (half are women). Mary paid her own price to write this book, and if someone you know has a gambling problem, get a copy, read it, and share it with them so they can stop betting their life.

Meanwhile, Marli Renfro Peterson is the subject of a new book by bestselling author Robert Graysmith. Marli became one of the most iconic body doubles the movies have ever known—she was Janet Leigh's nude body double in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Marli made headlines again in 1988—when she was raped and murdered by a serial killer with a serious Psycho fetish. But, then if she's dead, why did she e-mail us? Well, she's lived in the desert since 1970, so anything's possible, I suppose. Hmmmmm.....

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February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 25

26 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Our top 29 for 29 * Explore Joshua Tree National Park * Visit a real oasis - or two (or three, or…) * Learn about local history in a one room schoolhouse * Chill poolside to cool music with a cooler drink in hand * Treat the kids to a real drive-in movie * Count the stars in the Milky Way * Experience the glory that can be a desert sunrise * Relive that glory at sunset * Listen to real, uncontaminated silence * Look for petroglyphs and signs of past civilizations * Pet a teddy bear cholla (just kidding no petting allowed!) * Drink deep from a pure desert aquifer * See how many desert wildflowers you can find * Look at natural light in a whole new way * Feel that naturally warming sun on your back * Tell Huell Howser hi for us if you see him * Get a Marine haircut or tattoo * Check out local art - and make your own * Get your picture taken next to the “Next Services 100 Miles” sign * Forget what you did and where you came from before you got here * Realize that you can be yourself here and it’ll be just fine * Take in a classic local event like the Weed Show or Pioneer Days * Check out the trees and palms for baby owls * Listen for the howl of a coyote * Relax. No, we mean it. Seriously. Relax. * Yell, “Beep-beep!” when you see a roadrunner * Dream desert dreams * Watch the shadows get longer and the mountains turn purple * Do absolutely nothing.

And enjoy every minute of it.

wn

ro

by Steve B

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 27

B

ack when technology was all shiny and new, it promised the hope of a future filled to the brim with leisure time and the opportunity to spend our days partaking in creative endeavors of our choosing. We would live like gods, our new friend whispered, in homes cleaned by themselves, with happy, content families, and funny, endearing pets with cute names, and work would be a breeze—all thanks to our new pal, technology.

Somewhere along that journey, we began to find that when technology worked as intended—and huge industries sprung up to deal with the fact that often it didn’t—we were its slaves, dashing about trying to keep up with the automated production line our own inventions had created. Our “friend” had turned out to be more like that second cousin who showed up one day to crash on our couch for the night, and six months later is still there, watching TV and eating us out of house and home. This helpful technology, and the upbeat urban society it brought with it, was turning us (and still is) into manic machines—stressfilled, medicated, insomniac, road-raged automatons, crammed together in giant urban hell-holes where the sirens never stop, and the stars don’t shine.

28 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

But there are gaps in that sorry reality (plenty of them out here in the desert), and one of these escape hatches opens straight down Route 62 to the city of Twentynine Palms. We’ll call Twentynine Palms a “city” because it possesses that form of local government, but for those of you from one of those megalopolized rat mazes also called cities, I’ve got a feeling Twentynine Palms will look a bit more like a rambling rural town. I thought about calling it a village for a moment, but that’s not quite it. Joshua Tree sometimes call itself a village, but something always bothers me about that. I always think of a village having water of some sort. Call me crazy, but that’s stuck in my head. (Yeah, you might just call me crazy, but which one of us paid $800,000 for a two bedroom ranch house?)

So, when it all gets just a bit too much down in the ol’ megalophiphopolis, just hop yourself into whatever politically correct car you urban types drive these days, and escape! We won’t tell anyone that cell phones do work up here (well, about half the time...), so turn that danged thing off. You do not need to text anyone while you are here.

Pop in some classic Glenn Patrik, Juke Logan, or Kal David blues in the nigh obsolete CD player (or your iPod), and motor on out our way. As you head up Highway 62 (you can call it Route 62, State Route 62, Highway 62, the Twentynine Palms Highway, or, just, “the highway,” or “62”) from Interstate 10 near Palm Springs, and wind your way up through the mountains to Morongo Valley, then up the “Yucca Grade” to Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and on eastward, that reality of morning meetings, conference calls, iPhones, and deadlines just starts getting thinner and thinner, until at last, you can actually see the Joshua trees, the mountains, and the vast vista before you with its endless blue sky. The veil of contemporary American reality has been lifted.

Welcome to the hi-desert.

Take your time on the journey. Decompress. Grab a little fruit in Morongo. Browse some cool artsy antique places in Yucca. Stop off for a scone, or some warm, yummy olive bread at Teacakes Bakery in JT. Start taking in your surroundings— the Dr. Seussish Joshua trees, the almost accidental looking attempt at urbanization in Yucca, the funked-out, rock climbingly artsy one-upmanship of JT. There’s lots to explore, but you’re here to chill. Any exploring you do, do at your own pace.

As you roll into Twentynine Palms, or simply “29” as folks around here call it, you’ll notice it’s scruffy, somewhat unrefined appearance. Nah, it isn’t Sedona, and there aren’t any pink Jeeps to take you around to the vortexes—for a price.

But the desert here has a subtle, captivating side to it. Often, people used to looking, or rather not looking, at the world around them, can’t see what the desert has to offer. Sometimes, it helps to have a guide, and that’s where this magazine comes in. This magazine was born in Twentynine Palms, back in January, 1995. Twentynine Palms had long been a draw for artists who found the dramatic vistas with their seemingly endless views and stunning play of light, color, texture, and shadow, intoxicating. Artists like John Hilton and artists in the making, like actor James Cagney, liked to hang out here.

But in 1994, a movement had gotten underway to incorporate artistic sensibility with local history and the community. A renaissance of sorts, was underway, and Vickie Waite launched The Sun Runner to cover its progress, and to support it.

Wandering east on 62, you’ll first come to the Indian Cove area of 29 where you can take in some great desert art at A Roadside Attraction (Say hi to Electra for us!), nab a sandwich or ice cream at the Indian Cove Market, and browse through massive piles of books stuffed into tiny Ravensbooks, for that hard-to-find, out of print favorite. If you want some unique

reading material for your stay, you can find it here.

As you head east, notice that the town limits really proclaim themselves with a Simi Dabah sculpture greeting you alongside the highway, followed by some excellent Chuck Caplinger wildlife murals a little farther on.

After you crest Donnell Hill and glide slowly into the downtown area, you’ll see (if you look to your right), an imposing “29!” sculpture, and then, one by one, you’ll discover the murals of the Action Council of Twentynine Palms that cover the outer walls of many local buildings, while sharing images and stories of 29’s history.

Sadly, the first mural of local pioneers, Bill and Frances Keys (who deserve a whole issue unto themselves), is slated to be demolished to make way for another corporate drugstore. If you get here in time, you can see it on the right (it’s right there now!). The mural, painted by the Sawatzkys of Chemainus, British Columbia in 1994, marked the beginning of 29’s transformation into an “Oasis of Murals.”

If you haven’t already, find yourself a place to bunk.

Twentynine Palms has the whole spectrum of lodging facilities, from funky independent small motels, to large chain hotels, a stone manor house bed and breakfast, to adobe cottages around a real desert oasis. Most have a good to excellent view, and if you like quiet, you can find it. Oh, and pools tend to be readily available. Kicking back poolside with a hi-desert sunset glowing up the mountains is something you can take with you and deposit in the bank of ahhhhhhhh...

If you’re like me, after two, three weeks of chilling by the pool, you get a bit restless, and eventually will even become motivated to find your shoes so you can go out and take in a little local color. If you want to do a little town safari, you can pick up a map for a self-guided mural tour of Twentynine Palms at a number of locations throughout the hi-desert, or you can opt for a guided tour on Saturdays. For $17.50, the tour takes you around to all 21 murals, as well as The Old Schoolhouse Museum, the 29 Palms Art Gallery, and includes lunch at the historic 29 Palms Inn at the Oasis of Mara. It’s a bargain, and chances are you just might find this little burg pretty interesting.

Tours leave the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce offices at 11 a.m. on Saturdays. Reservations are advised.

If you choose to go it alone, or if you aren’t in town on Saturday, you may want to take in the tour’s stops anyway. If you can find your shoes.

The Old Schoolhouse Museum is home to the Twentynine Palms Historical Society and is an excellent stop to give yourself a little grounding in local history. Walk through the city’s original 1927 one-room schoolhouse (which became a two-room schoolhouse, and has since been moved and expanded upon for the current museum facility), and learn about jackrabbit homesteads, pioneer life, mining and more (there’s a great little gift shop). The museum offers an excellent lecture program in collaboration with The Desert Institute, and the first full weekend in November marks the annual celebration of the Weed Show (a desert must-see).

The roots, so to speak, of the Weed Show date back to 1940, when the Women’s Club of Twentynine Palms invited Mildred Bryant Brooks, a Pasadena printmaker, to lecture on the art of etching. The ladies of the town were reportedly embarrassed by a lack of fresh flowers with which to honor their guest, and were said to have apologized to Brooks. Brooks reportedly responded with, “Why do you need fresh flowers when you have so many beautiful weeds?”

The Weed Show debuted the following year, and is now a true desert classic in its own right.

Next door (desert style—not too close, but within wander-

Twentynine Palms has long been a destination for artists and that history continues today. Galleries like A Roadside Attraction, the 29 Palms Art Gallery (in a beautiful old adobe), and the vibrant 29 Palms Creative Center, keep alive 29’s special relationship with the arts. Murals abound, courtesy of the Action Council, and you can even design your own hi-desert souvenir with Creative Center artist/ proprietress Gretchen Grunt, above.

I f y o u ’ re i n t e re s t e d i n e v e r y t h i n g f ro m d e s e r t geology and history, to Native American rock art and uses of plants, then the Desert Institute offers a wide variety of opportunities to delve deeper. Or, if you’re short on time, join naturalist Pat Flanagan for a Oasis of Mara nature walk on Saturday and Sunday mornings, weather permitting. These free walks are an excellent introduction to desert ecology and life at the oasis. Meet at the 29 Palms Inn at 8:30 a.m. It’s good to call ahead and reserve a spot: (760)367-3505.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 29

Don’t feel that you need to look hard to get a glimpse of desert beauty. Whether it’s the owls of Roughley Manor, top left inset, the Oasis of Mara, top, or the magic of a passing desert storm and the rainbow that comes after, above, let the desert come to you. You can just kick back and soak it up.

As dusk falls in the desert, travel back in time to the days of drive-in movies at Smith’s Ranch, enjoy live local music poolside at the 29 Palms Inn, or head off to Wonder Valley or Joshua Tree National Park to stargaze. While we can’t guarantee your wishes will come true, you’ll likely get the chance to make a few on falling stars.

30 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

ing distance) to the museum is the 29 Palms Art Gallery, run by the 29 Palms Artists’ Guild (founded in 1951). It awaits in a historic 1937 adobe building. The guild is the oldest arts organization in the Morongo Basin (we call this area up here the Morongo Basin, or the hi-desert, though some newcomers try to correct us from the error of our misspelled ways by changing that to high desert), and there are rotating shows of featured artists and guild members year-round, accompanied by another excellent little gift shop, classes, and other events.

If it’s art you’re still looking for, then after a visit to the 29 Palms Art Gallery, it’s time to head over to the 29 Palms Creative Center & Gallery on Adobe Road. The Creative Center is host to artist Anna Houghton (paintings, dolls, jewelry), Mikal Winn (superb bling jewelry and sculptures), and artist, proprietress and printmaker extraordinaire, Gretchen Grunt. Art openings here always seem to generate lighthearted delightful parties filled with great art and music. Gretchen frequently holds classes on a variety of printmaking styles, and if you are planning a trip, contact her in advance for a private session and take home a unique work of desert art all your own. A laid back afternoon of printmaking with Gretchen should cheer just about anyone up. Not only is she a great artist and a decent human being, but she’s also a heck of a lot of fun. Remember—you have to leave her here when you go.

Next door to the Creative Center, pause for a moment at the Chemehuevi Cemetery and ponder the life, human and otherwise, that this Oasis of Mara has supported for thousands of years (Geologist Ana Cadena from the University of Central Washington oversaw an excavation at the oasis in 2003. The 220 foot trench confirmed human occupation of the area for at least several thousand years). Look toward the palms of the oasis and say a silent prayer or blessing for those who have made this desert their home and whom lie here in its soil.

While the Chemehuevi, Cahuilla, and Serrano tribes may have gone from the oasis (the famed Willie Boy incident of 1909 helped seal their move from these lands), the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians still have a 160 acre reservation at the foot of the hills to the south. There are plans for a casino and RV park there, but then, the desert is filled with plans…

If you’ve worked up an appetite—or thirst, for that matter—head on over to the 29 Palms Inn. You can walk the back way along the oasis from the Creative Center if Gretchen will show you the path.

Family owned and operated since 1928, and with roots that date back to the turn of the century (the 19th to 20th century, that is), the Inn is a great place to stop off for lunch, dinner, or Sunday brunch. It’s also one of the best places to stay in 29. At the Inn, you can relax in the quaint adobe bungalows, cabins, and cottages around the grounds—perfect for a romantic getaway, a base for outdoor adventure, or a family stay. Guests receive complimentary sweet breads, muffins, coffee and juice poolside in the morning.

Lunch and dinner offer excellent fare, often with vegetables and fruit from the Inn’s own garden. Drink water from the oasis, hang out at the pool with one of the Inn’s specialty cocktails, walk down to the pond and feed the ducks. Dinner hours bring out live music from desert musicians (you’ve gotta catch Beverly & Bill—they’re great fun), and a festive oasis ambience as the shadows lengthen across the mountains. At dinner, keep an eye out for Hollywood celebrities who frequent the Inn, but remember—they’re here to escape from paparazzi and ardent fans, so the local policy is to give them the space they’re looking for. From Joni Mitchell and Robert Plant, to Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Viggo Mortensen, they’re all here to relax. Please let them. Who knows? You may be a

star someday, and you’ll want to tan incognito at the Inn.

Near the Inn, at the eastern end of the Oasis of Mara, is the Oasis Visitor Center for Joshua Tree National Park, which also serves as headquarters for the National Park Service staff of the park. It’s here where you can get advice on hikes, drives, and park information (and yes, it has a great little gift shop, maps, and more). Joshua Tree National Park offers extraordinary opportunities to explore pioneer and mining history, incredible geology, wildlife, wildflowers (the spring of 2010 should be a rapturous delight), rock climbing, hiking, camping, a variety of ranger-led activities, and much more. It even boasts not one, but two desert ecosystems, the Mojave (higher, slightly cooler, and wetter), and the Colorado (lower, dryer, and toastier).

The park, however, offers no services inside its vast boundaries (nearly 800,000 acres). Fill up your gas tank in 29 before wandering into the park, and bring plenty of water with you. Dehydration is no joke in the desert. Pick up some food before you go at the Ranch Market, Stater Bros., or Wonder Garden Cafe, and have a picnic on an ancient boulder, in a silent canyon, or atop Ryan Mountain. But leave no trash behind!

Always treat the desert with respect.

If you wind up bushed from your hike up Malapais Hill in the park, or you just want to take in a movie, head on down Adobe Road to Smith’s Ranch Drive-In. That’s right, drivein. If you don’t count the Marine base at the northern end of Adobe Road (OK, technically it is the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, an enormous parcel of land with everything from fake Iraqi villages, to an urban warfare training city.

Feel a rumbling beneath your feet? That may be the fault that runs through the oasis, or it may be our Marines training in preparation for yet another deployment to some exotic vacation destination), Smith’s Ranch is the only movie theater in 29, and one of a dwindling number of classic American drive-ins that play first run films (it recently hosted Avatar, of course).

If live theatre is your thing, then wander over to Theatre 29, an excellent, family-friendly theatre with consistently enjoyable productions. Halloween brings a special treat when the theatre turns into a haunted world of horror! This year’s offering will be the Horrorwood House of Wax, produced by Eric Ross.

Other offering this 2010 season include Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, Walmartopia, Aesop’s Oh So Slightly Updated Fables, The Pajama Game, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and the First Christmas. A little something for everybody.

Don’t forget though—after the movie or play, the real show begins. Find someplace away from the city’s ambient lighting and lean back. Yeah, that’s the Milky Way up there. Watch the dark desert night sky carefully. You’ll be making a wish or two on some falling stars before you drift off to sleep tonight!

There’s nothing like watching the stars overhead with your special snuggly someone while listening to the distant howl of the coyote, and the soft muffled “who, who” of the owl.

Twentynine Palms makes for a great base for an exploration of the hi-desert, and much of the rest of the Mojave Desert and Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area. Not that you need to go anywhere. Besides, where are those shoes, anyway?

From 29, you can head east out 62 into really rural Wonder Valley where the scattered remnants of the area’s mining past still await. With the right vehicle, and properly prepared, you can explore some of the dirt roads that head off to dry lake beds, distant mines in the mountains, and great wildflower viewing spots (look for the elusive desert lily out on Ironage Road).

You can day trip east on 62 all the way to Parker, Arizona, and the Colorado River. Stop at Rice (the burned-out, wrecked gas station marks its downtown) and visit the shoe/bra/underwear tree, and realize this is all that is left of a community that February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 31

once numbered in the thousands, and then was an Army camp for General Patton’s trainees in World War II.

You can head up Amboy Road to Route 66, to the Amboy Crater, the Mojave National Preserve, the singing sands of the Kelso Dunes, Mitchell Caverns—hear the lone road calling!

Or stick closer to town. Drive back on out to the Indian Cove area and hike to 49 Palms Oasis, one of our favorite walks, where you can take in a beautiful palm oasis in a rugged canyon setting. Pull up a boulder and play lizard in the sun!

From Indian Cove, you can wander to Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, Morongo Valley, Landers, and Pioneertown, which all offer their own desert experiences for the adventuresome traveler. Maybe a juicy mesquite-barbecued ribeye steak, with cheese fries and a margarita is calling to you from the adobe roadhouse of Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, in rustic Pioneertown. There’s live music there usually five nights a week, and it’s always a pleasure to stroll Mane Street of this old Hollywood movie town. Pretend you’re Hopalong Cassidy!

If you want to dine in 29, the Inn, Bistro 29, and choices from comfort food to ethnic eats await (You’ve just gotta love the Carousel!). For the adventurous, a drive out into Wonder Valley to The Palms might prove to be a memorable experience (I love The Palms, and their BBQ ribs are downright tasty).

Or, you can simply settle in by the pool at one of 29’s welcoming hotels and sink into the warmth of our friendly sun, and do nothing at all. You’re not in that other world of guzzling energy drinks and running to appointments anymore. You’re in Twentynine Palms. Here, you can just do nothing—and do it well. Make yourself at home.

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oughley Manor is a bed and breakfast inn that must be experienced to be truly appreciated. Finished in 1928, it is constructed of local stone and the interior is sumptuous but tastefully finished. There are 12 rooms with two suites upstairs in the main house and 10 rooms about the grounds, all with kitchenettes and well-appointed.

The manor’s main house is three stories tall and each of the suites enjoys a private bath and sitting room. Downstairs, the great room is an inviting spot to relax with its large fireplace.

The Manor sits on 21 acres with Washingtonia palms that are 70 to 80 years old, casting plentiful shade on the grounds.

The “beards” of the trees are not trimmed as they often are in municipal settings. Here they grow naturally. Tamarisk and other trees also provide shade and create a tranquil space.

Amidst the tranquility of the gardens are two Great Horned Owls that have been nesting here every year for the past 15 years. The babies are born around mid-March or so and stay 32 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

"If it's good enough for Bono it should be good enough for you."

– Guest review wentynine Palms gets its share of celebrities and creative types looking to get away from it all, or to charge themselves with those bolts of inspiration that seem to zap folks out here frequently (must be static electricity in the air). The Harmony Motel, on the west side of 29 Palms, is no exception. The Harmony provides the perfect grounds for an escape from one's ordinary existence, with its welcoming, well appointed rooms, and its stunning views of the mountains of Joshua Tree National Park.

Maybe that's why U2 made the Harmony their home while they crafted their legendary Joshua Tree album. The movie Crazy Beautiful was shot here, as was the classic desert B-flick, Route 666. Celebs like Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman) and Charles Shaughnessy (The Nanny), can be found here from time to time too. You can't argue with that spectrum of creative energy!

This is a small, cozy, owner-operated motel, with roomy rooms, some with kitchenettes, if you want to handle your own grub while composing the next great rock album (and a motel break room for those who just want a cup of coffee or the ability to make a light meal or picnic lunch to take on an outing).

There's even the Jack Kerouac Cabin that sleeps four.

With Harmony’s incredibly affordable rates, you may go into shock. To help you revive, take a plunge in the pool, or plop yourself down in the spa. Both enjoy that stunning view of the mountains that comes with Harmony, and are perfect spots to enjoy hi-desert sunrises and sunsets—two of the best shows on earth!

Harmony is close to Indian Cove, and the trailhead to 49 Palms Oasis, as well as the east entrance to Joshua Tree National Park and the Oasis Visitors Center. The Harmony Motel makes a great base for exploring 29 Palms, Joshua Tree National Park, and the rest of the hi-desert.

T

around through mid-July.

The spacious gazebo presents a romantic setting with a view of the rose garden that contains 107 rose bushes. The aroma can be intoxicating. The patio offers an exquisite dining area surrounding the five-tier fountain. A new pool and hot tub also provide for guest relaxation.

Whether it is romancing your soul, or romancing the soul of someone you love, the history here provides you with the path to make time slip away and worries to fade. Elizabeth Crozer Campbell, with her husband Bill, gave life to this manor.

Beginning in December, 1924, as a homestead dream, they built with their own hands this exquisite sanctuary.

Roughley Manor is only minutes away from Joshua Tree National Park. Whether you want to explore, or just enjoy the grand luxury of doing nothing at all, Roughley Manor is the place for a luxurious base camp.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 33

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n December 21, 2009 United States Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced the Desert Protection Act of 2010.

In her words, it is “Legislation to Balance Conservation, Recreation, and Renewable Energy Development in the Mojave Desert.” How did it get started and what will it do?

The bill was developed after lengthy evaluation of competing desert interests by Senator Feinstein and her staff. They consulted with military bases which use the desert for important training, county governments, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Park Service, off-highway vehicle users, Native American leaders, mining interests, desert biologists and other scientists, conservation organizations, and business owners.

California Wilderness Coalition (CWC) was a lead player in supporting the Bill and has shared with us some of the history. It started in 1994.

Senator Feinstein’s California Desert Protection Act of 1994 protected over seven million acres of desert landscape as wilderness and created Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, and the Mojave National Preserve. Although controversial at the time, these protected areas have since proven highly popular on the national and international stage.

But there was unfinished business. At the time of the 1994 Act the U. S. Army was working to expand its base at Fort Irwin to accommodate modern, large-geography defense training techniques. At the time a number of wilderness study areas near Fort Irwin were under serious consideration for environmental protection including the Avawatz Mountains, Kingston Range, Soda Mountains, Cady Mountains, and the “Bowling Alley” on 34 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

the southern border of Death Valley National Park.

Thus, the time was not yet right for permanent protection of these areas in case they might be needed for national defense training purposes. Environmental groups, Senator Feinstein, and Congressman Jerry Lewis had an understanding that these potential wilderness areas would be left off the table until Fort Irwin finished its expansion plans.

In 2002, after the Fort Irwin expansion was completed, CWC asked Senator Feinstein’s office to start looking at the remaining study areas for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. This began a lengthy analysis of desert lands, including numerous on-the-ground investigations and evaluations of each proposed site by CWC to determine the present status of affected interests and how to accommodate those interests in a balanced bill.

CWC completed its initial assessment of the proposed protected areas, and in 2007 it invited Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Deputy State Director, James Peterson, and the Senator’s field representative for San Bernardino County, Chris Carrillo, on a tour of the Fort Irwin wilderness areas. They were excited by what they saw and learned.

Other conservation organizations and important desert constituents joined in the effort and helped to compile a list of areas to be considered for wilderness designation. They ranged from Inyo County to Imperial County.

The Senator’s staff set forth certain conditions which had to be considered for a bill which would balance the interests of all desert users. With respect to wilderness designation: (a) they had to be inside the boundaries of the BLM’s California

Desert Conservation Area (a vast desert region comprising about 20 percent of California), and (b) they had to have a history of conflict that had prevented them from being included in the 1994 legislation and which had since been resolved.

Between April and August, 2007 Senator Feinstein’s staff traveled over 3,600 miles and visited each area. CWC’s carefully designed evaluation criteria identified every known or potential conflict of use, whether mining, military, off-highway vehicle, utility rights of way, historic sites, trails, and even marijuana farms. Many conflicts were identified and resolved in a balanced way with assistance from CWC members, other conservation groups, OHV enthusiasts, the Lone Pine Paiutes, Big Pine Paiutes, Timbisha Shoshone Indians, Quechan tribal members, and others.

In September, 2008 Senator Feinstein met with desert leaders and resolved to introduce a desert bill. However, she laid down a laundry list of questions to be answered and conflicts to be resolved among the many different desert users. But the political land use game was now changing.

By 2008, a new national need for alternative energy had emerged and it set off a frenzy of solar and wind applications.

Some have called it the California Energy Gold Rush.

A QUICK SURVEY OF THE PROPOSED DESERT PROTECTION ACT OF 2010

Senator Dianne Feinstein’s bill will: ● Establish a 941,413 acre Mojave Trails National Monument along the southern boundary of the Mojave National Preserve; ● Establish a 133,524 acre Sand to Snow National Monument from Joshua Tree National Park to the San Bernardino National Forest; ● Establish permanent federally designated recreation status for four off-highway recreation areas; ● Initiate sensible planning for the Johnson Valley OHV area that would allow for the Marines to consider an option for base expansion that would allow for an exclusive military use area, an exclusive OHV use area, and a joint use area; ● Expand four federal wilderness areas and add three new ones; ● Establish a 75,575 acre Vinagre Wash Special Management Area to protect special ecological resources and cultural areas in Imperial County; ● Expand Death Valley National Park (40,740 acres), Mojave National Preserve (29,246 acres including Castle Mountains area), and Joshua Tree National Park (2,904 acres); ● Add to the Wild and Scenic River System at the Amargosa River, Deep Creek, Surprise Canyon, and the Whitewater River; ● Prohibit mining on sacred lands of the Quechan Indians; ● Mandate study and protection of the sacred trail system along the Colorado River; ● Protect groundwater resources of the Mojave National Preserve; ● Require the Department of the Interior to study, mitigate and adapt to impacts of climate change including provisions for wildlife migration corridors; and ● Add miscellaneous provisions dealing with isolated state lands, Anza Borrego State Park, donated lands, and a small airport in Imperial County; ● Provide for an improved and streamlined process for the permitting of large-scale wind and solar development on public and private lands; ● Require BLM, the Forest Service, and the military to complete environmental impact statements for programs to develop renewable energy on federal lands;

Avawatz Mountains proposed wilderness, by John Ditli.

● Provide for loan guarantees to encourage innovative, efficient, and ecologically friendly electric transmission technology; ● Direct 25 percent of renewable energy project revenues to state government, and 25 percent to counties in order to provide resources for public land planning, management and resource protection.

THE CALIFORNIA ENERGY GOLD RUSH The world energy picture has changed. Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy put it in simple terms: “Cheap energy has been the foundation of the rise of American power in the last 100 years.” But that cheap energy has proven to be seriously polluting, and, in the case of oil, in rapidly diminishing supply.

“My fear is that we don’t appreciate that. We don’t understand that. And in the next 10 years to 100 years, as a result of our failure to take advantage of all the energy that is latent in our country today—wind, solar, nuclear, and natural gas—we will lose that economic leadership because we will no longer be able to rely on the cheap energy that we’ve had.”

And there are emerging national security issues. Huge sums of American capital are funding oil purchases from foreign countries, many of them hostile to American interests.

To further confuse the nation’s public policy future, climate change will be bringing dangerous environmental and social changes in the next 30 to 50 years. Rising sea levels, flooding, and drought will bring hunger, thirst, and mass migrations of displaced populations. This will stoke wars and breed terrorism. As Marine General Anthony Zunni has said: “ We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today—or we will pay the price later in military terms.”

The country has responded with a rising crescendo of hope for the solutions of alternative energy. With its abundant solar, wind, and geothermal resources, the California energy gold rush began. On September 15, 2009 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order 5-21-09 directing the Air Resources Board to adopt regulations increasing the required alternative energy sources of regulated utilities to 33 percent by 2020. Parallel California regulations were put in place to reduce red tape and mandate easier environmental compliance with California endangered species laws and other state-mandated regulations.

California state government was off to a good start. But initial federal planning on the desert’s vast BLM lands was hodge-podge at best. By the beginning of 2009 there were over 100 major applications for solar installations in the desert.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 35

Buzzard’s Peak proposed wilderness, by John Dittli.

They covered over a million acres or 1,565 square miles of the California Desert Conservation Act lands. But something was missing. Initial planning gave little attention to important biological resources or “quality of life” values for scenery, open space, or cultural resources.

Staff at the California Energy Commission has indicated that only 128,000 acres or 200 square miles are needed to meet California’s solar power generating needs. And there were other logical matters to consider. It makes sense to develop lands which are on already disturbed lands and near to existing transmission lands. And solar thermal developments which are favored by large energy companies use a great deal of water—a scarce commodity in the desert.

The BLM is responding to criticism and studying over 350,000 acres for suitability for renewable energy projects.

Their standards include the avoidance of sensitive environmental areas and their goal is considerably in excess of the 128,000 acres which California estimates is needed. There will be plenty of land for alternative energy production. The special areas are known as Solar Energy Zones and include none of the lands slated for protection in Senator Feinstein’s bill.

And then there is the Catellus issue.

BROKEN PROMISES In 1862 Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act which gave vast amounts of land to the railroads for building new rail systems. They soon acquired checkerboard patterns of land throughout the West. The Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroad formed a subsidiary, Catellus Corporation, to take ownership of its lands in the Mojave Desert.

In the 1990s the Wildlands Conservancy initiated activity 36 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

to acquire these desert lands from Catellus and convey them to the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service for permanent protection. Senator Feinstein and David Myers of the Wildlands Conservancy were the leaders of this effort.

From 1999 through 2004 they arranged for the acquisition of approximately 600,000 acres from Catellus. They successfully raised $45 million of private donations, a five million dollar discount from Catellus, and $18 million in federal Land and Water Conservation funds.

But the California Energy Gold Rush created huge pressures and caused the federal land managers to break the promises of permanent protection in the Catellus acquisition. Eleven solar applications were made on the Catellus lands, including one by a partnership which included conservation icon Robert Kennedy, Jr. as a key figure.

Senator Feinstein objected. “Earlier this year [2009] I learned that Bureau of Land Management had accepted numerous applications to build vast solar and wind energy projects on former railroad lands owned by Catellus Corporation that had been donated to the federal government or acquired with taxpayer funds for conservation…. I believe the development of these new cleaner energy sources is vital to addressing the climate change, yet we must be careful about selecting where these facilities are located….We have an obligation to honor our commitment to conserve these lands—and I believe we can still accomplish that goal while also fulfilling California’s commitment to develop a clean energy portfolio. There are many places in the California desert where development and employment are essential and appropriate. But there are also places that future generations will thank us for setting aside.”

Accordingly, Senator Feinstein added to the desert bill a provision to protect former Catellus lands and other unique sites

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 37

DESIGNATED OFF-HIGHWAY RECREATION AREAS In an unprecedented boost for off-highway vehicle users, the bill designates five existing areas, totaling 314,000 acres, as permanent off-highway vehicle recreation areas. BLM lands under consideration for expansion of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms would not be incorporated into the Johnson Valley OHV area until it is determined that they are not needed for military training.

KEY SUPPORT FOR THE BILL

Bighorn sheep. Photo by David Lamfrom.

such as key portions of famed Route 66. It will be known as Mojave Trails National Monument. In order to protect solar power companies which had filed applications on these lands, the bill grants to these developers rights of first refusal on lands within the BLM’s Solar Energy Zones.

CUTTING THE RED TAPE FOR ENERGY DEVELOPERS The Desert Protection Act includes a range of provisions to expedite energy development. Special Renewable Energy Permitting Offices will be established with the specific goals of enabling agreements with states to facilitate energy permits and to cut the red tape from Endangered Species Act permits with federal agencies. Programmatic environmental impact statements would be required so that individual permits would not be needed for each project. The Department of Defense would be charged with studying the ability to site renewable energy production on military lands.

Other positive changes for energy development dealing with loan guarantees and grants for transmission facilities are included in the bill. And the bill adds a provision for establishing an endowed fund for at least 200,000 acres of desert land to be used for habitat for endangered and threatened species, thus offsetting the environmental effect of habitat lost to solar development.

San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry, a supporter of Senator Feinstein’s bill.

Great Falls Basin proposed wilderness, below. Photo by Tom Budlong.

At the time of introduction of the Bill, it had the support from a broad array of county supervisors, energy companies, and conservation organizations such as the California Wilderness Coalition, the Wildlands Conservancy, the Wilderness Society, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Mojave Desert Land Trust, Friends of the Desert Mountains, Friends of Big Morongo Canyon, the Route 66 Preservation Foundation, and others.

San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry was impressed by the balanced and forward looking character of the bill and commented: “It creates in perpetuity an area for off-road vehicle use; It insures that the Marine Corps Base in Twentynine Palms will have the ability to expand; It sets aside BLM land and ensures that it is kept in a pristine state for future generations and is not turned into a hodge-podge checkerboard of energy production areas which is currently being proposed in our desert; It identifies transmission corridors to ensure that we don’t get a dozen Green Paths North in our desert but that they are along existing rights-of-way that are already used; Identifies areas for renewable energy and sets aside space for it that does not affect either endangered species or the flora and fauna of the desert and requires generally, as I understand it, to be on previously disturbed land; [Regarding tourism] …it certainly creates a larger destination for greater opportunities for the public as well as national and international tourists; There are certain long distance off-road territories that will remain open; The interests of the 3rd District are being met, not just for tomorrow or 10 years from now, but for decades to come.”

April Sall of the Wildlands Conservancy, a pioneering leader of the fight to prevent the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power from an ill planned energy land grab (“Green Path”) indicated: “...Feinstein Bill is a balanced bill that provides for both renewable energy and conservation values; …it directs energy development in more appropriate places than the scattershot approach that is presently covering the desert; the two national monuments will bring tourism dollars to the local desert communities; the Route 66 component of the Mojave Trails National Monument is going to be an internationally recognized benefit . . . you know it was the American westward expansion road.”

ROBERT KENNEDY, JR., ENVIRONMENTAL ICON SPEAKS OUT— BUT HAS HE CONNECTED THE DOTS? In December, 2005, Robert Kennedy, Jr. (an environmental lawyer and law professor) spoke out against the Cape Wind windmill farm in Nantucket Sound: “ …some places should be off limits to any sort of industrial development. I wouldn’t build

38 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Partial List of Supporters of the Desert Protection Act 2010

Senator Dianne Feinstein, author of the Desert Protection Act 2010, with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

a wind farm in Yosemite National Park….environmental groups should be wary of lending support to energy companies that are trying to privatize the commons….the project is financially feasible only because of the federal and state governments have promised $241 million in subsidies. All of us need to periodically experience wilderness to renew our spirits and reconnect ourselves to the common history of our nation.”

But by October, 2009, Kennedy arrived at a different way of thinking about alternative energy. Of course, at the time he was a partner at Vantage Point Venture Partners, which has BrightSource Energy in its portfolio of assets. It so happens that BrightSource is one of a handful of companies which had been planning on building a huge solar plant on the land encompassed by the Mojave Trails National Monument. That firm would have to relocate to another site, using the right of first refusal on other sites granted in the Feinstein Bill.

Kennedy had this to say: “Senator Feinstein has a bill that is trying to take a lot of land off the table, and we shouldn’t let it happen.”

In its editorial on January 31, 2010, the Desert Sun disagreed. “The views we’ve come to love will be protected for generations. It won’t pull the plug on renewable energy. . . .

There is still plenty of space left. Feinstein’s bill, in fact, would spur solar development by putting proposals on a fast track. . . . In turn, half of the income generated by solar projects on federal land would be used to help streamline the federal appeals process and support land and water conservation.”

Fly fishing Deep Creek, proposed wild scenic river, left, and hikers in Joshua Tree National Park, right.

The California Wilderness Coalition The Wildlands Conservancy The Wilderness Society The National Parks Conservation Association Campaign for America’s Wilderness Friends of the River Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve Friends of the Desert Mountains Mojave Desert Land Trust Desert Protective Council Amargosa Conservancy Death Valley Conservancy Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry Imperial County Supervisor Wally Leimgruber Coachella Valley Association of Governments SummerTree Institute Mojave National Preserve Conservancy Cogentrix Energy Edison International (parent company of Southern California Edison) Route 66 Preservation Foundation Morongo Valley Community Service District Cities Barstow Indio Palm Springs Yucaipa Desert Hot Springs Hesperia San Bernardino Cathedral City Redlands Palm Desert Chambers of Commerce Morongo Valley Chamber of Commerce Joshua Tree Chamber of Commerce 29 Palms Chamber of Commerce Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce For more information about Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Desert Protection Act of 2010 visit Californiadesert.org.

Senate Bill 2921 is available at Thomas.gov.

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40 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 41

Would You Enjoy

a Trip to Hell?...

You Might Enjoy a Trip to Death Valley, Now! It has all the advantages of hell without the inconveniences.”

I

- Death Valley chuck-walla, April 1, 1907

f there is a landscape of the soul, it is that of the desert. Vast, seemingly unending, distant jagged ranges and deep twisted canyons—barren but not lifeless, desolate yet capable of stunningly tremendous beauty. Filled with secrets, clues, pieces of unidentifiable puzzles, past lives, future possibilities, shreds of long forgotten dreams.

Some look and see nothing. But if you can see, you can’t help but be drawn further into this landscape. You may only guess at why, but you go. And if you go far enough, you end up somewhere around Death Valley.

We’re rolling north from that freeway hell-hole called Baker, on Highway 127. Baker exists for Vegas-bound Los Angelenos needing gas, bad food, a restroom, or someone to fix a flat, along Interstate 15. It’s convenient for those purposes, but that’s really about it.

When we travel the desert, we do our best to stay off the freeways. We’ve come up from Joshua Tree through Twentynine Palms, up to Amboy on Route 66, and then up through the Mojave National Preserve, one of our favorite Mojave Desert areas, filled with singing sand dunes, caves, banded mountains, cinder cones, lava tubes, and Joshua tree forests.

Amboy makes for a good rest stop if necessary, and the Amboy Crater is close by for a great day hike (the wildflowers around the crater can be superb, but so can the snakes!). Kelso Depot, along the train tracks in the midst of the Preserve, is also a good stop. The museum at the Depot provides a decent introduction to the preserve, the National Park Service rangers are helpful and friendly, and there is “The Beanery,” a lunch counter in the depot, that serves up tasty enough fare, considering you’re in the middle of nowhere. The depot also screens an introductory film, and has a bookstore, restrooms, and an old jail cell—just in case. Sitting on the lawn under the palms watching the trains go by with your picnic lunch can be a peaceful way to pass an hour or two.

But we’ve kept going, not sure if we were fortified or sickened by the fare at The Mad Greek in Baker. Yeah, there’s a big thermometer on the main drag in town, and I love the façade of The Mad Greek with its statues and Greek flags everywhere, but still, Baker has the feel of a circus carnival that broke down on the side of the road and is still there years later. I’m relieved to leave.

Salt Creek On the way north, we reach the Salt Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Salt Creek’s wetlands and the ruins of pioneering settlements along the Old Spanish Trail (Mormon Road) provide an excellent opportunity for a short hike. Sadly, it seems off-roaders from the nearby Dumont Dunes Off-Highway Vehicle Area occasionally find it necessary to ride through this supposedly protected wetlands. It seems BLM managed wildlands seem to often fall victim to off-road vehicle abuse, as they are usually not staffed or patrolled frequently (the BLM has a huge territory to manage—they can’t be everywhere all the time). Nonetheless, it is worth a stop.

42 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Salt Creek, on the road to Death Valley.

Tecopa Soon, we are rolling into Tecopa, a fun, scrappy little desert town on the east side of Death Valley National Park, just off the highway a couple miles. Here, the draw is the naturally restorative hot springs that have provided relief for centuries to those who bathe in them. While the town is not much to look at, early winter mornings in Tecopa, with its nearby wetlands, provide a breathtaking sight as the first golden light catches on the steam rising in places around Grimshaw Lake.

We head over to the Tecopa Hot Springs Resort. Don’t expect some exclusive snob village here, this is a peoples’ resort, casual, laid-back, and relaxing. The resort office also hosts the Tecopa Basin Artists Group gallery which offers a creatively inspired line-up of shows, as well as arts workshops.

The hot mineral baths at the resort are private, comfortable, and clean, and relaxing in one is a perfect way to end a day of hiking or exploring. But if that’s not enough, there’s massage available, an ozone steam sauna cabinet, mud facials, energy work, a labyrinth, and even star parties. This is one of those places where you could get so relaxed, so comfortable, that you may find your desire to return to “the real world” thoroughly erased. Something tells me that’s how some of the resort’s staff wound up working here.

If you’ve worked up a little hunger out exploring, then head on over to the resort’s Pastels Bistro, a colorful, cozy, funky little restaurant where you feel like a regular even if its your first time. It’s here where chef John Muccio serves up a delicious five star menu that changes weekly. Stay at the resort for a few days and you’ll have your own personal favorites in no time. You can get a late breakfast, lunch, and dinner here most days. There’s no liquor license, but you can bring your own wine with a small corkage fee.

China Ranch Not far from Tecopa is one of my favorite desert locations, and a required stop on any Death Valley trip. The road out to China Ranch Date Farm looks as if you are wandering out across the desert with no destination in sight. Then, you head down a narrow canyon and enter into a magnificent desert oasis—China Ranch Date Farm. This family owned and operated farm produces a variety of dates, ranging from the Deglet Noor, Dayri, Halawy, Khadrawy, and Zahidi, to hybrid dates exclusive to the farm. At their combination bakery and gift shop, open every day except Christmas, you can taste the different varieties, and pick up fresh date bread and the desert’s best date shake.

But that’s not all. China Ranch has trails that range from easy to moderately difficult, which can take you about the farm, with colorful cloth wrapped around ripening dates on the palms, the oasis, or down to the Amargosa River. Our favorite is the four mile round trip Slot Canyon Trail, an excellent hike down

the dramatic river canyon, past an old saloon, the remains of the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad grade, and the Amargosa River itself, to a small slot canyon. Look for mines (the Death Valley area is filled with them), and imagine what this area must have looked like when man first arrived, possibly as early as 30,000 B.C., or when the infamous Los Chaguanosos traveled the Old Spanish Trail through here on their way to steal horses and mules from the Spanish ranchos of California. Listen for the distant echoes of the shots fired by Kit Carson and Alexis Godey, who killed two Indians in China Ranch Canyon while working as scouts for John Fremont’s trip through here in 1843.

Chinaman’s Ranch, as it was once known, got its name from a Chinese man who once grew fruit and vegetables here, and raised meat for sale in the nearby mining camps. The dates arrived in the 1920s, planted by Vonola Modine, daughter of Death Valley pioneer RJ Fairbanks.

You can easily make a day of it at China Ranch, and you’ll be glad you did. Make sure to stop at A Modest Museum while you’re there to learn a bit more about the history of this unique and captivating oasis.

Shoshone Not far up the highway from Tecopa is the village of Shoshone.

Shoshone can be a delightful stop for the traveler,and a good base for southern Death Valley explorations.

By now, you’ve probably noticed that we haven’t actually entered Death Valley National Park yet. That’s because the scenery, history, attractions and adventure don’t stop at the park’s borders. Or the state’s borders, for that matter (we’ll get to that too).

Shoshone has a motel, RV park, general store, gas station, a couple restaurants, an antique store, and a great little museum that holds the remains of a mammoth that used to frequent these parts (it is possible to come across the ancient tracks of the mammoth in the desert near here).

This mining and railroad town’s also got a lot of history.

If you park over at the Shoshone Museum & Death Valley Visitors Center, home to the Death Valley Chamber of Commerce, cross the highway and head south. It won’t take long to get close to the edge of town, where you can look for the historic Shoshone Cemetery, and on to Dublin Gulch, one of the more unique housing developments of the desert.

There, carved from ancient hills, are the remnants of cavelike homes of miners and prospectors. Starting in the late 1800s, nearly a century saw some of the more famed names in Death Valley history living at the gulch. Some of these are open to visit, and fairly elaborate, with multiple levels, windows, and even a garage.

Right in town, Highway 178 heads east toward Pahrup, Nevada. If you start down that road, you’ll notice other cave dwellings carved into the cliffsides there. Those are the “Castles,” and some are quite bizarre, like one we got up to that consisted only of about half a dozen steps climbing to a dead end. Rumor has it that Charles Manson and his “family” spent a little time here.

For now, though, get back on Highway 127 and head north.

Keep your eyes open while you head out of Shoshone—we saw a very healthy looking bobcat cross the road and disappear into the tall grasses on one trip.

Hike to the Amargosa River, above, from China Ranch near Tecopa.

Don’t forget to take home some dates!

Visit Scotty’s Castle and learn the real story behind Walter Scott —Death Valley Scotty— and “his” castle, and his dubious gold mines. Don’t feed the coyotes!

Death Valley National Park is so enormous that you could spend a lifetime exploring it.

Don’t worry if you don’t get to do or see it all on one trip.

Death Valley may be meant to see you more than once. We can’t get enough.

Gaze into crystal clear bubbling springs at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, below.

Death Valley Junction Once the headquarters of the Pacific Borax Company, Death Valley Junction has become synonymous with the name of one remarkable woman: Marta Becket.

Becket is a New York born artist, dancer, and performer February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 43

who graced the stages of Broadway and Radio City Music Hall, and toured nationally. In the mid-1960s, Becket noted that the touring circuit for performers such as herself, was changing dramatically, and not for the better.

Marta, and her husband Tom, left for one more tour in the spring of 1967. Shortly before leaving New York, a friend threw the couple a going away party at a psychic’s apartment.

Becket didn’t like the fortune she was told—that this would be her last tour and that she would be moving to a far away rural place, but it worked out for the best, for all concerned.

The couple stopped in Death Valley Junction to have a flat tire on their trailer repaired. While waiting, Marta explored the intriguing U-shaped building complex, with its Mexican Colonial style architecture and long colonnade. At the far end stood Corkill Hall, a modest auditorium that had been unused for quite some time. Inside was a stage . Marta said that peering through a tiny hole, she got the distinct feeling she was looking at the “other half” of herself.

History was made.

Marta and Tom rented the hall for $45 a month, and the Amargosa Opera House was born. On February 10, 1968, Marta performed publicly for the first time there before an audience of a dozen locals, with the rain leaking through the roof into coffee cans. Sometimes, nobody would arrive in this isolated town for a performance, but Marta came up with plans to always guarantee an audience.

Becket put her artistic skills to work and painted scenes of a packed opera house from the 16th century on the walls and ceiling. It took over four years and is an amazing creation.

From the king and queen and their courtiers, nobility, monks, nuns, gypsies, courtesans, bullfighters—the opera house is alive with the dream of this legendary woman. In the decades since her first performance, the magic of the opera house has spread, drawing audiences from all over the world.

This season has been the first that Marta, now in her mid80s, has not been regularly performing. But in a miraculous move, another courageous and talented woman has stepped forward to continue the magic. Sandy Scheller’s show, If These Walls Could Talk, tells the tale of Becket’s opera house. This is a don’t-miss tribute to Becket that may have just saved the opera house and this town. Make reservations, as this show is usually sold out by performance time.

You can stay at the Amargosa Opera House Hotel, which though basic, is a pleasant place to stay, located close to the entrance of Death Valley National park, with murals painted by Becket throughout the hotel (Room 22 has artwork as a tribute to Red Skelton who stayed there four times). Just don’t plan on staying in room 34 unless you’re accompanying Criss Angel (yes, the hotel is reputed to be haunted).

There is a gift shop, and you can even pick up a print of one of Becket’s paintings (or an original, if you’ve got a little spending money—they’re worth it). Take home a little piece of the magic with Becket’s autobiography, To Dance On Sands.

The hotel and opera house now have the Amargosa Café to help ensure travelers are well fed. The café hosts diners from around the world, is getting great reviews, and is even open after performances for a slice of fresh baked pie or a late dinner.

Watch for the mustangs that roam the desert near here as you head west on Highway 190 into the national park.

Titus Canyon Before you take the highway on into Furnace Creek inside the national park, we just have to note that there is an adventurous alternative. You can take the highway into the national park like a normal person, or you can head up to Beatty, Nevada, 44 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

The ghost town of Leadfield, on the road through Titus Canyon.

and take the 27mile drive through Titus Canyon. You start in Nevada off State Route 374, and drive a one-way dirt road through some of the best desert landscape I’ve ever seen. Bring a picnic lunch with you from Beatty, Nevada, and spend the day exploring canyons, old mining operations (no, you’re not supposed to go inside the mines), the short-lived ghost town of Leadfield, petroglyphs, and finally, a towering, narrow canyon that leads you into Death Valley National Park.

Exploring Death Valley National Park There are so many places to go, drives to take, hikes to walk, and things to do in Death Valley National Park, that you’ll have to develop a habit of returning. Distances in the park are long as this is the largest national park in the 48-contiguous states.

It ranges from 282 feet below sea level, to over 11,000 feet above, and can be bitter cold, or sizzling hot. Following are some idea itineraries, but as long as you’ve got a pretty full gas tank, get creative and make your own.

From the South: Enter Death Valley National Park from Shoshone on Highway 178. Head west, then north. Stop at Badwater, the crusty Devil’s Golf Course, and take the colorful Artist’s Palette drive before heading on to Furnace Creek.

From there, if you have time, drive east out Highway 190 to Dante’s View and Zabriskie Point, maybe even 20 Mule Team Canyon, then back to Furnace Creek to the Visitor Center & Borax Museum.

From the visitor center, head north on 190 and check out the Harmony Borax Works with an example of what the wagon looked like that the “20 mule team” pulled. Continue north with a stop to stroll the Salt Springs boardwalk. From there, it all depends on where you plan on sleeping that night.

You can return to Furnace Creek, Shoshone, Death Valley Junction, or Tecopa, or continue on to Beatty or Stovepipe Wells.

From the North: Head west on Highway 374 from Beatty, Nevada to the Titus Canyon turnoff. Follow (in your high clearance, preferably 4WD vehicle) this dirt road 27 miles into Death Valley National Park. Once you reach Highway 190, you can turn south to explore Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, the Devil’s Cornfield, and Mosaic Canyon, or head north to Scotty’s Castle, and Ubehebe Crater.

From the West: Head out from Ridgecrest (a good place to explore, and the western gateway to Death Valley) on Highway 178, through Trona, and northwards. If you have time, detour out to the ghost town of Ballarat before heading on into Death Valley National Park. If the road is in good condition and the weather cooperates, take the route that will take you by the Wildrose Charcoal Kilns (weather permitting—the higher

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 45

elevations of the Park can be snowed in while you wander around Furnace Creek in short sleeves), then on into Stovepipe Wells.

Or head out of Lone Pine on Highway 136 to 190, through Panamint Springs, and on into the Park. Hike to the top of Telescope Peak, the highest point in Death Valley, or get a room at Stovepipe Wells and plan the next day’s trip out to the Racetrack, where rocks mysteriously scoot across the dry lake bed without any visible assistance.

Note: Driving distances are long, in and around Death Valley National Park. Gas stations are few and far between. Make sure your vehicle is well maintained, and fill up when and where you find gas (Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, Shoshone, Beatty, and Panamint Springs). Take plenty of water. Cell phones don’t work in much of the area. Check with rangers before wandering off on dirt roads in the summer. People can die here when they’re careless. Dying could ruin your trip.

A few suggested stops in and around Death Valley National Park Sunrise at Dante’s View or Zabriskie Point Both of these locations inside Death Val-

46 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

ley National Park provide for spectacular dramatic sunrises. Watch in awe as the morning light transforms the colors of the mountains and landscape below.

Relax in style at the Furnace Creek Inn Without a doubt the poshest accommodations inside Death Valley National Park, this historic resort is a class act. Dining is exceptional, and there is the world’s lowest 18 hole golf course, with tennis, spa treatments, and much more available.

But our favorite thing to do at the Inn, hands down, is to wander in through the tunnel from the parking lot after a day of exploring (or driving through Titus Canyon), and kick back at the bar with a prickly pear margarita and an order of crispy cactus. It just doesn’t get much better than that.

Wander around Beatty I knew I’d like Beatty, Nevada, when we took a short hike and startled several wild burros napping nearby. Beatty is a welcoming small town, the capitol of the famed Bullfrog Mining District, and it has a lot to offer a prepared desert traveler. Must-sees are the nearby ghost town of Rhyolite, and the Goldwell Open Air Art Museum. Beatty has a good selection of reasonably priced motels and

restaurants (we enjoyed the Atomic Inn), and is the perfect base for driving Titus Canyon, or exploring Chloride City ghost town and the northern parts of Death Valley National Park. But don’t forget to set aside a little time to explore Beatty too.

Take a walking tour of Shoshone This is a tiny town that makes for a great walk. Start at the Shoshone Museum, which offers a great historical introduction to the area, and then take in the town’s history through its buildings.

Make sure to pay a visit to the Shoshone Cemetery, and the miners’ cavelike dwellings in Dublin Gulch. After you’re done, treat yourself to lunch, dinner, or a relaxing drink, over at the Crowbar Cafe & Saloon. If you want to do more walking, check the Amargosa Conservancy’s outing schedule.

Walk the Crystal Springs boardwalk Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is not far from Death Valley Junction, over the border in Nevada. Comprised of over 22,000 acres of natural spring-fed wetlands surrounded by alkaline desert, Ash Meadows provides a fascinating juxtaposition of stark desert crossed by streams and dotted with springs and wetlands. The refuge is also home to

the small Devil’s Hole portion of Death Valley National Park, home to the famed, if tiny, Devil’s Hole pupfish.

Ash Meadows is home to at least two dozen plants and animals found nowhere else in the world, including four fish and one plant listed as endangered, with six other species of plants listed as threatened. The refuge’s concentration of endemic life is the second greatest in all of North America, and you can see Ash Meadows Amargosa pupfish, as well as migrating bald eagles and peregrine falcons (239 bird species have been spotted). A special treat for daring July visitors is the peak blooming period of the threatened spring-loving centaury plant.

Hike the Amargosa River China Ranch Date Farm makes for the perfect base for hiking to the Amargosa River. A four mile roundtrip hike takes you past remains of the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad and evidence of past mining operations, to a slot canyon.

Explore side canyons on your way there and back for more fun. Then grab a date shake at China Ranch when you return!

Chill at the Tecopa Hot Springs Resort Spend a night or 12 at the Tecopa Hot

Home, sweet home, at Dublin Gulch, Shoshone.

Springs Resort. Soak in the soothingly hot mineral waters and feel the stress evaporate. Head on over to Pastels Bistro for a relaxed, gourmet meal—stuffed pork chops filled with sundried tomatoes, spinach and cheese, cannellonis, a savory panini, or perhaps cheesecake, all made by executive chef John Muccio. Take in a little stargazing at one of the resort’s star parties, take a nightcap soak, and sleep like you have never slept before!

A night at the opera (house) Whether it’s Marta Becket herself, or

Sandy Scheller’s tribute to Marta’s incredible talent and dedication, the Amargosa Opera House draws a packed house from around the world and is an absolute must-see stop on your visit to Death Valley.

The Amargosa Opera House Hotel serves well as a jumping off point for exploring Death Valley, close to the national park entrance, and many of its popular sights.

For more information on visiting Death Valley: www.deathvalleychamber.org.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 47

The Happy Burro, above, with its awardwinning chili, and The Atomic Inn, below, both in Beatty, Nevada.

48 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

The Last Supper, at the Goldwell Open Air Art Museum, above, and the ghost town of Rhyolite, below, both near Beatty, Nevada. One last shot of China Ranch, right.

Green Fees in These Economic Times You’ve Chosen Wisely

By Bill Cook , Golf Editor It’s a funny thing, the more I practice the luckier I get. ~ Arnold Palmer

I

n these economic times when people aren’t spending as much as they were a couple of years ago on golf, there have surfaced some really great deals out there at some of the top quality courses here in the “candy store of golf,” Southern California. Here starts my series of reports for those with the golf bug, helping them find the best courses throughout our California desert region without evaporating their wallet. Hopefully I will be able to introduce to you courses where one can experience the quality golf that we see on the Golf Channel and still have money for a nice relaxing dinner out that night.

I’m sitting in the breakfast room with the morning paper on my left, my laptop on my right, and warm sun rays gleaming through the window on my face. On my left, are dismal stories of weather across the United States. On my right, is a laptop on the internet filled with a “trillion” golf locations for the day. Also on my left, are front page stories of political stupidity infesting our nation. But on the right . . . ooooooohhhhhh myyyyyy, it’s the Internet with a golf-a-lation of challenging, yet relaxing fun on courses just about anywhere within my new putter’s reach.

I scan the web pages on a discount golf website for a quality course with generous discounts. Just investigating the different courses alone is interesting and fun. Finding one with a great price that I have never played . . . priceless.

Suddenly, I see one with large discounts marked boldly. It’s a course I have never played, I have to . . . The phone rings and it’s my associate that works back in Washington, D.C. I continue to search out this new found course as I talk. The conversation continues as I flip through the web pages describing the course, not really paying a lot of attention to the conversation.

It looks pretty good, the course that is. I think I’ll play it. My conversation finally concludes so now I can get back to some serious golf stuff. I click on a starting time for two and “Buy” for $29 times two. I quickly text my golf partner “Let’s go play where the pros play! We have a starting time at

Ashwood Golf Course in Apple Valley at 10:03a.m. We got it for $29. Bring lots of extra money.”

Ashwood has become one of my favorite golf courses since I found out about it last year. This is one golf course that impressed me right from the start. Comprised of three unique nine hole courses, Mesquite, Birch and Sycamore, variety of play is not an issue. Winding through beautiful vistas and scenery special to the high desert is how these courses were designed. Combining the three nine hole courses have allowed there to be three 18 hole courses, Mesquite/Sycamore, Birch/ Mesquite, and Sycamore/Birch. Now there’s variety!

Ashwood’s smooth greens and playing conditions are considered the best in the high desert thanks to an outstanding maintenance team. Being an executive course, the only thing it lacks are some par five holes. The challenge of a couple of the par four holes makes up for that. At par 62 these courses in an 18 hole configuration definitely allow for a good day of golf.

One thing that Ashwood doesn’t lack is water. Being in the high desert you would think there would be lack of water. Not at Ashwood. Also, sand is abundant. Enough so to get you to explore your colorful metaphor dictionary stashed in the deep pocket of your golf bag.

Even with these demon hazards, Ashwood is still forgiving enough to have a fun, relaxed day of golf. Many of the fairways are wide enough for the occasional (or even more than occasional) spraying of a ball in an undesirable direction.

The views of the nearby mountains, now with snow on them, is enough beauty for the soul to forgive any bad shot.

Regular green fees with a cart are normally $37 weekdays and $41 weekends. For those wishing to walk, discounted walking fees are available. Occasionally on the course website www. ashwoodgolf.com there are hefty discounts under the “special offer” button. Ashwood is listed on most of the golf tee-time/ February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 49

discount booking sites for about $29. Whatever site you use, this course is definitely the best maintained course in the high desert at a price that is very comfortable to swallow. Give Ashwood a try and I think you will agree that this is a favorite course to play without stripping your wallet clean of cash.

ASHWOOD GOLF COURSE STATISTICS Holes: 27 Mesquite/Sycamore Par: 66 Mens Tees Blue White Red Womens Tees Blue White Red

Rating Slope Yardage 63.2 103 4,828 61.2 97 4,416 58.9 95 3,695 Rating Slope Yardage 68.9 117 4,828 65.7 110 4,416 61.8 103 3,695

Birch/Mesquite Par: 65 Mens Tees Blue White Red Womens Tees Blue White Red

Rating Slope Yardage 62.9 106 4,826 61.2 100 4,399 58.9 95 3,725 Rating Slope Yardage 68.0 121 4,826 64.9 114 4,399 61.1 106 3,725

Sycamore/Birch Par: 65 Mens Tees Blue White Red Womens Tees Blue White Red

Rating Slope Yardage 63.1 104 4,624 62.0 99 4,285 58.7 94 3,660 Rating Slope Yardage 67.0 118 4,624 64.4 113 4,285 61.2 106 3,660

Audubon International Ashwood Golf Course is enrolled in Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses to ensure that the course helps to protect our local environment, conserve natural resources, and provide wildlife habitats.

50 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

O

ne Saturday evening in November ’09 while catching up on the week’s tournaments on the Golf Channel, I started to feel that my putter that I had used since 1975 was in need of a new buddy. Don’t ask me why, but the thought entered my mind. Actually, I am a really good putter on the course. I have played golf since 1968 (10 years old) and seriously since 1974 in my sophomore year in high school. In 1975 I got my first “real” putter, the Acushnet Bulls Eye. Bulls Eye Putters were made of soft, yellow brass, weighted and shaped to uniquely delicate balance was the hallmark of Bulls Eye. That’s why Bulls Eye had been a favorite putter on tour for over 30 years, 1970 to 2003 in fact.

As the new week continued I found myself starting to spend time in the pro-shops playing with the different putters for sale.

My wife had to pry me out of a Roger Dunn shop after an hour of trying out the 36,000 putters surrounding their putting demo section. I had come to a new realization that . . . “Holy Cow!” There are a lot of putters out there. The prices varied from 50 bucks up to 800 or more. Whew!!! I’m sorry, that’s a lot of money for a putter.

So, I set out across SoCal and even into Las Vegas to seek the holy grail of putters. It was interesting the conversations I had with the pros and salespersons at the different pro-shops.

According to them, there are different categories of buyers when it comes to golfing. The “I want the same putter as . . .” golfer, the “I want this name brand name,” golfer, and the “I just want something that works,” golfer. Personally I don’t care about name brands. I’m just more interested in what helps me to get that lower score.

I started trying the less expensive putters and worked my way up to around the $300 range. Some putters for me didn’t even get a consideration just because I couldn’t stand looking at them. I’m probably a little “too old school” and I admit it. After two months of detailed investigating and demo-ing at every golf shop that I encountered, I found my putter. Unfortunately, it was the $300 jobber and I started to shake violently. There’s no way I’m going to spend $300 on a putter. It’s . . . too hard to swallow.

In December, I had a business meeting in Phoenix and happened to see a Van’s Golf Shop on the way to one of the meetings, so I decided to stop for a minute and see their store, which is part of the Roger Dunn chain. My wife was with me and for once decided to come in with me. (She’s a horse person from birth with no interest in golf.) I walked over to the putter section and saw the putter that had convinced me that it was

going to be my next putter. I stood there staring at it through the locked glass case. It was the best of all the trillions (a new word in our vocabulary recently) of putters that I had demo-ed.

My wife walked over and asked why I was staring at the case and I pointed at the putter. By now I had learned to control my shaking when near this putter and slowly turned and walked away to my meeting.

Christmas morning arrived. Waking to the beautiful cool desert morning with its brilliant blue sky is the ultimate in living for my wife and I on our little six acre ranch. By the Christmas tree in the living room we started pulling small gifts out from under the tree for each other. Back and forth we opened gifts and exchanged kisses.

The gifts were finally all opened and it was time to drive to my parents house down in Long Beach to continue our Christmas festivities. But my wife decided to pull an excerpt from the movie “Christmas Story” on me. She quietly said like Mr. Parker did, “What’s that behind the desk over there?”

I, like Ralphie in the movie, looked at her with a flustered expression. I slowly rose to my feet and walked over to the small antique desk in the room. Behind it was a long slender box a little over a yard long. I reached down and picked it up.

My eyes opened wider and wider. I could feel the glow of joy shooting about the room. Could it be??????????? I turned and looked at here with disbelief. As I opened the box I could see a red grip and knew this was it. My wife had actually pulled off a good one on me and got me the putter of my dreams without me even having a clue.

A few days later I was on the golf course to try out my first “real” putts with my new putter. On the first green I left myself with a 25 foot putt. I carefully lined it up and . . . . . . sunk it, dead center. The next five holes I one putted and the rest of the course putted like a pro. Eleven putts for the 18 holes. Was it the putter? Was it psychological? Was it because the damn putter cost 300 bucks?

I don’t know. Since that day, my putting has drastically improved and I actually enjoy getting to the green. After experiencing a $300 putter versus lesser priced putters my analysis would have to be . . . If a putter feels good it’s worth every cent you pay, whether it’s $50 or $300. The satisfaction of now sinking more putts consistently is so satisfying. I can’t wait to get out and play another round. Thanks Scotty Cameron.

Meet Bill Cook...

Bill Cook is not only a passionate desert golfer, he’s also founder of Discovery Trails, a non-profit organization that operates the Desert Discovery Center, a director of the California Deserts Visitors Association, a director of the Barstow Area Chamber of Commerce, a published author, and leader of Haunted Barstow and In the Box tours.

Learn more at www. hauntedbarstow.com and www.gointhebox.com.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 51

I

magine a posh Palm Springs hotel overflowing with women, each room and suite exclusively reserved for the fairer sex.

Then picture all these women stripped down to their bikinis (or board shorts), commingling around a resort pool, cocktails in hand. Taking this delicious image further, in your mind’s eye see them later that evening in their sexiest club attire dancing with wild abandon to nationally known DJs with appearances by top 10 recording artists. Now take this fantasy, triple it, add topnotch comedians and surprise celebrities, saturate with a seductive serving of estrogen-laden libidos, subtract men (except those in a service capacity—after all who wants to carry their own luggage or mix their own drinks?) and you’ve got the makings of one hell of a weekend—Dinah style.

In what started 20 years ago catering to a relatively small gathering of women who came to the desert to socialize and perhaps take in some of the concurrent Dinah Shore Championships golf tournament has turned into a multi-media, star-studded, internationally-known party of enormous proportions—Club Skirts The Dinah. Event promoter Mariah Hanson’s savvy business sense and smart alliances have resulted in The Dinah getting exponentially bigger and better, drawing the likes of such mega-entertainers such as Pat Benatar, Lady GaGa, Margaret Cho and the Pussycat Dolls.

This year is no exception. The 2010 Dinah takes place March 31 –April 4 and features hot new recording artist Ke$ha, in addition to a host of other notable entertainers.

“I picked Ke$ha out of a group of artists I thought might take off and damn am I glad I did!” says Hanson. “She's number one in four countries! Plus Salt N Pepa are legends, the most successful female rap duo in history. Then, of course, Paradiso Girls just released a hit with “Space Cowboy” and Lolene's single, “Sexy People,” went top ten,” Hanson continues. “We 52 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

have not announced our comedy headliner, but she is huge!

Of course, we have a great comedy show with Suzanne Westenhoefer, Vickie Shaw Erin Foley, Bridget McManus, Nicol Paone, Gloria Bigelow and Sandra Valls. It's gonna be another action packed weekend!”

This year also celebrates the event’s 20-year anniversary and as such carries with it significant historical and social relevance, serving as a gauge of tolerance and acceptance for lesbians and the LGBT community as a whole.

“I'm delighted to report that it has changed tremendously in a positive way,” says Hanson of the milestone. “The Dinah's customer base is more diverse, inclusive, savvy, trendsetting than ever before. With all the setbacks we face as a community, it's so heartwarming to see us in the face of such heartbreaks continue to evolve as passionate, committed, inclusive people whose basic beliefs are of equality and fairness. The younger LGBT Americans are so hip. They hang out with straight people, the lesbians with the gays, all together, enjoying life and the sense of freedom we are continuing to attain. It shows at The Dinah. Fewer cliques. Less attitude. More embracing the celebratory aspect of the weekend, letting loose, blending all together and living large.”

As for special events planned for this 20th birthday bash, in addition to the customary imbibing and socializing around the pool, Hanson intimates that no holds will be barred when it comes to excitement. “[There are] so many wonderful things we are doing,” she explains. “We're creating a circus adjacent to the Hilton pool.

We have Adam Bouska and his team shooting NOH8 photos all day Sunday. And I just added The Motels to the line up.

Remember them? Martha Davis ... she's agreed to walk the red carpet. Our red carpet this year is going to be amazing. So far,

every artist we have booked has agreed to walk it!”

The growing popularity of Dinah Shore Weekend overall is evidenced by the plethora of events the girls have to choose from. In addition to Hanson’s event, there are other promoters who have taken root in the valley, providing attendees with a host of options. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of lesbian temptation, to which women are still responding, recession be damned.

Even with a struggling economy, the girls still seem to be making the annual pilgrimage to the desert thanks in part to Hanson’s commitment to make the event affordable. “I am keeping my prices the same as I have for the last few years,” she says, “and I am offering more value. I think my customers see that and appreciate it.”

Part of Hanson’s success, in addition to the stellar entertainment and reasonable pricing, is a dedication to customer service.

“We understand that this is a vacation that women have looked forward to for months… We start out their experience with a warm welcome and a sense of helpfulness and community. I think our philosophy of being as welcoming as we can to our guests actually sets the entire mood of an event…. If your first experience at an event is smiling faces and happiness that you are there, it immediately sets a tone for the rest of the evening.

Bottom line, we're grateful and happy to have our guests and we start out right at the gate making them feel that way. It's a much better way to start a party!”

Of course, putting on an event of this caliber doesn’t come without its fair share of challenges. Key among them is the age-old adage, “You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”

But Hanson tries.

“We have a very diverse community and it’s important to me that we outreach to the community as a whole,” she

D i n a h p ro m o t e r Mariah Hanson, right, with scenes from The Dinah.

explains. “And that’s challenging, you know, because there’s different tastes all over the country. The challenge is to try to offer something for everybody or at least find that middle ground where everybody can enjoy it. Because I really do think this weekend, it’s about our customers.”

Hanson also understands that for many women, it may be their very first Dinah—their first foray into a world that’s deliciously lesbian—and recognizes that they might be a little scared or intimidated. But not to worry, says Hanson, who offers this sage advice to Dinah newbies.

“Drink lots of water! Before you know it, you won't be a virgin anymore so make every moment an unforgettable one,” she concludes with a laugh. “Take pictures! This is going to be the [event] of a lifetime!”

For detailed information on The Dinah, including schedule tickets, times and location visit thedinah.com.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 53

DeRanger Steve

Road Trip

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eave Los Angeles and drive anywhere between US-395 going north along the Sierra Nevada mountains and Interstate 10 going east through the Coachella Valley toward the Colorado River and you shall travel across the desert.

Depending on where you're going, traffic can range from very heavy on Interstates 10 and 15, to none at all on the Kelbaker road as you wind up the back way to Las Vegas. Head for Bishop to find the world’s best beef jerky, or Bodie Ghost town north of Mono Lake. Drive historic Route 66 or visit Calico Ghost Town east of Barstow. It's beautiful— mountains, sand, rocks of impossible colors, and people on the side of the road looking under the hoods of their cars.

Desert travel is great if nothing goes wrong, and having been there and done that during the summer, know this: even a well maintained car can wind up on the side of the road with a dead engine.

It is unfortunate that too often people break down somewhere only to perish in the same spot, as happened in Death Valley, August, 2009. Yet when problems start, the uppermost thought seems to be, “I can make it to a call box or gas station.”

Don’t bet on it. Call boxes can be miles apart. Are you prepared for the walk? What can be difficult in winter is almost impossible in summer. There are places like Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks where call boxes don't exist. Nor does cell phone service.

The decision to stop before your car craps out on a lonely desert road can be a tough one, yet the answer is easy. If in doubt, stop. Stopping in time, may get you to a safe haven in short hops if things go well.

There never seems to be enough 54 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

room to pull over safely, especially with a large rig towing a trailer or boat. The bigger it is the more potential for problems.

Try to find a wide solid spot or turnout to pull into and get as far off the road as possible. Keep in mind desert byways have been known to suck unwary cars into soft shoulder sand making it next to impossible to get out. Leave enough room on the roadside to work safely on a tire.

After you are safely stopped, get everybody out and away from the car and into the shade, if possible. Plan on being there for a while. Hydrate. If in an RV or a trailer with it's own stand alone A/C, fire it up. Open the hood and let your car cool down before attempting to work on it. Nothing as painful as burns from a hot engine or a cooling system leak.

Don't count on anyone stopping, even with flares, signs, and a sexy girl. It may be a couple of hours before the CHP shows up, proving desert roads can be lonely.

Boats and toy haulers are popular in the desert due to places like Lakes Mead, Havasu, El Mirage Dry Lake, and the Colorado River, which are only a few hours away from most SoCal cities. Towing trailers presents it’s own problems and with the air conditioning running that's a heavy load for an engine. When climbing a long grade, turning off the A/C reduces the load and aids in cooling. Set your vehicle up for towing with heavy duty cooling systems for engine and transmission. Depending on the size of the trailer, trailer brakes may be required.

A second or larger fuel tank allows you to tow a heavy load so you don’t run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Be sure your vehicle has the power to tow your trailer up a long grade without being overworked. Trailers too large and heavy for the tow vehicle have killed trucks.

It is best to park in the shade or under a tree. Park with the rear of the car toward the sun or where it will be when you return. Use a sunshade. Try to park facing the wind. Desert winds can pull the door from your hand as you open it, causing injuries and damage.

Since the desert can be extreme, routine checks should be done more often than if you were living elsewhere.

The three main problems boil down to: an overheated engine, broken belts, and blown or flat tires. Your vehicle’s vital fluids; coolant, windshield washer, oil, transmission and power steering fluids should be checked to be every time you get gas, even when not on a trip. Check belts and hoses at the same time. If you don’t know how to do it, get someone to show you. It only takes a couple of minutes and it’s fairly easy to do. Here's

another thing that puts you on the side of the road: rental vehicles, especially rental RVs. I've rescued more than a few rental RVs from the side of the road.

The major cause of breakdowns in the desert is overheating. All hoses that carry coolant, including heater hoses, should be checked monthly and before any long haul; same thing with belts.

Good hoses are firm to the touch when cold. Look for worn spots and soft areas on hoses especially near fittings. Frayed or pinched edges under a clamp can pop under pressure. A bubble in the hose near a clamp is an indication of failure.

If in doubt, replace it, hoses are cheap, engines are not. Keep the coolant recovery tank half full when cold. If you seem to be adding too much water to the tank, have the cooling system pressure tested for leaks. Flush and change cooling system fluids every year before the start of summer and have the radiator cleaned and rodded every 2-3 years.

Belts drive most of a cars vital accessory systems. These days it's a single serpentine belt. When it breaks you lose the water pump, air conditioning, power steering and charging systems all at once. Handy with tools? Carry a spare.

Air Conditioning should be checked at the beginning of summer and charged if needed. A compressor that has a low coolant charge loads the engine and can cause overheating. If you see signs of overheating pull over and check it out, don’t wait.

Gotta spare? Check the air pressure in all tires, including the spare each day before you start driving. This insures proper inflation and shows if you have a slow leak needing further inspection and possible repair. Statistics show that 37% of all spare tires need air. If you have a “Get Me Home” spare replace it with a full size one. These baby spares have been known to blow after 50 miles or so.

If you do plan to cross the desert should have a couple of emergency repair items like a basic tool kit and a Haynes repair manual for the car. Included are: jumper cables, spare belt(s), radiator and hose repair kit including a tube of Aluma-seal to take care of any radiator leaks, and a fuse assortment.

There are other things you should have. For example, water. Most tragedies in the desert occur due to a lack of water and a case is cheap insurance.

No article on the desert is complete without mention of the hiker’s Basic 10 Essentials Kit. It has been repeatedly shown this inexpensive, simple kit can, and does, make a difference. For more information, visit us at www.desertbandanna.com.

A

s the sun beats down on her shell, a pregnant desert tortoise pulls herself high into a rocky crevice at Joshua Tree National Park. She will need to lay her eggs soon.

Less than 100 miles away, in the Mojave National Preserve, desert bighorn sheep mingle around a spring, drinking deep from this much-needed source of fresh water. Will this same life-sustaining spring still be wet five years from now?

If not, what does that mean for both the survival of desert bighorn and for the sustainability of human residents of the Mojave Desert?

In cities and towns throughout the desert, a grass-roots movement gains momentum as desert residents, local and county governments, and businesses apply for low-interest loans for solar rooftop developments and energy efficiency upgrades.

What do all of these stories have in common? They are intersecting responses to climate change, one of the greatest challenges our California desert communities, national parks, and wildlife have ever faced. These scenes also share another important link—they will be explored in detail at the third annual Climate Change and the California Desert Conference, set to take place on Friday, March 12, at the Yucca Valley Community Center in Yucca Valley, California.

The conference will be open to the public, free of charge.

The need for this conference has never been greater. Scientists describe the California Desert as a “Climate Responsive” area, a region that will be

most affected by climate change. In fact, researchers in Joshua Tree National Park have already noticed an increase in the mortality of Joshua Trees and a decrease in reproduction of this important species—the topic was explored extensively at last year’s Climate Change and the California Desert Conference.

This year, the lineup of diverse and dynamic presenters at the Climate Change and the California Desert Conference will examine the impact of climate change to wildlife species such as desert tortoises, bighorn sheep, desert mule deer, and nesting birds including mountain quail. Presenters will also explore practical solutions that all of our communities can take part in, including the opportunity to tap into funds for energy upgrades and rooftop solar on our homes, businesses, and civic centers.

“This conference makes clear many of the challenges we face due to climate change,” said Seth Shteir, a senior coordinator for the National Parks Conservation Association and one of the conference organizers. “And it goes a step further by generating practical, thoughtful solutions to climate change that we can all be a part of. We really have a superstar lineup for this year’s conference.”

Featured speakers include Dr. Debra Hughson, science advisor for the National Park Service, who will provide an insightful, research-based look at climate change’s likely effects on the Mojave Desert’s springs and the wildlife that depend upon them. Dr. Cameron Barrows, a research ecologist at UC Riverside’s Center for Conservation Biology,

Climate Change and the California Desert Conference March 12, 2010 Yucca Valley Community Center will present the results of his exciting new study about the effects of climate change on the threatened desert tortoise.

Dr. Lori Hargrove will take conference participants into the fascinating world of nesting desert birds, and discuss the potential impact of climate change on the reproduction of multiple bird species.

And Jim Ferguson, city councilman for Palm Desert, will provide the blueprint for how our cities, towns, and counties can tap into funding for the development of rooftop solar initiatives.

To top it all off, conference organizers are partnering with the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council and the Hi-Desert Nature Museum to host the second annual Climate Change Focus of Art Contest and Exhibition, with cash prizes for the top three most creative and effective works of art addressing the theme of climate change. The art exhibition, a huge hit at last year’s conference, will officially open the evening of Friday, March 12, following the conference.

Artists who are interested in submitting work should contact Andy Woods at the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council at info@mbcac.org or (760)366-2226.

Art, science, community, and environment are all coming together on March 12, so mark your calendar now and plan to attend this engaging and interactive event!

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 55

I

t was February 1857 in Texas and the Army had assembled a diverse herd of 75 camels from two expeditions to Arab countries in the Middle East. The project had taken six years and now they were ready. But ready for what?

The officer in charge, Major Wayne, was so impressed by the apparent ability of the camel to survive tough environmental conditions that he wanted the Army to use the assembled herd for breeding purposes so that a larger force of 1,000 or so camels would be available for military logistical use. He asked the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis: “Shall those introduced be mainly devoted to breeding and increasing the number, or shall they be put to hard labor with the risk of being worn out in the service?”

The answer came through Thomas S. Jesup, the Quartermaster General. “. . . the establishment of a breeding farm did not enter into the plans of the department. The object at present is to ascertain whether the animal is adapted to the military service, and can be economically and usefully employed therein.

When this is satisfactorily established, arrangements can be made for importing or breeding camels to any extent that may be deemed desirable.”

Wayne had moved the camels to a quiet location at Camp Verde, Texas on August 26 and 27, 1856. Jefferson Davis had suggested a considerable rest period after their strenuous passage across the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and somewhat chaotic introduction to Texas. “Horses, under the same circumstances, would require many months to regain their full efficiency, and animals of a larger size would require a still longer period of rest.”

The cost so far of the camel experiment in 1856 dollars was interesting. The Texas Department of Inspection reported that the cost of the expedition was $7,331.Wayne had a staff consisting of one overseer/clerk, one interpreter, three Arabians, two Turks, and two Americans.

Despite Wayne’s enthusiasm, not everyone wanted to be involved in actually working with the camels. They were not always friendly to be around, particularly if their humps were mistreated. The Arabs believed they would hold a grudge and if one of them angered a camel, they were careful to take off their clothes and leave them where the camel could get at them. The camel would then kick, toss, and otherwise maul 56 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

the clothes—before declaring a truce.

Everyone was happy when the idleness at Camp Verde ended and orders were drawn up in January 1857 for an expedition to survey a wagon road from Fort Defiance in New Mexico to the Colorado River. Edward Fitzgerald Beale would be in charge.

On June 25, 1857 the expedition set off for Fort Defiance and started their journey. They traveled through territory rife with stories of Indian raids, murders, and gangs of thieves. The camels attracted a great deal of attention whenever the expedition reached settlements or forts. Locals were eager for rides on the beasts, and Beale generally accommodated them.

Beale reported favorably on the condition and abilities of his charges. “The camels . . . have not evinced the slightest distress or soreness; and this is the more remarkable, as mules or horses, in a very short time, get so sore-footed that shoes are indispensable. The road is very hard and firm, and strewn all over it is a fine, sharp, angular, flinty gravel—very small, about the size of a pea – and the least friction causes it act like a rasp upon the opposing surface. The camel has no shuffle in his gait, but lifts his feet perpendicularly from the ground, and replaces them without sliding, as a horse or other quadrupeds do. This, together with the coarsely granulated and yielding nature of his foot, which, though, very tough, like gutta percha [a tough rubbery resin from the latex of Malaysian trees], yields sufficiently without wearing off, enables them to travel continuously in a country where no other barefooted beast would last a week.

“It is a subject of constant surprise and remark to all of us, how their feet can possibly stand the character of the road we have been traveling over for the last ten days. It is certainly the hardest road on the feet of barefooted animals I have ever known. As for food, they live on anything and thrive. Yesterday they drank water for the first time in twenty-six hours, and although the day had been excessively hot they seemed to care but little for it. Mark the difference between them and mules; the same time, in such weather, without water, would set the latter wild, and render them nearly useless, if no t entirely break them down. . . .I have never seen or heard of one stumbling, or even of making a blunder.”

We have thus seen that in the eyes of Beale, the camels were clearly superior to mules who in a comparative sense, could be viewed as a problem. But there was another problem plaguing Beale—the occasional vice and weakness of the men who served him and were responsible for care of the camels.

At Albuquerque in New Mexico he reported: “This morning, I was obliged to administer a copious supply of the oil of boot to several, especially to my Turks and Greeks, with the camels.

The former had not found, even in the positive prohibitions of the prophet, a sufficient reason for temperance, but were as drunk as any Christian in the train, and would have remained behind, but for the style of reason much resorted to by the head of his church, as well as other, in making converts, i.e. a broken head . . . .to move a stubborn half-drunken Turk give me a good tough piece of wagon spoke, aimed tolerably high.”

On October 17, 1857 the expedition reached the shores of the Colorado River about 15 miles north of Needles. The Mojave Indians sold them a delicious reward of cantaloupes, melons and other food stuffs. Two days later, Beale ordered the crossing which involved tying the camels together in groups of five and swimming them across. They easily accomplished the crossing without injury or loss of life. Not so the other animals—two horses and 10 mules drowned in the river. The site became known as “Beale’s Crossing.”

So here they were—at the eastern edge of the California Mojave Desert, ready for the final leg of their famous journey all the way from the Middle East.

I

n the center of the city of Ridgecrest a building sits serenely that is unlike anything elsewhere in California.

Today our Historic USO Building is the home of the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert (HSUMD).

Reel back to 1943. The U.S. Navy/ California Institute of Technology wartime rocket program had expanded and required a much larger test area. The Indian Wells Valley in the upper Mojave Desert of eastern Kern County became the site for the establishment of the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS).

The Navy began a massive construction program to build the infrastructure, not only for the wartime rocket program, but also a permanent postwar research, development, engineering and test complex (eventually to be called “China Lake” after the dry playa in the center of the valley).

By 1944, as facilities were built and staffed, the number of military personnel grew into the hundreds and the number of civilians grew even more.

Recreation facilities, to give a break from the high tempo of the work, were practically nonexistent, and the distance to the nearest city was 100 miles plus.

The naval command at NOTS was very much concerned and met with regional federal recreation and United Services Organization (USO) officials.

Their joint effort resulted in the construction of a large Federal Recreation Center in Ridgecrest, completed in 1945 and staffed by the USO. The building is a “Type V-1” design with a symmetrical cruciform floor plan of sturdy insulated wood and stucco/plaster construction.

A partial second story was built to serve as living quarters for the facility manager. The lower floor has the main entryway opening into a lobby. Two spacious rooms, plus kitchen and restrooms are off the lobby. The rear portion is a large

ballroom/auditorium with a built-in stage.

Operation of the USO Club continued until January 1947, when the building was closed due to lack of patronage and USO post-war downsizing. In May 1947 the building was sold to Kern County, which used it for county offices and courthouse for the next 32 years. During after-work hours, the building’s auditorium was used as a center for many community events.

By 1979 a new county regional administration center and courthouse was built, and the ownership of the old building was transferred to the city of Ridgecrest. Under city ownership the now-aging former USO Building saw little activity. The city had grown and more options for community events were available. The old building was closed to public use in 1993 but the city continued to use it as a storage facility. Lack of adequate maintenance and continual deterioration took their toll.

The Historical Society long had a desire to restore and preserve this WWII building. At the society’s behest, professional engineers examined the old structure and found that it was structurally sound, but badly in need of major repairs.

The society intensified its research into the origins and history of this building. The more we dug, the more evident it became that our old USO Building was the only structure built by the federal government during WWII specifically for use as a USO Club that was still remaining in California in its original, unmodified configuration.

In early 2005, spurred on by the historical nature of this facility, the society prepared a financial and restoration plan, the principal aspects of which were that the city would transfer (donate) the ownership of the building and property to the society and that HSUMD would find the sources

of funding for the restoration work.

The Ridgecrest City Council received the plan well and gave conditional approval to proceed. With that, HSUMD initiated a dramatic community outreach program—and Ridgecrest responded.

A major fundraising effort was started in late 2005, and the results were much beyond the society’s expectations.

The years of 2006, 2007 and early 2008 were years of heavy work by HSUMD’s project team, volunteer workers, community organizations, local contractors (often pro bono) and many others.

The restoration followed the standards for the preservation of historic resources, and the building continued to remain in its original design and configuration.

So well did the project proceed that it was a recipient of the California Governor’s 2008 Historic Preservation Award. In late 2008, formal dedication ceremonies were held in memory of the men and women who served in WWII. Today the Historic USO Building’s rafters ring with the sounds of music and laughter as community groups again take advantage of the historic structure to hold plays, dances, parties and meetings.

On your next trip to Ridgecrest plan to drop in for a visit — no charge.

As soon as you step into the lobby, the ambience will take you back 65 years — especially those of you who are of the Great Generation. Do come.

John Di Pol Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 57

Two hundred feet in the Rand Mine, far left. Ore sacked at the Wedge Mine for shipment to the smelter, left.

A l l p h o t o s f ro m the March 6, 1897 H a r p e r s We e k l y magazine.

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n the 6 th of March in 1897 (without benefit of the World Wide Web) Eastern Seaboard readers of famed New York publication, Harpers Weekly, learned a great deal about the infant gold camp of Randsburg.

Scarcely concealing his excitement, the reporter wrote:

Of all the stampedes of men and youths to new mining camps there have been in California and the southwest Territories in the past twenty-five years, none has quite equaled in spontaneity, intensity and permanence the rush to Randsburg this season. The stampede began last October, and has grown each week. Old miners who have been in every mining camp on the Pacific coast during the last generation, and have joined a score or more stampedes of excited men to new diggings, say that Randsburg is now where Virginia City, Nevada was in 1868 just before the Bonanza ledges were found and the $178,000,000 therefrom was yet to be dug.

Mining camps grew by word of mouth but were also seriously hyped by the news media.

Los Angeles and San Francisco newspapers told of new diggings in glowing terms… biggest, best, richest. Mr. Tinsley emphatically reported, on good authority, that Randsburg would be “… the greatest mining town the world has ever seen, notwithstanding the fierce summer heat.”

Ah, so there was a bit of a downside to be noted, perhaps even a bit off-putting to would be gold seeking adventurers immersed in reading the pages of New York’s Harper’s Weekly.

Mr. Tinsley noted severe heat in September and October of 1896 with highs of 110 perhaps even 118 in the shade. As for accommodations, bunk beds, stacked four high, cost one dollar each night but a person could ‘rent’ blankets for hillside sleeping for only fifty cents. Countering this was a count of twenty four saloons and the 58 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Don’t miss Lorraine Blair’s lecture, Rose Burcham, Pioneer Physician and Owner of the Yellow Aster Mine, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. Free. Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest.

(760)375-6900, maturango.org. “most stately building” in the camp was the dance hall. With a January 1897 population estimate of 3,000, the reporter said Randburg was still adding 200 persons each week.

Through the years mines have closed, structures crumbled and our population declined significantly. Unlike many mining towns, however, 113 years after Henry Tinsley’s article Randsburg still lives!

Sometimes, when the desert wind is just right, it even feels alive with those who were here long ago. Come and see….

Writer Lorraine Blair’s small books about Randsburg are in the permanent collection of the Historical Room, California State Library.

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ne of the ways Native American women pass on a sense of pride in their heritage is through the tradition of the dance shawl. If you have ever been to a Pow Wow, you may have wondered what those deeply-fringed squares of colorful material were all about. Wonder no more.

Four Winds Intertribal Council Chair Little Deer Durvin, on right in photo, was surprised when Council members Tracy Cooper, top left, and niece Stevanee Carmichael, 12, presented her with this dark blue shawl with red and white fringe as an honor gift. Little Deer is known for her patriotism and enjoys wearing red, white, and blue.

Stevanee served as the Four Winds’ 2008-2009 Princess.

There’s a lot of learning and responsibility involved with that position, and Little Deer guided her along as a mentor. At the end of her tenure as princess, Stevanee wanted to make a special Native traditional gift to thank Little Deer for all her help.

The Four Winds hosted a shawl-making class last year, so members could learn the skills needed and have fun making their own shawls. This makes a great project for girls and women to work on together, sharing as they stitch. The tradition of crafting a special gift to honor someone who has been a positive influence in your life is an important part of Native American culture.

Not only had Tracy and Stevanee gotten sly to find out the exact colors that would go perfectly with all of Little Deer’s regalia, but they upheld another tradition by working together to make the shawl, putting the silky rayon fringe on by hand, a strand at a time.

“Stevanee did two sides and I did two sides,” said Tracy.

“It was our time to talk at the kitchen table. Stevanee got really good at the fringing.”

“We listened to music while working on it, and told each other about our days. The bonding was nice.” said Stevanee.

“Plus we really love Little Deer. She’s family.”

Stevanee, whose heritage is Apache and Blackfoot, at-

tended Little Deer’s child care program from infancy to grade school.

“When she was little, I used to tell her she was going to be an Indian princess some day,” said Little Deer, laughing. “I used to make little barrettes and put them in her hair.

“I’m so proud of the job she did as princess—keeping up with her school work and going to Pow Wows and researching Apache and Blackfoot traditions.”

While the active duties and responsibilities have now been passed to the 2009-2010 princess, Stevanee will always be able to wear her crown and dance at Pow Wows with other past and present princesses. She said her favorite part of being princess was going places she hadn’t been before and meet new people while representing the Four Winds. She learned the beautiful Jingle Dress dance and gained experience at public speaking.

Little Deer feels so strongly about the tradition of shawls as a symbol of respect and honoring the feminine that she makes little shawls for all the baby girls she cares for at her family child care business. She made shawls for her granddaughters, many friends, and even some of their daughters and granddaughters.

“You give a shawl to girls as soon as they come into the world, to get them used to the idea of carrying it and respecting it. Women should always wear their shawl at any traditional Native ceremony,” she said. “At Pow Wows, even if you’re wearing jeans and a T-shirt, if you have your shawl, you’re still acceptably dressed. And never let your shawl touch the ground.”

Properly made and cared for, a woman’s shawl should last 100 years and become a family heirloom.

“Being given a shawl is one of the highest honors you can receive, especially if it’s one they made just for you,” said Little Deer. “It shows love, respect, and appreciation for something you’ve done for them.”

Native women wear shawls as part of their traditional dance regalia, either wrapped around their shoulders or folded over one arm. Wearing the shawl in the dance arena shows respect for the drum, modesty, and spiritual tradition.

The long fringe sways gracefully as the women dance.

A woman’s tribal affiliation and status can be determined by how she wears her shawl, if you know how to read the clues.

Traditionally, shawls with designs on them were worn by girls and women who were looking for a partner, while married women wore undecorated shawls.

Women who achieved the status of Elders could design their shawls any doggone way they pleased.

Today, it’s a matter of personal choice.

Little girls usually have shawls with bright designs or colorful prints to reflect the joy of childhood. A fringe of shiny satin ribbons makes the shawl both pretty and easy-care. They’re fun to dance with, like butterfly wings.

A Native shawl is basically just a big square of fabric, sized to fit the owner, with fringe of some sort around all four sides.

It’s then folded in half to wear draped around the shoulders, fold-side at the neck. The modern rayon fringe that looks so good is also, unfortunately, dry-clean only. However, other materials can be used, depending on what’s on hand. Before ready-made fabric became easily available, Native women made their shawls from animal skins or hand-loomed wool or cotton.

In case of cold or windy conditions, you just unfold the shawl and wrap it all around you. During hot weather, fold it lengthwise and drape over one arm.

Who would have thought a simple square of cloth could mean so much?

Writer Linda Saholt lives in Ridgecrest.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 59

Desert Theatre Beat

Mart dominates the entire world.

The comedy opens March 12 and performs Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. through April 10. For ticket information and reservations, call (760)361-4151.

Groves Cabin Theatre – Morongo Valley

The Groves has the smallest theatre stage of all high and low desert theatres (only 23 seats). But it also has the most Desert Theatre League awards and honors (over

By Jack Lyons 50). The Groves, which has been dark for Sun Runner Theatre Editor two months, announces the opening of ur weather in the high and low their 2010/2011 Season with the original desert has taken its toll, with comedy play “The Purr-loined Parlor”, snow, rain and the inevitable by multiple DTL award-winning writer/ mudslides and closed roads that follow actor/director Wendy Cohen.

The story deals with famous horror the winter storms we’ve been experiencing. Now we have to deal with the novelist Magot Powers (Wendy Cohen), suffering of those displaced from their her partner Sylvia (Nicole Sment), Marhomes and businesses by weather gods got’s younger brother Emmet (Peter who are obviously upset about something Nicholson), and a cat Emmet has brought home. Into this mix add a New York we’ve done.

When you toss into the equation Times interviewer (Rob Hubler) and his the struggling economy, and then factor wife Ramona (Tammy Vulhop-Hubler) in diminished discretionary income, it’s who arrive on the scene at the worst easy to see how our local theatre scene possible time, and you have a recipe for has taken a “box-office hit”. Translation: a rousing comedy play.

There are enough hidden agendas Theatres are hurting, and as a result, some are canceling already scheduled Winter and secrets to go around for all—with and Spring production playdates. Check everyone not being whom they seem. the Sun Runner magazine listings and the According to playwright Cohen, “to say Weekly Sun Blast, and this column for more would be telling”.

“The Purr-loined Parlor”, directed by the status of various theatres and shows.

Marge Doyle, opens Saturday, February Now to the current task…

13 and performs on Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays, at 2:30 p.m. through March HI-DESERT THEATRES… 4. Remember, the Groves has only 23 seats and tickets go very, very fast. Call Theatre 29 – Twentynine Palms Director Butch Pelfrey and his cast con- the box office at (760)365-4523 for restinue the run of the Noel Coward classic ervations and ticket information.

“Blithe Spirit.” The comedy favorite performs Fridays and Saturdays, at 7 High Desert Cultural Center – p.m. through February 13. There is one Joshua Tree Sunday, 2:30 p.m. matinee on February 7. The activity and excitement these days

Pelfrey, one of Theatre 29’s comedy up at the Hi Desert Cultural Center is director stalwarts, has a good track record practically palpable. One can almost when it comes to delivering entertaining taste the anticipation in the air concerncomedies, be they British or American, ing the impending opening of the newly and “Blithe Spirit” is a particularly funny renovated and renamed Kaye Ballard play that pokes fun at the British upper Playhouse.

The target date of March 1 may slip classes—a favorite target of Coward’s a little, but not much. According to presiwitty pen.

Theatre 29 nabbed the West Coast dent Jarrod Radnich and vice president premiere rights to the “campy, caustic, Craig Knudsen, the Kaye Ballard Playand comically irresistible” musical house will open in March. Now the big “Walmartopia,” directed by Charles question remains what will the playhouse Harvey. Yes, you read that correctly. produce as its first show? The order of “Walmartopia” is the hilarious and timely things, is to first open the building and tale of Vicki Latrell, a single mom who then make the selection of the play or speaks out against her company’s work- show. In any event stay tuned…

Before the Kaye Ballard Playhouse ing conditions and promptly finds herself propelled into the year 2037 where Wal- opens, however, fans of “who dunnit’s

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60 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

and mysteries” can get their fix by attending the HDCC’s Blak Box Theatre on February 6 for a double-dose of murder and mayhem . Justin Blakes’s California Desert Regional Theatre will produce and stage “Murder” by William Inge, and “Clara” by Arthur Miller for one day only.

That Saturday, the company will give two performances, at 2:30 p.m. and again at 7:03 p.m.

The next playhouse production at the Blak Box is “Murder at the Howard Johnsons” again produced and performed

by CDRT. Once again it’s one day only, February 27, at 2:30 p.m. and again at 7:04 p.m. For reservations and tickets call the box office at (760)366-3777, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

DOWN VALLEY THEATRES …

Palm Canyon Theatre – Palm Springs Palm Springs’ Flagship theatre opened the ever-popular “A Chorus Line,” one of the longest running musical shows in Broadway history, on January 29 and will perform the eye-popping and glitzy production through February 14. The dance-oriented play, directed by Rod Tethal, will perform Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

Following “A Chorus Line” the playhouse opens with another blockbuster musical, “Gypsy,” the story of Gypsy Rose Lee, the legendary dancer/stripper/ actress and author.

Written by Jule Styne, the original musical featured the incomparable Ethel Merman in the plum role of Mama Rose. In the Palm Canyon production, which opens Friday, February, 26, local favorite Pamla Vale Abramson, will star as Mama Rose Directed by Dr. William Layne, “Gypsy” will perform Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through March 14.

For reservations and ticket information for The Palm Canyon Theatre, call the box office at (760)323-5123.

The Thorny Theater of Palm Springs The only GLBT theatre serving the

gay community in Palm Springs opens Friday February 5 with “MENsky’s All Male Burlyesque,” conceived and directed by local performer/actor/singer Larry Lazzaro. Larry bills the production as “a satire on the objectification and dehaberdashering of men.” Needless to say it’s a comedy, and a musical with dancing, chorus boys, and you name it.

The sketches are by Kenneth N. Kurtz.

Performances are given on Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays, at 8 p.m., and Sundays, at 2 p.m. through February 28.

The March production is Doric Wilson’s play about role-playing as real living, entitled “A Perfect Relationship,” directed by Jim Strait. The play asks the question “are there too many friends, or tricks, or one too many men in your life?”

If you answer yes to any of those questions, then maybe you had better check out the Thorny Theater production which opens March 31 and performs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through April 4.

For reservations and ticket information call the box office at (760)325-0853.

And remember, most Thorny Theater productions are strictly for adults (Some male nudity involved). Check with the theatre first for content rating.

W

endy Cohen has always been involved in Theatre. Her mother was an actress, her father a director with the Princeton Community Players, in Princeton, NJ.

She and her siblings were always immersed in the productions. And, as people like to say, “You can take the girl out of the theatre, but you can’t take the theatre out of the girl.”

That is certainly true of Wendy.

She has been involved in all areas and Indio Performing Arts Center – Indio kinds of theatre—well, not Burlesque, Local radio personality and performer maybe, she’s too young for that. But most Valerie-Jean Hume (known to most as everything else—acting, singing, directjust VJ) brings a world premiere presen- ing (lots of that), playwriting, puppetry, tation of “Wilde People,” a production children’s theatre—both producingwritten, produced, and directed by her to writing-acting, professional, community the stages of IPAC. The revue-style set- and touring companies. ting features eight actors paying tribute to Wendy grew up in Trenton, NJ. She the dialogue, lines, wit, and unforgettable did lots of theatre with her high school characters from the pen of the brilliant and the Trenton Little Theatre. Three and outrageous Oscar Wilde. years at Northwestern University, in the The production opens March 5 and atre, of course, she finished up at Trenton performs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 State. And then as all good theatre majors p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through did in those days—the late ‘70s—Wendy March 21. For reservations and ticket shipped out to New York to try her wings. information call (760)775-5200 or go She studied at the Herbert Burghoff Stuonline at www.indioperformingartscenter. dio, picked up the art of puppetry, sang org or www.wildepeople.htmlplanet.com. with the Gilbert & Sullivan Players and the Light Opera of Manhattan, and toured Joslyn Theatre – Joslyn Senior Center the US in the “Fantasticks.”

– Palm Desert

In the early 1980’s Wendy’s parents The Joslyn Players have cancelled the separated and her father re-settled in last two productions of their 2010 season. Waitsfield, VT. Wendy joined him to The economy has taken a terrible toll on see how he was doing and stayed for 13 several of our local live theatre venues. years. She founded her own puppetry

The Joslyn Players are not out of company, the Broken Stone Puppets, for business, just finished for this season. which she wrote, composed music, and According to managing director Gina Bi- produced many productions. She also kales, the Players will be returning to the acted in and directed some 20 plays and stage when the 2010/2011 season begins operas locally. later this year. For any or all information She got married somewhere concerning tickets or reservations, call along the way, and when her husband (760)340-3220, extension 107. was transferred briefly to Southern

California in 1994, Wendy got her first taste of the Coachella Valley.

In 2000, Wendy returned alone to the Valley, this time for good. She worked for several marketing companies and, of course, got involved with the local theatre scene. When it’s in your blood. . . .!

In the past 10 years she has produced, directed, acted in (or did all three), in countless productions. In 2003 I was directing a play for a start-up company—Desert Rose Theatre—here in Palm Springs when I met Wendy. She had been recruited to do lights and sound for us—ever the multi-talented theatre lady—in a particularly challenging venue. We only got to know each other casually then, because Wendy’s attention was taken by a lady she had recently met.

By the time the year was out, Wendy and Marge Doyle had bonded into a forever couple. Their union was blessed in 2004 and they were married in California in 2007.

During the 2000’s Wendy has worked with many local companies—Top Hat Playhouse, Children’s Playtime Productions, Palm Canyon Theatre, Thorny Theatre, and the Groves Cabin Theatre.

She founded and ran, for two successful seasons, the Metropolitan Community Theatre, before the venue played out.

And she continues to write for, and direct, at the Groves Cabin Theatre.

Here in the Valley, Wendy’s work with local theatres has been noted and honored with many nominations from the Desert Theatre League, for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Overall Production, for production years 2004 through 2009.

She was awarded the DTL’s Desert Star Award for Best Director for Groves Cabin Theatre’s production of “Gertrude Stein & Companion,” 2006; Palm Canyon Theatre’s production of “Godspell,” 2008; and, Groves Cabin Theatre’s production of “On The Verge,” 2009.

In 2005, Wendy was presented with the DTL’s Community Service Award, The Joan Woodbury Mitchell Citation for Achievment in Theatre Production, for “getting theatre accomplished.”

It is always so nice to see someone who loves what she’s doing and knows how to do it, receive the recognition she deserves.

Five years ago, Wendy’s partner Marge was appointed director of nursing at the Hi-Desert Medical Center. So, they found their dream house in Joshua Tree and have been happily ensconced there ever since. On Turtle Road, if you please, together with two gorgeous cats.

Since the beginning of their relationship, Marge has always been supportive February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 61

of Wendy’s theatre work. In fact, I know Wendy would never have been able to pull off the Metropolitan Church Theatre without Marge’s help. Performing in a church sanctuary on Friday and Saturday nights required the taking down of the entire set and removal of the stage floor following the Saturday performances, and the rebuilding of it again for the next week-end. You do the math!

Marge has become so involved and active in theatre that guess who is directing the next Cohen-Doyle, Groves Cabin Theatre production? Right on!

Opening February 13 and running four weekends to March 7, “The Purr-loined Parlor,” an original, two-act, farce, written by Wendy, directed by Marge, starring Wendy(the Dane), Peter Nicholson, Nicole Sment, Rob Hubler, and Tammy Vulhop-Hubler. Production notes tell us, The Purr-loined Parlor involves a cat, stolen furniture, absurd revenge, and some pregnant chickens—and that’s just a brief outline. Along the way, the conflicts between and among the characters illustrate what can happen to those who lose sight of the importance of family, trust and love. I’m really looking forward to this one.

So, what’s up next for this dynamic duo? They will both be involved in the next Thorny Theatre production in April. Wendy is still working on several other productions that have been “in the works” for some time. Never a dull moment. Such nice ladies who do so much to enrich our theatrical lives.

62 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

FADE IN:

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he 800-pound gorilla known as the Palm Springs International Film Festival left town, last month, leaving in its wake more than 130,000 sated movie fans and film buffs – at least for the moment. People who love movies can never get their fill of those addictive flickering images.

As I have often said I don’t know how the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) keeps topping itself year after year. Well, I put that question to Darryl Macdonald, Executive Director of the Festival.

Macdonald, the Executive Director of the Festival offered his take on the festival attendance figures and box office ticket sales and receipts with “… record attendance, supremely smooth operations and enormously positive audience and industry feedback made this year’s Festival an unqualified success on every level” adding, “In a year when so many festivals worldwide are reeling from the double whammy of falling ticket sales and diminishing sponsorships, it’s hugely heartening to see Palm Springs reverse that trend and enliven audiences into the bargain.”

As an aside to me at the Australian Films “G’Day” Party at the Viceroy Hotel, he admitted that even he doesn’t know how PSIFF keeps on topping itself, adding, “Everyone keeps asking me that”, then smiling said, “but I’m glad we keep doing it.”

I think the quality of the films may have something to do with the success.

There were many eclectic selections to chose from—films from 69 countries (China withdrew two of its films in

protest over the entry of the Tibetan film entry—kudos to the festival for not backing down) 168 films and almost 400 screenings at five local venues were available for audience dollars and support.

The PSIFF serves as a barometer as to which films will make the list for Oscar Nominations as the Best Foreign Language Film of 2009. There were 45 films submitted to this year’s festival that are classified as official Oscar submission films. PSIFF has already screened four of the five potential finalists. And there is a good possibility that the Festival will have screened all five candidates— when the official Hollywood Oscar nominations list is announced in February - which is a real programming coup for any film festival. Also, it should be noted that the Palm Springs International Film Festival is now the fourth largest of its kind in North America, and is now considered a major player in worldwide film festivals.

Highlights of the Festival Awards included a special jury of international film critics (FIPRESCI) who selected the Swedish film “Involuntary” as the Best Foreign Language Film of the Oscar submissions. In addition to the FIPRESCI award, this year’s Festival audiences selected “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” as the Best Narrative Feature and chose “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” as the Best Documentary Feature.

The Opening Night film, “The Last Station”, starring Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti, and James McAvoy is also a contender for Oscar nominations, as well as the closing night film “The Lightkeepers”, featuring Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner.

FADE OUT

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he end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 have been wild and hectic here at Sun Runner World Headquarters in Joshua Tree East. The magazine had been sharing quarters with Sydney McCutcheon’s Studio Godot, but Sydney’s schedule at the E! Network finally caught up to him and he closed down his gallery at the end of the year.

With the magazine on a continual growing streak, it was good timing (though we love Sydney, who is always welcome here), and the transition began.

But first, to close the year, we hosted a holiday open house, just an afternoon and evening opportunity to spend time with friends and enjoy a few hours together near the end of a very busy year.

It was a casual, fun celebration, and one man really turned it into a party.

Brigadier General Clardy, MAGTFTC/ MCAGCC, addresses guests during The Sun Runner’s 15th birthday dinner benefit for the Armed Services YMCA Twentynine Palms, right. Founding Editor Emeritus Vickie Waite, Publisher Steve Brown, and Distribution Manager/Account Representative Sam Sloneker enjoy a conversation with Laura and Steve Spear, below right. Brown addresses the guests, a dinner scene, and Mark Ross and Tommy Paul making magic with their music, bottom right.

The fantastic Randy Green got an energetic jam session going at The Sun Runner ’s holiday open house, bottom left.

Randy Green brought his guitar, his sense of humor, and his great entertainer’s energy, and soon a jam session broke out.

What a delightful way to start wrapping up 2009!

Of course, January, 2010 marked The Sun Runner’s 15th birthday, and we celebrated it in style at Roughley Manor in Twentynine Palms. In addition to being a birthday party, the dinner was a benefit for the Armed Services YMCA Twentynine Palms, a fantastic group of folks who support our enlisted Marines and their families.

In addition to a hearty helping of Sun Runner staff and contributors, we were honored with the presence of Brigadier General Stacy Clardy, commanding general of MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, and his wife Alison, as well as Twentynine Palms City Councilmember Steve Spear and his wife Laura, the fantastic Anita Fultz and her husband Philip from the ASYMCA, other ASYMCA workers and supporters, and Marines.

While Roughley Manor innkeepers Jan and Gary Peters, and their superb staff served up a delicious dinner, Tommy Paul and Mark Ross provided the superb musical backdrop for a cherished evening. I was honored to get to spend some time in the company of our Marines, their family, and their commanding general, and we’ve got a few plans in the works to continue to build bridges between our Marines and our community, for the betterment of all concerned.

Thanks to all who joined us for that evening, and also to the Twenty-

Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians for sponsoring a soon-to-be-deployed Marine couple for the evening. Our best wishes and prayers go with them and all our Marines, Navy, Army, and Air Force personnel at home and abroad.

– Steve Brown

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 63

Andy Cahan, top, Kal David’s new sizzling blues album, below, and Rio Colors, far left.

Rio Colors Spice Up Picanha For many years, Brazilian dancer Eva performed her Rio Colors dance routines in Japan to thousands of fans. Luckily, Eva and her girls have joined us across the Pacific at Picanha Churrascaria Brazilian Grill and Bar in Cathedral City. Located adjacent to the IMAX Theater, this makes for an excellent “dinner and a movie” evening.

The dancers move among the tables to the delight of the diners, providing a true Brazilian spark with their traditional, brightly colored costumes.

I couldn’t help but observe quite a few cameras flashing to catch this unique dance troupe in action. They even posed with a customer’s baby!

It is worth it to dine on a Rio Colors night. To check with Picanha on their performance schedule, call (760)328-1818.

Rio Colors can be reached at (760)343-0560.

Blues Master Creates DVD Blues Course, Releases New Studio CD Released at the end of 2009, the self-titled Kal David is ”…all about me, “ explains Kal. “This is the first album that, from start to finish, is all Kal David, meaning that I had no producers or others hanging over everything I did or wanted to do.”

The first cut, Say Yeah, takes a step into social conscience in a most engaging shuffle, in true Kal style. The next cut, The Visit, is pure, gut-wrenching, slow blues. “Don’t know just what I expected, but it was more than I bargained for…”

Indeed! My goodness! That says it for the whole album!

The blues, while known for its anthems of deep American angst, is offered here with Kal’s better-than-ever voice and legendary guitar style served up with blazing purity.

“Of course, my love and my partner Lauri Bono, sings backup and worked with me all during production,” says Kal. Each time I listen, another layer is uncovered, another phrase, that makes me understand that the blues is not simple.

Enter The Kal David Blues Guitar Master Class DVD Series—two DVDs with 10 lessons bringing together a lifetime 64 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

of work from this blues pro.

“This is for anyone who has a basic understanding and facility with the guitar,” explains Kal. “This is good for beginners who want to avoid developing bad habits, as well as anyone who wants to learn to play with confidence, improvise better and play faster with accuracy, increasing manual dexterity.”

Kal David’s Master Blues course is available ($179) at www.KalDavid.com, as is the CD. This desert holds many Kal David fans who will be so happy to get this CD and any number of guitarists who will spend the bucks for the course.

It is always good to hear again from the Blues Master.

A Turtle Plays at Hog’s Breath Try to get on over to Hog’s Breath in La Quinta to hear what I just heard. This guy was playing what seemed to be the entire Beatles catalog, and so much more, without a single sheet of music. On and on he played, never missing a note, playing anything requested.

I was delighted to discover that Andy Cahan is musical director for Flo and Eddie, the original Turtles. His recent CD, Snarfel: 30 Years of Andy Cahan, is a tremendous collection of 25 songs tracing him through the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s.

This is such a treat! The CD begins with the ‘90s and goes backwards in time as the listener gets a feel for his musical evolution. I highly recommend you catch Andy at Hog’s Breath Tuesday through Thursday, maybe on Sunday. Call Hog’s Breath to find out when he’s playing, at (760)564-5556. You can reach Andy at AndyCahan@gmail.com.

Final Note: Please, when you plan to go out, plan for tipping your performers well.

Invite Ed to cover your Coachella Valley musical events, or review your restaurant. Send us your information at: publisher@thesunrunner.com.

Pappy’s All Stars at work, left. Gram Parsons and co. run through the desert out near Giant Rock in a rare photo by Tony Foutz, Parsons’ roommate, above, and Wilco frontman, Jeff Tweedy, visits with Carey and singer/songwriter Alan Hays at Crossroads in Joshua Tree, below.

1

970’s British Glam Rock sensation Brett Smiley sat in recently at Ted Quinn’s open mic night at Pappy and Harriet’s in Pioneertown. Brett started his career playing Oliver on Broadway as a child before being discovered by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Also playing that night was Austin’s Ruby James who did songs off her new CD “Happy Now,” produced by Charlie Sexton. Quinn’s open mics are held Mondays at Pappy and Harriet’s and Tuesdays at the Joshua Tree Saloon.

Singer /songwriter Alan (Kokomo Arnold) Hays and his wife Carey were in town for a visit and Alan did some well received sets at both open mics. To Alan and Carey’s surprise and delight they ran into one of their favorite singer/songwriters, Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy, during breakfast at the Crossroads Café.

Sound Check, a new music venue, has opened at the Joshua Tree Business Center at 6393 Sunset Road, with cozy tables, soft lighting, food and guest musicians on Tuesday nights.

Tony Foutz, who was Gram Parsons roommate and dear friend of Tom Wilkes sent me some amazing rarely seen photos of Gram and Tony that Tom took when they were out here filming Tony’s documentary “Saturation 70.” They filmed it out at Giant Rock during a Van Tassel UFO convention, and they had a blast. Tony was here a few yeas ago along with filmmakers Paul Tivers and Petrine Mitchum working on a new documentary about Joshua Tree musicians past and present, and hope to be back soon to finish the film.

Fresh off tour with Sonic Youth, Sic Alps stopped by for a show at The Palms in Wonder Valley. If you have never been out to The Palms you must go. It is like getting in a time machine and you get to see The Sibley’s play!

Sunday nights at Pappy and Harriet’s with Pappy’s All Stars has had the house packed. Recently the All Stars were joined

by Mark Olson (Jayhawks) and Don Heffington (Lone Justice/ Wallflowers/Dylan). It was a rocking night with special guest vocalist Jesika VonRabbit. Pappy’s All Stars is just what it sounds like—a group made up of so many talented musicians who take turns doing their songs and are joined by many a special guest on Sunday nights. Who could forget the night Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin joined them? it was priceless.

The directors cut screening of “Nowhere Now the Ballad of Joshua Tree” was held in January at the Joshua Tree Inn and included a Q&A session with director Don DiNicola and producer Petina Cole. Many of the musicians involved were

The Evaros.

in attendance and played music from the film after the screening, including Shawn Mafia who recently held his CD release party for “Dust Bowl Anarchy” at Pappy’s. Thanks to Margo from the Joshua Tree Inn for being such a gracious hostess.

I always use any excuse I can to go by the Inn and pay my respects to Gram Parsons who passed away in Room 8—it is such a wonderful, spiritual place of peace and quiet.

Early bird tickets for the Joshua Tree Music Festival to be held at the Joshua Tree Lakes on May 14 -16 are available now at www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com. The line up includes Wally Ingram and Jerry Joseph, Haale, and Fort Knox Five, just to name a few. This festival is growing every year so get your tickets early!

British indy rock band the Arctic Monkeys will be playing Pappy and Harriet’s in April. The Monkeys had 12 of their songs on XFM’s top 1,000 songs of all time and I am sure this show will sell out fast.

Thanks to everyone who came out for The Sun Runner’s open house. If you are a musician who would like to donate CD’s to Operation Sun Runner to get your music to our troops, please contact Steve Brown. The Sun Runner’s 15th anniversary party was held at Roughley Manor in 29 Palms. A beautiful black tie event with music from Tommy Paul and Mark Ross, it was also a fundraiser for Armed Services YMCA 29 Palms who support families of deployed Marines.

The desert is a mystical place filled with what Tony Foutz calls “madmarvellousmagicmakers.” I couldn’t have said it better.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 65

Sustainable Living

Simple Times in a Simple Place “Laundry Day Stories Have They Figured Out A Way to Tax the Sun?”

(By Pasquali via David Brown)

H

ave you heard the music lately, my friends? A short sonata was performed. It is simple and sweet, a melody played with delicacy and emotion, high in the heavens, above the range of Raven and Owl. A water person has shyly asked another water person to waltz! Will the other say yes? Perhaps!

Oh yes, this is true I say, if we all could but smile and imagine!

This pair of water persons have began their dance. Like our little friends of the night, the kangaroo mice, these too perform acts of acrobatics. Over and under and besides as well. Ying and Yang!

The balance of the cosmos! At times neighbours join in, and before one knows of it, all the rain persons in an entire cloud are waltzing about, of course, this making that cloud feel heavy and then it becomes like a tarantella! This is too much enjoyment for one cloud to share, so this cloud finds another one and they begin their waltz.

Yes, we think clouds are graceful as they make way across the sky, but actually they are clumsy and do not dance that well. They slam into one another with great abandon. The"thunder" are just the voices of those annoyed dancing little water persons who now "jump ship" and become the rain drops we see!

You say "Pasqualli, this is not real science! You made this up." and I reply, "No my friend, I heard it from a turtle who says, ‘sometimes it would be most beneficial for both a man and womans to look up into the sky and fall asunder to a great dream of mystic proportions and bring that thought back into their daily lives with them!’" I smile at the thought of the turtle wisdom.

In an old Land Rover borrowed from a friend, I have traversed many a western land! These things are built like tanks, and use petrol as one would imagine from a tank! I miss my Fiat, and even Allan's beat up Volkswagen squareback which is no longer with us. Personally, I dislike the driving, but it was something that needed to be done. Just like laundry day! Sometimes, I combine them both. For example, if my travels take me into another town 66 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

or a good distance, I will load my dirty clothing into a large galvanized steel can in my possession. I place some water in said can and a bit of herbal or organic shampoo. I prefer the organic, and so do the creosote bushes, the tortoise, hare, coyote and their friends.

Did you know shampoo is great remover of grease and grime? Of course you do, that is why it is so good to use on one's hair! You may apply shampoo directly to stains and rub it into the fabric as a sort of presoak. I am laughing a bit, here I am talking about laundry! Anyway compadres, do not fill the can up too much or it will cause a wet mess.

Then I place the lid on top, and secure it smartly with a found rubber cord.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention to place this filled can of water, shampoo and clothing as far to the rear of the vehicle as possible before you fill it up. When you are driving about, expecially on our wonderful desert roads, the water is aggitated and the clothing vibrates and moves about, providing a weak and kind action for your clothes. After a short drive, look how dirty the water is now! Find a deserving plant for the wash water and then some clean water to replace it. Now for the rinse cycle! It's so simple. You know how to let the sun dry them out afterwards. As Bernard the Sailor Man so wisely said "They sill haven't figured out how to tax the sun." But they are working on it.

I have been a travelling of late, attempting to make a living in the midst of what most call an "economic downturn!"

I call it a possible new beginning! Optimism! Hmm! It has been tres difficult. I hope time has been favourable to you on your own travels. As for me...

First, I have missed the desert. Coyote, Old Man Turtle, Raven, Owl, the smell of rain and the spirits of the elders.

Much more as well. Second, I have observed how many good persons have lost their vocations and it seems they are all sliding downhill to a point, no? Pardon, I do not wish to make conversation of bad tidings, however this is real. Mens and womens with college degrees as bar tenders and working for book stores. Do not get me wrong, as I think both are fine ways to spend one's time and make a living. It just seems things are a bit "out of sorts" as my friend Margo may say, and this makes it hard to keep a real smile on one's face.

For my part, I have been working small scale farm and horticulture where it seems many persons not interested in such things have become employed. This seems strange to me, and my compadres in the fields as well. Foremans and fore-

womens are also puzzled. I ask, is it not a shame that even the making of our food has become big business? I weep for the family farm! Excuse me as I go listen to Willie Nelson!

One thing they have not figured out is how to tax the sun! I think it is because if they did, the sun would beat down harder and how can a business person or politico deal with that? It is like fighting creation, and all of us with open eyes know what trouble this will put us into!

"They" are still trying to figure this out, just look at Copenhagen!

Erik is my big blonde friend from Sweden where they used to make those excellent rust-free Volvo and SAAB cars and the cities are squeaky clean like in Minnesota. He shares a small homestead with Bernard the Sailor Man. The "sailor man" is from Nova Scotia or somewhere in Canada, and as a young man he sailed a 15 foot boat from New York to San Francisco via the Panama Canal! "Oh no!" you say "Pasquali your tall "tails" have grown long enough!" No, it is true.

In drastic times, peoples do interesting things, sometimes fun things. Read an old book, Enchanted Vagabonds, where a couple from Newport Beach sail to Panama during the Great Depression in a kayak. Read and be inspired! Always make time to read. I had to kill my television set a long time ago, and it was gratifying violence to be sure and of course I am joking but only to a point. Peace!

Erik sometimes fills small old metal water tanks with water. First he paints them black, using a can of spray paint!

He sits them outdoors next to the wall and out of the shade, so the water will heat up during the day. At nightime, he places these cans in the house. For awhile, they radiate warmth into the room. It seems minor, however, every bit helps.

Erik and Bernard have an adobe "mass heater" in the cabin as well. It is built around a cast iron outdoor fireplace and has a small door fitted to the front of it. Of course, the flue and pipe are installed in a manner befitting fire safety, with a wall thimble and fire screen affixed atop! Then, using one's hand, a mix of adobe is built up, layer by layer, over the cast iron parts. This is a slow process and done during hot months so the adobe sets properly. Do not mix straw or a binder into the adobe as this material will get most heated when the heater is in use.

Poultry wire is a better bet, and can be formed into an interesting shape. Sitting in the corner of the room, this "fireplace" looks like my beloved "horno" or "bee hive" fireplaces used in the high deserts of Old and New Mexico! In the summer

time, you could place large candles within it for, how do you say, ambience? In the winter time, you build a small fire and close the door. After an hour or so, add more wood, quickly, and shut the door again. Now, it may be slumber time.

Pleasant dreams, dear reader. Whilst you are in dream time, the adobe heats up and disperses heat all night long. It is never hot, but just like an oil-filled heater! Where do you think the idea came from? As Solomon said, "there is nothing new under the sun."

Ok my friends, my laundry is now done as I pull into my compadre's drive. I must now help him clean up an outbuilding on the homestead. Seems he left a bag of horse oats out and there is a bit of a mess. The cat "Mouser" is looking contented and fattened these days.

May you be content, if not fattened, as well! Peace.

– Pasquali

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 67

FEBRUARY Feb. 1 – Ted Quinn’s Open Mic Reality Show. Mondays, 7 p.m.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956, pappyandharriets.com.

Feb. 2 – Ted Quinn’s “Super Ruby Tuesday” Open Mic. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. (Must be 21+) Joshua Tree Saloon, 61835 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree. (760)366-2250.

Feb. 5-Mar. 28 – Menopause The Musical. 2 p.m. Matinee Thurs., Sat. and Sun.; 7:30 p.m. Tues., Weds., Fri., Sat. $49.50. Annenberg Theater, Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 N. Museum Way, Palm Springs, annenbergtheater.org.

Feb. 5-7 – The Golden Gays, Tribute to The Golden Girls. 8-10 p.m. $37.50. Theatre at Temple Isaiah, 332 W. Alejo Rd., Palm Springs.

(760)766-3474, thegoldengays.com.

Feb. 6 – Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra Presents: Alan Woo Performing Beethoven. 7:30 p.m. Idyllwild Arts Academy, 52500 Temecula Rd., Idyllwild. (951)659-2171, idyllwildarts.org.

Feb. 6 – Beginning Life Drawing, Session 1. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $45. Sessions also Feb. 20 & two evening sessions, Feb. 4 & 18.

Joshua Tree Retreat Center, Friendship Hall, 59700 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree. Janis Commentz, elpres2@msn.com. (760)365-4955, joshuatreeretreatcenter.com.

Feb. 6 – Healthy Hearts 5K Run & Health Walk. 8 a.m. Machris Park, 59100 Santa Barbara Dr., Yucca Valley. (760)369-7207, yucca-valley.org.

Feb. 6-7 – Archaeology Weekend. Archaeoastronomy is the theme.

Most activities at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center, 200 Palm Canyon Dr., Borrego Springs. (760)767-4063, theabf.org.

Feb. 6-7 – 25th Annual Winterfest. Check website for times. Entertainment, events, food, & merchandise. McCulloch Blvd. between Smoketree Ave. & Acoma Blvd., Lake Havasu City, AZ. (928)8554115, havasuchamber.com.

Feb. 7 – Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Desert Super Bowl Party Fund-Raiser. 1:30 p.m. Super Bowl fund-raiser. $20 inc. food, no host bar. Kids’s activities/$2 (potty-trained, 2+). Advance child reservations needed. 56525 Little League Dr., Yucca Valley. (760)365KIDS, bgchidesert.com.

Feb. 9 – Rita Coolidge at Palm Springs Follies. 1:30 & 7 p.m. Twotime Grammy Award-winner performs Feb. 9-Mar. 27. 128 S. Palm Canyon Dr.,Palm Springs. (760)327-0225, psfollies.com.

Feb. 10 – Deserts Desserts Derby. 11 a.m. $55 includes lunch.

Soroptimist International of Palm Desert’s 3rd annual Silent Auction & Live Cake Auction. Indian Wells Country Club, 46000 Club Dr., Indian Wells. Ella Manor, ellamanor@aol.com. (760)346-9241.

Feb. 11 – Author, Lee Balan. 7 p.m. Lee introduces “Alien Journal,” his recently published novel. Book signing after the reading. Q Trading Company, 606 E. Sunny Dunes Rd., Palm Springs. (760)325-1647.

Feb. 11 – “Desert Tortoise,” Winter Lecture Series. Noon. Free.

Caryn Davidson, from Joshua Tree National Park, discusses the desert tortoise, status, why/how it’s being studied at the park. Hi-Desert Nature Museum, 57090 29 Palms Hwy., Yucca Valley. (760)369-7212, hidesertnaturemuseum.org.

Feb. 11-14 – 13th Annual Salton Sea International Bird Festival.

10 a.m.-10 p.m. Hands-on activities for school age children, & more.

Imperial Valley College, 380 E. Aten Rd., Imperial. (760)312-6620.

Feb. 12 – Calexico Mardi Gras 2010 “A Beer Tasting Xperience & Business Expo.” 7 p.m. $30. Hosted by Calexico Chamber of Commerce & Imperial County Film Commission. Proceeds benefit community. Beer tasting, music, dancing, karaoke, masks, beads, hor d-oeuvres, prizes. Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Hall, 124 E. 5th St., Calexico. (760)357-1166 or (760)337-4155.

Feb. 12-21 – National Date Festival & Riverside County Fair.

68 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Check website for prices, schedule. 10-day event featuring headliner entertainers, monster truck shows, cooking shows, exhibitors, rides, more. Riverside County Fairgrounds, 82-503 Hwy. 111, Indio.

(800)811-FAIR, (760) 863-8247, www.datefest.org.

Feb. 12-13 – Sara Petite & The Sugar Daddies, Elliot Randall & The Deadmen. 7:30 p.m. Pappy & Harriet’s, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956, pappyandharriets.com.

Feb. 13 – Junior Trail Guides Explorer Program. Noon - 4 p.m.

Connects youth, 9-12, with outdoors. Free. Application needed, limit of 15 per group. Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center, 51-500 Hwy. 74, Palm Desert. (760)862-9984.

Feb. 13 – Shadow Mountain Band. 5 - 7 p.m. Saturdays in Feb. Pappy & Harriet’s, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)3655956, pappyandharriets.com.

Feb. 13 – 3rd Annual Mardi Gras Light Parade & Street Festival. 5-10 p.m. Downtown El Centro, Main St. (760)337-4555, cityofelcentro.org.

Feb. 13 – Imperial Valley Symphony Association Concert. 7:30 p.m. Clarinetist Marian Liebowitz is featured in program including Romanza for Clarinet by Enrique Salazar, also Handel’s Water Music Suite, Beethoven’s First Symphony. SW High School Performing Arts Theatre, 2001 Ocotillo Dr., El Centro. (760)352-8791.

Feb. 14 – Free Second Sundays, Palm Springs Art Museum. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free admission 2nd Sunday each month. Family activities, theater/gallery performances, films, docent-led talks, artists at work. Admission/activities free except where noted. 101 Museum Dr., Palm Springs. (760)322-4800, psmuseum.org.

Feb. 14 – Pappy’s All-Stars. 7 p.m. Sundays. Pappy & Harriet’s, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956, pappyandharriets.com.

Feb. 14 – Valentine’s Day Celebration. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Living Room Concert “Marlon Sings Elvis,” 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tours 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. $30, concert $50, combo tour/concert $75. Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway, 1350 Ladera Circle, Palm Springs. (760)322-1192, elvishoneymoon.com.

Feb. 14 – Souza Family Vineyard presents “Tuscany in Tehachapi.” 1-4 p.m. $22.50. Romance and wine... all things divine...Hors d’oeuvres, chocolates, wine. (661)822-9233, tehachapi.com.

Feb 15 – Bill Cosby. 3 & 8 p.m. $55-$95. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Dr., Palm Desert. (760)773-1707, mccallumtheatre.com.

Feb. 19 - 21 – A Prickly Proposition: The Survival of the Joshua Tree. Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park, Joshua Tree. Info: desertinstitute@zippnet.net. (760)367-5535.

Feb. 20 – Desert Stargazing for Beginners. Noon-8 p.m. $35-45.

Instructor: Dennis Mammana. Meet at Anza Borrego Desert State Park Visitors Center, 200 Palm Canyon Dr., Borrego Springs. info@ theabf.org. (760)767-0446.

Feb. 21 – Joshua Tree Medley Historical Hike. Noon-5 p.m. Hosted

by Mojave Desert Land Trust. $10/Land Trust members, $25/nonmembers (includes MDLT membership). Explore colorful mining & ranching activities of area, Barker Dam & Hidden Valley, watch for bighorn sheep. Meet in parking lot of Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center, 6554 Park Blvd., Joshua Tree. (760)366-5440, mojavedesertlandtrust.org.

Feb.23 – Tim Conway & Friends. 8 p.m. $55 -$95. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Dr., Palm Desert. (760) 340-ARTS, mccallumtheatre.com.

Feb. 26 – Lecture: Section 14 – Heart of the Reservation. 6: 30 p.m.

Story of Section 14. Community members present stories & facts.

Spa Resort Casino Hotel, 100 N. Indian Canyon Dr., Palm Springs.

(760)323-0151, accmuseum.org.

Feb. 26-27 – Dave Gleason & The Country Ways. 7:30 p.m. (8 p.m. Sat.). Pappy & Harriet’s, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 69

(760)365-5956, pappyandharriets.com.

Feb. 26-28 – 2nd Annual Big Block Legends Rally. Check website for times. Free. Hot rods, bikes, music, raffles, parade, more. 1001 River Rd., Jack Smith Park, Needles. (760)326-2050, needleschamber. com/bigblockrally.

Feb. 26-Mar. 7 – Discover Treasures Below the Sea California Mid Winter Fair & Fiesta. Imperial Valley Expo, 200 E. 2nd St., El Centro. (760)355-1181.

Feb. 27 – Le Tour de Manure Bike Ride. 25 & 50 mile runs. Proceeds benefit Imperial Valley Special Olympics. El Centro. (760)337-4556.

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70 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Mar. 5-21 – “Wilde People.” Fri. & Sat., 7:30 p.m., Sun., 3 p.m. $19/24. Revue conceived from plays by Oscar Wilde. Written & directed by Valerie-Jean Hume. Indio Performing Arts Center, 45175 Fargo St., Indio. (760)775-5200, indioperformingartscenter.org.

Mar. 5 – “King Of Surf Guitar” Dick Dale featuring Forever Came Calling. 8 p.m. $20. Pappy & Harriet’s, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956, pappyandharriets.com.

Mar. 6 – Ocotillo Cactus Festival. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Info booths, photo contest, salsa contest, live music, food & drinks, vendors, cactus sales, kid’s activities, raffle, horseshoes, local crafts, & more. Ocotillo RV Park, 7 E. Agate Ave., Ocotillo. (760) 358-7200, elcentrochamber.org.

Mar. 6-7 – Civil War Days. Civil War comes to life. Visit Union, Civilian, & Confederate camps & a field hospital. Quechan Park, Blythe.

Blythe Chamber of Commerce, (760) 922-8166, battleofblythe.com.

Mar. 6 – Saturday Morning Hikes. 9-11 a.m. Free. Bring water, sun protection, & sturdy footwear. Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center, 51-500 Hwy. 74, Palm Desert.

(760)862-9984, desertmountains.org.

Mar. 6 – Palm Springs Women in Film and Television Broken Glass Awards. 6 p.m. Honors women in the industry who were shattering glass ceilings before phrase became a revolution. $95/$125. La Quinta Resort & Spa, 49499 Eisenhower Dr., La Quinta. (760)2380306, pswift.org.

Mar. 7 – 12th Annual “An Evening Affaire.” 7-9 p.m. High Desert showcases restaurants, caterers, wine shops, artisans & musical groups.

Mall of Victor Valley, Victorville. (760)245-6506, vvchamber.com.

Mar. 7 – “Hollywood’s Biggest Night” Party. 4:30-11 p.m. $100/ includes dinner, well drinks, wine and champagne. Oscars viewing at Trio Restaurant, 707 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs. (760)3258481, aidsassistance.org.

Mar. 9 – Idyllwild Arts Academy: Musical Theatre. 7:30 p.m.

Stephens Recital Hall, 52500 Temecula Rd., Idyllwild. (951)6592171, idyllwildarts.org.

Mar. 10-14 – 9th annual Festival of Native Film & Culture. Presented by Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, one of the nation’s most highly regarded fests of its kind, featuring films by, about, & starring Native Americans & indigenous people. Camelot Theatres, 2300 E. Baristo Rd., Palm Springs. (760)323-0151, accmuseum.org.

Mar. 12 – We Friends Chamber Concert. 7:30 p.m. $8/adults, $5/ children. Advance reservations required. Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest. (760)375-6900, maturango.org.

Mar. 12 – Farmer’s Market, Borrego Springs. 7 a.m. Fridays, Nov.-May. Christmas Circle Park, Borrego Springs. (800)559-5524, borregospringschamber.com.

Mar. 13 – Naval Air Facility’s Annual Blue Angels Air Show. Gates op–n 9 a.m. No outside food, drink, coolers, or backpacks allowed.

Naval Air Facility, El Centro. (760)339-2519.

Mar. 13 – TBA Wildflower Hike (Joshua Tree National Park).

Hosted by Mojave Desert Land Trust. 12-5 p.m. $10 members, $25/ non-members (includes MDLT membership). Location TBA depend-

ing on spring blooms. Meet in parking lot of Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center, 6554 Park Blvd, Joshua Tree. (760)366-5440, mojavedesertlandtrust.org.

Mar. 13-14 – 11th Annual Death Valley Chamber of Commerce Art Show. Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Furnace Creek Ranch, Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, deathvalleychamber.org. Media Sponsor: The Sun Runner Magazine.

Mar. 13 – 18th Annual Ridgecrest Star Follies. 6:30 & 8:30 p.m. shows. Hilarious lip-synch shows by community leaders. Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce. (760) 375-8331, ridgecrestchamber.com.

Mar. 16-18 – Imperial Valley Renewable Energy Summit & Expo.

Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Biomass. Quechan Casino Resort,525 Algodones Rd., Winterhaven. (760)353-8332, elcentrochamber.org.

Mar. 17 – “Rose Burcham, Pioneer Physician and Owner of the Yellow Aster Mine.” 7:30 p.m. Free. Lecture by Sun Runner columnist Lorraine Blair. Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest. (760)375-6900, maturango.org.

Mar. 18 – Mexican Fiesta cooking class. 5:45 to 8:30 p.m. $32, children 12+ welcome w/parent. Chef Patrice, Kerr McGee Center, 100 W. California Ave., Ridgecrest. (760)499-5151, ridgecrestchamber.com.

Mar. 19 – Community Appreciation Golf Day at China Lake Golf Course. Tee times recommended, call for tee time. Free. China Lake.

(760)939-2990, ridgecrestchamber.com.

Mar. 19 – Solar Power Primer. 7 p.m. Intro to implications of large-scale solar development in desert. Amargosa Valley Community Center, Shoshone, (760)852-4339, amargosaconservancy.com.

Mar. 20 – Harvey House Market Day. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Every 3rd Sat., Mar.-Aug. Food, produce, & crafts. Historic Harvey House, 681 N. First Ave., Barstow. (760)256-8617, barstowchamber.com.

Mar. 20 – DOVES Monte Carlo Night. 7-11 p.m. Stockmen’s Club, 275 S. Marjorie Ave., Brawley. (760)344-8648, brawleychamber.com.

Mar. 20-21 – Tour of Borrego Bike Ride. Registration opens 7a.m., rides start 8:30-9 a.m. Palm Canyon Resort, Borrego Springs.

(760)765-1598, borregospringschamber.com.

Mar. 20 & 21 – Flora of Joshua Tree National Park. Desert Institute at JTNP, Joshua Tree. Info: desertinstitute@zippnet.net.

(760)367-5535.

Mar. 21– Rock Art of Southern California. Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park, Joshua Tree. Info: desertinstitute@zippnet.net.

(760)367-5535.

Mar. 21 – 19th Annual Living Desert Gala. 5-9 p.m. $400. The Living Desert’s largest fundraising event. Cocktails, dinner, music, live/silent auction, & Tracks in the Sand Award for Conservation.

47900 Portola Ave., Palm Desert. gala@livingdesert.org, (760)3465694, x-2168.

Mar. 22-26 – Spring Break Horse Camp at Robison Ranch. $200. 6 yrs.-adult. Register by Feb.22. City of Ridgecrest Parks & Recreation Dept. (760)499-5151, ridgecrestchamber.com.

Mar. 27 – Miss Barstow Pageant. 7-9 .m. Tickets on website.

Where 2008 Miss California USA Raquel Beezley, and 2006 Teen Miss California USA Jessica Powell got their start. Barstow High School.

430 S 1st Ave, Barstow. (760) 257-3834, barstowpageant.com.

Mar. 27 – 5th Annual Heritage Day. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Celebration of Indio’s pioneers. 82-616 Miles Ave., Indio. (760) 342-6551, www.coachellavalleymuseum.org.

Mar. 27 – Victor Valley Community Concert Association Concert Series. 7:30-9 p.m. Quattrocelli is 4 cellists following their own virtuoso path away from musical mainstream. Victor Valley College Performing Arts Center, 18422 Bear Valley Rd., Victorville. (760) 961-0486, vvchamber.com.

Mar. 27 – Trainwreck, Smith & Pyle. 9 p.m. Pappy & Harriet’s.

53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956, pappyandharriets.com.

Mar. 27-28 – 2010 Ridgecrest Home & Leisure Show. Sun., 10 a.m.6 p.m., Sun., 10 a.m.-3p.m. Desert Empire Fairgrounds, Ridgecrest.

(760)375-4481, ridgecrestchamber.com.

Mar. 28- Apr. 2 – Palm Springs Photo Festival. Times/locations on website. Jason Millard, jason@palmspringsphotofestival.com.

(310)289-5030, palmspringsphotofestival.com.

For the most comprehensive event listings for the California deserts, please visit the California Deserts Visitors Association Calendar produced by The Sun Runner Magazine, at www.thesunrunner.com.

February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 71

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71161 29 Palms Hwy., 29 Palms, CA 92277 (760)367-3351 • www.harmonymotel.com

29 Palms Inn

Fine food & lodging since 1928. Lunch, dinner, continental breakfast, Sunday brunch. Art-filled dining room, bar. Heated pool, poolside patio, adobe bungalows. “Oasis of Mara” and trails, near JT National Park headquarters and visitor center.

Paul & Jane Smith, Innkeepers.

73950 Inn Ave., 29 Palms, CA 92277 (760)367-3505 www.29palmsinn.com

72 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites

Free Smart Start breakfast, free local calls, fast DSL Internet access, heated pool & spa, fitness center, business center.

Andy Patel, General Manager.

71809 29 Palms Hwy., 29 Palms, CA 92277 (760)361-4009 • 1-800-HOLIDAY www.hiexpress.com/twentynineca

High Desert Motel PRIVATE AND QUIET RETREAT

In the heart of Joshua Tree, a modern motel with spacious rooms, HBO/Cable TV, A/C, in-room phones, in-room coffee, laundry, swimming pool, picnic facilities, BBQ areas.

Reasonable rates. Near west entrance to JT National Park and local rock climbing schools.

Your host, Vijay Hira.

61310 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree, CA (760)366-1978 • Toll Free 888-367-3898

2 artist-owned cabins with boulder & panoramic desert views, minutes from Joshua Tree National Park, with all amenities, including wireless Internet. A favorite of musicians & artists, and dog friendly.

909-224-8626 or 760-366-1331

www.rattlerjoshuatree.com

Country Inn

EL RANCHO DOLORES MOTEL

71829 29 Palms Hwy., 29 Palms, CA 92277 (760)367-0070 • (760)367-9806 Fax

A respite for desert travelers since 1940, downtown 29 Palms. Swimming pool, courtyard, A/C, direct phones, satellite TV/HBO. Refrigerators/microwaves, kitchenettes available. Ken Patel, Manager.

73352 29 Palms Hwy., 29 Palms, CA 92277 (760)367-3528 virtual29.com/a-z/dolores

Roughley Manor

SUNNYVALE GARDEN SUITES

Complimentary Continental Breakfast. Pillow top matresses. Business Center with fast DSL Internet Access, Data Port/Fast DSL Access in all rooms. FREE local calls. Outdoor pool, some Jacuzzi Rooms, Kitchenette Rooms. TV w/remote, iron, coffee maker, hair dryer, clock radio. Friendly, professional staff.

Bed & Breakfast Inn. Gorgeous 1928 stone manor on 25-acre historic Campbell Ranch. Gardens, elegant guest rooms, fireplaces, grand piano in great room, fine linens, gourmet food, catered functions.

Gary & Jan Peters.

74744 Joe Davis Dr., 29 Palms, CA 92277 (760)367-3238 www.roughleymanor.com

Condo-like suites with a touch of the “old west.”

Junior, 1 & 2 bedroom suites, full kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms, private patios w/barbecues, Cable TV, DVD, patio area, playground, spa and fitness center.

Tony & Cora Naraval, owners.

73843 Sunnyvale Dr., 29 Palms, CA 92277 (760)361-3939 www.sunnyvalesuites.com

Sunset Motel

At the foot of Joshua Tree National Park in downtown 29 Palms. Pool, direct phones, TV, HBO, refrigerators, complimentary coffee, full kitchens available. A/C. microwave oven. Friendly, European-style hospitality.

Owner: Jan. 73842 29 Palms Hwy., 29 Palms, CA 92277 (760)367-3484 totteknutzen@hotmail.com

96.3 FM February/March 2010 – The Sun Runner 73

Amargosa Opera House & Hotel

Historic Spanish Colonial style adobe hotel with Marta Becket murals, gift shop, AC. Reservations recommended.

(760) 852-4441 www.amargosa-opera-house.com

Mojave National Preserve www.nps.gov/moja

29 Palms Chamber of Commerce 73660 Civic Center, Suite D Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 (760)367-3445 www.29chamber.com www.visit29.com

Barstow Chamber of Commerce www.barstowchamber.com/visitors

Anza-Borrego Foundation www.theabf.com

Joshua Tree National Park

74485 National Park Drive (at Utah Trail) Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 Park Info: (760)367-5500 www.nps.gov/jotr • www.joshuatree.org

Death Valley National Park

Beatty Information Center, Beatty, NV (775)553-2200 Furnace Creek Visitor Center & Museum (760)786-3200 www.nps.gov.deva

74 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

Ridgecrest Area Convention & Visitors Bureau 1-800-847-4830 www.visitdeserts.com

Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism visitpalmsprings.com

Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention & Visitors Authority www.palmspringsusa.com

Fine Food and Lodging at the Historic Oasis of Mara

GEOFFREY PRESTON PHOTOGRAPHY

Family Owned and Operated since 1928

The Sun Runner

• Lunch, Dinner, Cocktails, Sunday Brunch • Charming Adobe Bungalows with Fireplaces • Heated Swimming Pool • Entertainment Friday and Saturday Nights • Available for Special Events • Tour our extensive fruit and vegetable garden and grape arbor.

• See California Fan Palms, Oasis Lagoon, Barn Owls, Roadrunners, Gambel’s Quail, Bunnies and Jackrabbits and other delightful things!

73950 Inn Avenue, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 • 760-367-3505 www.29palmsinn.com

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29 Palms, CA 92277

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