June/July 2010 The Offroading Issue

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The Sun Runner The Magazine of the Real California Desert June/July 2010—Vol. 16, No. 3 The Sun Runner Magazine PO Box 2171, Joshua Tree, CA 92252 (760)820-1222 • www.thesunrunner.com Publisher/Executive Editor:Steve Brown publisher@thesunrunner.com Founding Editor Emeritus: Vickie Waite Theatre/Film Editors: Jack & Jeannette Lyons Literary Editor: Delphine Lucas Music Editors: Judy Wishart, Ed Munson Calendar & Social Media Editor, Asst. Publisher: Barbara Buckland

Contributing Writers Barbara Buckland • Lorraine Blair David Brown • Steve Brown • John Di Pol Pat Flanagan • Locopelli • Jack Lyons Ed Munson • Richard Myers Denise Ortuno Neil Steve Salkin • Linda Saholt Paul F. Smith •Judy Wishart Contributing Photographers: Liz Babcock • Vanya Bjelobaba Steve Brown •Ed Munson Denise Ortuno Neil Linda Saholt • Judy Wishart Contributing Artists: Karin Mayer Advertising Sales: Sam Sloneker, Ryan Muccio Distribution Manager: Sam Sloneker 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 enormous California desert region. Published bimonthly.

MAGAZINE DEADLINE: July 28 for the August/September Desert Writers 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, PO Box 2171, 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 telepathically.

No exceptions! No! No! No! SUBMISSIONS: By mail to the address above; by email: publisher@thesunrunner. com, or stop us Saturday at the JT farmers market, like everybody else does.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $22/year U.S.A. ($38/ year International, $38 trillion Intergalactic) 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, if we have any. We have made most 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 indiscretion of the publisher.

8 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

The Sun Runner The Magazine of the Real California Desert

June/July 2010 The Offroading 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 ... 13 Desert Art News, by Barbara Buckland & Steve Brown ... 15 Coachella Valley Confidential, by Denise Ortuno Neil ... 23 Woven Words, the Author’s Page ... 27 A Tale of Two Crosses, by Steve Brown ... 28 Locopelli: Bring me the head of Alfredo Figueroa ... 29 Closing Trails to Save Trails – Is the Future of Off-Roading Riding on Jawbone Canyon?, by Steve Brown ... 31 California City’s Off-Road Experiment, by Steve Brown ... 34 Desert Survival DeRanger Steve: Closed ... 36 Desert Riding Most Any Sunday, by Richard Myers ... 37 Reality Check: Children on Offroad Vehicles, by Pat Flanagan ... 38 Desert Ecology A New Protector for the Mojave National Preserve, by Seth Shteir ... 40 Historical Perspectives on the California Desert Camels in the Desert, Part 4, by Paul F. Smith ... 41 Ramblings from Randsburg On the Trail of... The McCarthy Family, Campers in a Covered Wagon,

by Lorraine Blair ... 42 Ridgecrest: The Other “Indian Wells” Two Enterprises, by John Di Pol ... 43 Native Americans Finding Information, by Linda Saholt ... 44 Desert Theatre Beat, by Jack Lyons ... 45 Film Talk, by Jack Lyons ... 46 Coachella Valley Music Notes, by Ed Munson ... 47 Hi-Desert Music News, by Judy Wishart ... 48 Sustainable Living Simple Times in a Simple Place, “Hot tubbing with John the Hippie and his Magnificent Outdoor Shower (Part One),” by David Brown ... 50 The California Deserts Visitors Association Calendar ... 52 The Last Word ... 55

Cover Art — by Steve Brown

A sand rail tears along the Algodones Dunes near Glamis on a beautiful desert day.

Are you a desert artist or photographer? Would you like your work on the cover of The Sun Runner Magazine? Send copies of work you’ve done that might be appropriate for our cover to publisher@thesunrunner.com

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 9

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The Sun Runner, PO Box 2171, Joshua Tree, CA 92252 (760)820-1222 • www.thesunrunner.com 10 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

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ff-roading is certainly the most contentious and controversial form of recreation in the desert.

There has been polarization between the conservation community and the off-road recreation community. That polarization has led to mistrust on both sides and blame cast back and forth for years.

On the far end of the conservation spectrum lies a fantasy desert where no dirt bikes, quads, rails, or any other mechanized forms of recreation pollute the desert with their noise and dust, and pristine desert ecosystems are left uncrossed by torn-up trails and donuts done by over-testosteronated (not a real word) ignorant young males, and older males who wish they were still young but aren't.

On the opposite end of the spectrum lies a desert where riders tear unfettered and unregulated across miles and miles of unpatroled, unmarked landscape, free to do as they please—no wilderness areas, no restricted areas—just desert, waiting to be torn into long, dusty trails.

Back on the far end of the conservation spectrum, off-roaders appear as liquored-up, reckless, quasi-Neanderthal, white trash who care little for their own children, and less for the environment they are hell-bent on destroying. They stop guzzling cheap beer long enough to shoot desert tortoises and look for wilderness area signs to rip out, vandalizing everything in their path, disdainful of any attempt to force them to take some degree of responsibility for their actions.

While over on the distant end of the off-road spectrum, environmentalists (which includes virtually everyone who professes any concern over any species

of animal or plant living in the desert), have been shoved Limbaugh-like into the "enviro-Nazi" stereotype: Ugly, pseudointellectuals who really hate off-roaders because of the freedom they represent, these hypocritical freaks who value the life of a milk vetch plant more than their own children—if they have any—these godless anti-American fasci-socialistic bullies shove legal mumbo-jumbo down everyone's throat as they work to confiscate all lands as part of their plan to deny access to all but the very wealthy.

Meanwhile, somewhere between the insulting stereotypes and all the hyperbole, lies truth, and perhaps, hidden under the milk vetch, reason.

I know some folks in the environmental community who would like to see all off-roading banned. They are inspired by the off-roading abuses they have witnessed, and a well-grounded concern for protection of the desert they love.

But most environmentalists, I think, understand that off-roading is a very popular form of recreation, and that it will continue to exist in some form or another, on into the future. After all, my quick estimate is that we may see up to, or perhaps over, a quarter of a million riders out in the California desert on some holiday weekends. You won't see 250,000 hikers out in the desert over the Thanksgiving weekend (thank God).

I know of folks in the off-roading community who would like to see all wilderness areas opened for vehicular access, and all trails to be open, with no thought to environmental damage, historical or archaeological destruction, pollution, noise, trespass on private property,

or anything else that might deter them from the enjoyment of pure devastation of wherever they feel like riding.

But I don't think off-roading is going to stop being a popular form of recreation unless gas goes up to $10 a gallon, in which case, there will cease to be any popular forms of recreation other than trying to shoot your neighbor to take their food, and we'll have a lot more problems than off-roaders straying from approved riding areas.

Until then, folks will come out to the desert to ride. And riding is fun. Don't let anyone tell you it's not. Off-roading, in its many forms, is quite enjoyable. It can also be a great way to get into the back country for exploring, seeing remote historical sites, and, yes, even getting to places where you can enjoy nature.

It's noisy and dusty, and it is extremely damaging when done in the wrong place or the wrong way. It's unsafe, and disrespectful of the rights of others when it is done in the wrong spirit.

But I think outside the designated "open" areas, riders are going to start to be expected to stick to legal trails in order to minimize environmental impact on the desert. I think riders are going to have to begin to think more about stewardship (quite a few already do), and their responsibility to help care for the lands they enjoy. They're going to need to realize there is a cost for responsible use, and a heavy cost for misuse.

Last summer, in England, I saw off-roaders behaving remarkably responsible. I asked a local if that was because the British had a more inherently responsible attitude about off-roading.

He replied that no, it was not about their attitude—it was about the 3,000 pound (roughly $5,000) fine.

The desert is under pressure on all fronts. We face "green" energy plans to devastate vast swaths of ecologically valuable lands, power transmission corridors, garbage dumps, water stealing and storage projects, poorly planned development, a declining water table, unreliable outside water supplies, dying animal populations filled with diseases, and a thousand other challenges to the existence of the desert we love.

Maybe it's time for the environmentalists and off-roaders to forge a little trust, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each other, not as adversaries, but as potential allies. The challenges are changing, and the stakes are higher than ever. Those on both sides may not want to work together, but they may need to—if we're all going to succeed in preserving our desert lands.

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News from down south We didn't hear anything about our marketing suggestions for Borrego Springs in the last issue, but there is plenty of news from down that way.

First, the 16th Annual Anza-Borrego Foundation Birdathon took place in April, and for the first time, concentrated solely on birds within the boundaries of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Team members Mark and Paul Jorgensen, Herb Stone, and Bob Theriault tracked down the elusive Lucy's Warbler, along with 95 other species of sparrows, warblers, flycatchers, ducks, wrens, and the occasional waxwing, starling, roadrunner, hawk, kestrel, and our fave—the American Coot (we thought most of those were living in the Coachella Valley!).

Theriault, a retired state park ranger and environmental scientist, compiled a full list and report on the results of the birdathon at www.theabf.org.

Now, this being Anza-Borrego, they are not content with simply counting bird species during our cool spring. Oh no. This July 1-4 marks the 40th annual Bighorn Sheep Count in this magnificent state park. The sheep counters are asking for volunteers, but reminds folks that they need to be "hardcore" volunteers who like to overnight in the back country in extreme temps. If that sounds like you, give them a shout at (760)767-5311 and ask for P.J., or e-mail Ranger Steve (not our DeRanger Steve, who was hunted down by the National Park Service for being called "Ranger Steve," even though he served years as a tribal ranger), at sbier@parks. ca.gov. They're asking for R.S.V.P.s before June 12, if possible.

Make sure to vote for retired park superintendent Mark Jorgensen before 12 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

June 19 as the Cox Conserves Hero for the San Diego region. Jorgensen is a finalist in the awards program that honors those who work to create, preserve, improve, or enhance our outdoor places.

Jorgensen has given thousands of hours volunteering to help preserve land and habitat in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, providing environmental education (including being instrumental in implementing the ABF's 5th grade environmental camp), has been a force behing the annual bighorn sheep count (OK, so he's a little sadistic, but maybe that's just his sense of humor) and the sister park project between ABDSP and Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. Jorgensen is, of course, already a winner, but vote for him anyway. The winning hero (they're all heroes) can receive up to $10,000 for an environmental nonprofit of their choice.

The ABF welcomes a new executive director (and so do we), Conrad Kramer.

Kramer arrives from Driggs, Idaho, where he served as executive director of the Teton Regional Land Trust.

At the same time, the ABF says goodbye to "Mr. Archaeology" Bob Begole, who died in April. Begole was one of the ABF's original members, a strong supporter of ABDSP's archaeology program and the ABF's land acquisition work. He gave more than 30 years of volunteer support for the park, funding the Begole Archaeological Research Center and library, recorded over 3,000 archaeological sites in the park, and left an endowment that provides $10,000 a year in grants for archaeological research.

Evidently the human resources down Borrego Springs way are every bit as impressive as the natural resources...

Of course...

Of course, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is one of the 278 priceless gems our brilliant state government is considering throwing away (pearls before swine may be an appropriate analogy...). Already suffering from neglect and underfunding (nearly 150 state parks have been shut down part-time or have experienced deep service reductions due to budget cuts, and the worst may be yet to come).

The Sun Runner Magazine has joined in supporting the ballot measure that would establish the State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund. This initiative adds $18 to the vehicle license fee, while providing free admission to all our state parks. In a state where it is a "good deal" to pay $49 for the pleasure of standing in line for hours to take a six-minute ride at an "amusement" park (what is so amusing about that, we're not sure), $18 sounds like a great bargain to preserve—and enjoy—our state parks, historical sites, and beaches.

California's state parks are like our crown jewels. They are invaluable, and it should be a felony to allow them to sink into neglect and disrepair. They also provide jobs and tourism revenue for the communities nearby (such as Borrego Springs), and protect our natural and cultural resources, as well as our history.

It is estimated that tourists visiting our state parks drop $4.32 billion a year in park-related spending. Each dollar spent on our state parks creates another $2.35 for California's treasury through taxes, which means, of course, that our state government doesn't want to fund them (why, after all, would you want to Continued on Page 25

sight of his home. This man, with his Fox News politics, who so vehemently defended Ricka after her death, undoubtedly opposes the very programs and services—health care, education, a living wage—that offer the only solution to the hard lives and premature deaths of America’s poor. Maybe he just didn’t want to see Ricka’s blood in the crevasses of his own hands.

There are millions of Ricka McGuires still living in this country. Walk out of your front door here in the high desert and look around, she will be there, living in that eyesore of a shack or that cluttered mess of a travel trailer. Odds are they will die prematurely--of exposure maybe, but more likely for lack of adequate health care, substance abuse, or violence, poverty’s true death sentence.

And no one and everyone is to blame.

Thanks for a thought provoking essay.

The Blood of Ricka McGuire I read “The Blood of Ricka McGuire” in the April issue of The Sun Runner over and over. Like you, Ricka’s story continues to haunt me. Blame must be assigned, it seems, before Ricka McGuire can rest in peace.

When I began this story, I set out to write about rural poverty and homelessness prompted by a snippet of a conversation I overheard in Wonder Valley between a couple of area retirees: “How could anyone let their mother die in an old school bus within sight of their house?”

In fact, most of Ricka’s friends blame her family for her death.

Others blame Ricka herself for her death. Many of the people I interviewed for this story said that Ricka was stubborn and irascible. She had refused what little help her family could offer because she found the strings attached too entangling.

I’m told it approached 150 degrees inside that tin-can bus the day she died; few of us could have survived that heat. Just like the hiker who ran out of water, we can say with cold objectivity that she should have been better prepared for summer conditions in the desert, that an error in judgment and planning resulted in her death. Of course, anyone with the means to escape that bus and those conditions would have done so. They’d have gone to the Tastee Freeze for a cone, cruised down to the mall and walked around in the AC, spent a couple of days at the coast.

Most who knew her, her friends and family, maintain that Ricka chose to live the way she did. In fact, her family bristles at the suggestion that Ricka was

poor, that she died homeless. They see those labels as derogatory slurs. However, while it is true that she selected the option to live without water or electricity in that old Wayne school bus squatting on vacant parcels, she made that selection from among a very limited number of choices. An air conditioned home with running water and indoor plumbing was not an alternative available to her.

As you mention, the coroner’s report states heat stroke was a contributing factor in Ricka McGuire’s death, but I say it was poverty that killed her. Like others in her situation, she walked the high wire of life without a safety net, and that one little slip, that one unusually hot day, killed her. Being tossed off SSI was just one of the many set-backs she had to endure in her life. Cold objectivity says that Ricka shouldn’t have passed those bad checks, that she should have kept up the payments on her cabin, that she should have gone to stay with family in town during the heat.

However, one must also add that none of those errors in judgment should carry the death penalty.

My article angered many of the Morongo Basin residents who read it.

I thought one long-time Wonder Valley man was going to punch me he was so upset by my depiction of Ricka and his beloved Wonder Valley. He and others saw it as a judgment of the high desert way of life by an outsider, one of those from L.A. or someplace. But also maybe that guy who wanted to punch me bridled at being confronted by the fact that Ricka McGuire’s death was not simply an error in judgment, but the almost inevitable outcome of a life of poverty, and it happened to someone he knew, within

William Hillyard Twentynine Palms, California Hope Blooms in the Desert!

Renewed hope...that’s what you have given me since stumbling across the online edition of the Sun Runner today!

I’ve been living overseas for the last three years with my husband (an active duty Marine), daughters, dogs and bunny. As I started taping up moving boxes these last few days my mind was racing with ideas on how to escape the feeling that we had been banished to our new post at 29 Palms, California.

We recently attended a conference in Bangkok where I’d been informed with smirks from other Marines that “29 Stumps” is a great stomping ground for the guys, but the only thing the ladies live for out there is Wal-Mart. I even caught a few of those guys wiping their brows with relief that it was us heading out there and not them!!

That was it, I was not about to bring my girls from this life of culture, diversity and worldwide learning to some little backwards town where the highlight of everyone’s month is a sale on overalls and shovels. But then, there was you.

Forgive me for my naiveté, I should have known by now not to make judgment on hearsay, much less the opinion of a few good Marines. I opened your latest issue and immediately knew that as with everything else in my life, I was being planted in exactly the right place at the right time. The article on the geoglyphs in Blythe left me spellbound and excited.

First of all, I didn’t think anything other than a few cactus and rattlesnake June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 13

would be found out that way, and secondly, it gave me my first “cause,” being that I am both a lover of nature and mystical historic treasures such as this. The eco-hikes, natural food stores, and concerns for climate change and ecology ring true to my core, and I am now, for the first time, looking forward to moving since we got the news...

Thank you for inspiring me!

Lisa M. Driggs More Inspiration...

I received your magazine from Judy Wishart when visiting with a new friend, Christie Anderson. I’ve been in the desert a while but just getting around to meeting some really cool people. I also read my first “Sunrunner” and I love it. The information and stories are amazing...

Tami Wood From Our Favorite Jewish Cowboy Minister...

Just wanted to drop you a note of congratulations for your current SR issue, for all your own contributions in it, and especially for “The Sun Shines on Aztlan”—an important, very well-written article that should be read by all.

With best wishes, Rev. B Rev. Lon M. Burns, D.D., M.S.W. “America’s Favorite Jewish Cowboy Minister” Arizona Law Fallout The word is many family’s [sic] will be planning their summer vacation in AZ this year. CA is definitely out!

The uproar over this new law is really disturbing. AZ is simply taking steps to uphold a law that is already in place, for some reason certain groups of people don’t think they need to obey this law. Just because the law hasn’t been correctly enforced in the past, doesn’t mean it is not a law. It’s as important as any other law, such as robbery, rape, or driving without a valid driver’s license-which by the way I carry at all times with me, and you don’t hear me crying and complaining that it’s such an inconvenience to carry my identification with me! Boohoo!! That’s what I say! Many illegal immigrants do NOT respect our laws, our sovereignty. We owe them nothing.

Anyone who believes this law is not a step in the right direction for this country, is clearly opposing it for the wrong reasons.

Think about it.

Kathy (no last name provided) Grand Rapids, Michigan More Fallout...

Next summer my wife and I were planning a several week visit to California to see many of its major tourist attractions.

I have canceled all such plans because of California’s hostility to Arizona and its laws on border security.

Sincerely, Frazier Conley, Texas Send your letters to: publisher@thesunrunner.com.

14 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

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here were some great art shows on exhibit in Joshua Tree as of late. On one Saturday night, we dropped in on Woods in the Desert’s grand opening, with Ted Quinn performing, and art by a number of our favorite hi-desert artists on display. The gallery makes a great addition to Joshua Tree.

Then it was off to True World Gallery (which has an impeccable track record in hosting excellent shows), where we took in Brian Leatart’s photography, and Lily Stockman’s desertscapes.

Stockman is not only a well educated and trained artist, but you just have to love her series of paintings of homestead cabins.

We saw several we wanted to buy, but alas (for us, not the artist or gallery), they were already sold.

Out back, The Sibleys were rocking under the stars to a packed Starlite Courtyard. It was hard to tear ourselves away, but we eventually moved on to The Red Arrow Gallery. Unfortunately, that particular show, From There From Here, Series 3, didn’t do much for us, and the scene was a bit more “L.A.” than we tend to go for, which was disappointing (usually, The Red Arrow pulls of some pretty daring and interesting shows).

A promising group show is planned for June.

Out at “the lake,” the Joshua Tree Music Festival featured a strong art component this year, with one of our favorite desert artists, Bret Philpot, painting away (see photo above), and a strong and poignant work based on the American flag, by Bobby Furst. Our hope is to see even more art develop at the music festivals in Joshua Tree.

Meanwhile, the hi-desert’s Byzantine iconographer, Delphine Lucas, has been selected to help with the World Monument Fund’s restoration of historic frescos on the walls of the Perivoli Monastery on the island of Lesvos, Greece. Lucas will be working on restoration of wall paintings from the 16th Century for five weeks this summer. The monastery lies in a beautiful valley between the villages of Antissa and Vatoussa.

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TWENTYNINE PALMS

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www.29PalmsCreativeCenter.com

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

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16 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

29 Palms Art Gallery The Summer Show will be on display in all three gallery rooms June 4 through August 29, exhibiting works by Twentynine Palms Artists’ Guild members— paintings, drawings, collage, mixed media, photography, and sculpture. The gallery will be open weekends only, Friday-Sunday, from noon to 3 p.m. throughout the summer (June-August).

29 Palms Art Gallery, 74055 Cottonwood Drive, 29 Palms (off National Parks Drive), 29 Palms. (760)367-7819, or www.29palmsartgallery.com.

29 Palms Creative Center David Greene: “Movie Star Zombie Love Affair” exhibit runs through June 5.

Studio Opening: Anna Houghton.

Friday, June 18, 6-11 p.m. Houghton’s studio is located at the 29 Palms Creative Center & Gallery in the back. There will be a raffle, refreshments and live music. Anna wishes for people to dress in strange and exotic costumes and colors that represent their favorite childhood cartoon character. Guests can bring a dish or drinks if they wish.

For the month of June, the Creative Center offers a discounted rate to throw your own printmaking party. Bring food, libations, music and your creativity for a good time, making colorful prints with your friends. Schedule your art party for only $20 a person.

Creative Center Classes:

Summer Fun Drypoint, June 12, Saturday, noon-2 p.m. Teaches how to scratch a drawing into a Plexiglas plate, then ink it up in a variety of ways. Bring an image or drawing about 11x14 in size. $60/person.

Father’s Day Card Making, June 19, Saturday, noon to 2 p.m. Having trouble finding the perfect card for Dad? Come make your own personal cards for Dad and friends or loved ones that you know would be tickled-pink to receive a homemade card. $55/person.

Gallery hours: Monday - Saturday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed July & August, open Sept. 1. 29 Palms Creative Center, 6847 Adobe Road, 29 Palms. (760)3611805. www.29palmscreativecenter.com.

The 29 Palms Inn, Oasis of Mara Gallery open daily. The 29 Palms Inn, Oasis of Mara, 73950 Inn Avenue (off National Park Dr.), 29 Palms. (760)3673505. www.29palmsinn.com.

29 Palms Art in Public Places Drew Reece Photography through June

30. Drew Reese, a well known Joshua Tree photographer says, “My photographs are primarily about the desert landscape. I continually challenge myself to see ‘the familiar’ in a unique way.”

The look of his photography is inspired by the landscape painters of the 18th and 19th Century, he says, and recent series have featured the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park.

Reese studied photography at San Francisco State and the University of California at Berkeley and exhibited in numerous group shows in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Joshua Tree in 2000.

He has exhibited widely in the Morongo Basin. He has also been a participant since 2004 in the annual Morongo Basin Open Studio Art Tours.

Rocky Arnold & Pat Quandel exhibit July and August. The Art in Public Places exhibits are sponsored by the Public Arts Advisory Committee. Residents and visitors can view the show Monday through Thursday from 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.

JOSHUA TREE The Red Arrow Gallery The Red Arrow offers a Group Show in June featuring: Brian Leatart, Robert Rico, Katherine Langland, Jacobine VanDermeer, Eric Pfranger, Paul Turecki.

There is an opening reception June 5, 6-10 p.m.

The show runs through July 25. Gallery hours: Friday 5 to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Red Arrow Gallery, 61596 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree. (760)366-3700, www. theredarrowgallery.com.

Joshua Tree Art Gallery (JTAG) The JTAG Artists Collective Exhibition runs through June 30. July: Surprise Installation. Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 61695 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree.

(760)366-3636, www.joshuatreeartgallery.com.

Summer Joshua Tree Gallery Crawl.

The “crawl” is held in conjunction with Joshua Tree Gay Pride, on June 26.

Includes The Red Arrow Gallery, True World Gallery, JTAG, Woods In The Desert Art Gallery and Mt. Fuji.

The crawl moves to the Art Queen complex, 61855 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, about 6 p.m. where there will be live music, speakers, refreshments and exhibitors.

Bobby Furst’s work at the Joshua Tree Music Festival is a memorial to our troops who have lost their lives in the war in Iraq. “Peace” is spelled out using bullet shells, each shell representing an American casualty.

YUCCA VALLEY

MORONGO VALLEY

Hi-Desert Nature Museum Yucca Valley High School Art Show.

On display though June. 6. Exhibition highlights the finest work of some of this community’s rising talent from Yucca Valley High School. Curated by YVHS art teacher Bruce Hamilton, the show displays a variety of subjects in different art forms such as drawing and painting.

Quest for Fire: History of Firemaking Tools. On display June 12 through August 13.

Museum hours are Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Closed Mondays and major holidays.) Admission is free. Your donation supports the Hi-Desert Nature Museum’s educational mission. HiDesert Nature Museum, 57090 29 Palms Hwy.,Yucca Valley. (760)369-7212, www.hidesertnaturemuseum.org.

The Purple Agave Art Gallery Continuing show featuring Cheryl Jordan’s book of black and white photography, “92256, Morongo Valley.” All book sale proceeds go for scholarships for young ladies in Morongo Valley. Show runs through Sept.

Open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The Purple Agave Art Gallery, 49889 29 Palms Hwy., Morongo Valley. (760)3636076. www.purpleagavegallery.com.

Tamma’s Magic Mercantile Art currently featured in Tamma’s include nature and wildlife photography by David McChesney, Christy Anderson’s license plate and “junk art,” Christopher Pheyk glass blower and art, Divine Design greeting cards by Barbara Penney, Claire Montrose’s stained glass windows and bottle crosses, Frederick Ruldolph’s leather art, and the gourd art of Ronald Churchwell.

Hours are 10 a.m-5 p.m daily. Tamma’s Magic Mercantile, 55727 29 Palms Hwy., Yucca Valley. (760)228-0700.

PALM SPRINGS Palm Springs Backstreet Art Walk June 2 and July 7. The 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 Dr., Palm Springs (off Hwy. 111 & E. Palm Canyon). (760)328-1440, www.backstreetartdistrict.com/galleries.

I.M.A.G.E.S.by Gideon Group Show. July 3 to August 1. Artist reception, Saturday, July 3, 6-9 p.m.

Hours: Thurs.-Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Backstreet Art District, 2682 Cherokee Way, Palm Springs, (760)250-1521, www. imagesbygideon.com.

Mark Speer Automotive

760-367-0222

Roy’s Tires

4082-B Adobe Rd. 29 Palms

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 17

Your gear specialist for

Hiking • Backpacking • Climbing

MOUNTAIN

EQUIPAGE

NOMADVENTURES 61795 Twentynine Palms Hwy. Joshua Tree Park Blvd. & Hwy. 62 (760) 366 4684

Dezart One Gallery Downs: “Fliriting With Pop.” Artist reception, Saturday, June 12, 6-8 p.m. with an encore, Friday, July 2, 6-8 p.m.

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

Palm Springs Art Museum Veolia Water Youth Environmental Photography. Through June 27. The Palm Springs Art Museum hosts the fourth annual Boys and Girls Club Youth Environmental Photography Contest, sponsored by Veolia Water. This exhibition spotlights talented Coachella Valley youth, ages 6-13.

Participants from the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Springs were provided with digital cameras and other equipment necessary to create photographic prints of their environment. They visited various areas of Palm Springs and other

18 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

cities to take their photographs, including Andreas and Indian Canyons, Sunrise Park, The Living Desert and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Each participant could only select one print to enter, and these are on display in a montage of photographs taken by the participants.

The winning works will be on display until June 27 in Zone 101 in the Hoover Gallery.

Photographing the American West runs from June 12 to January 2, 2011.

The exhibit includes more than 45 photographs by nearly 40 artists, and offers a comparative view of the American West from 1866 to the present, documenting changing visions of the West. The photography exhibit complements Colors of the West: The Paintings of Birger Sandzén, which runs to September 12.

Sandzén was a Swedish-born artist who settled in the center of the American prairie in Lindsborg, Kansas, where he

Desert singer/songwriter Ted Quinn performs at the opening of Joshua Tree’s new Woods in the Desert Gallery, above; while Wonder Valley’s The Sibleys rock the Starlite Courtyard during a recent True World Gallery opening reception, below.

Artist Scott Monteith and artist/gallery owner Andy Woods take a break from the opening reception of Woods in the Desert Gallery, in front of Monteith’s work, opposite page, top.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 19

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

Open: 12 to 3 PM Wednesday–Sunday Summer Hours: 12 to 3 Friday-Saturday-Sunday

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Your Informed Mind, Healthy Body Connection Fresh Organic Produce • Refrigerated & Frozen Bulk & Packaged Foods • Herbs • Supplements Body Care • Books • Apparel 61693 Twentynine Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree, CA Corner of 29 Palms Hwy. & Sunset Rd.

9:00-6:00 Monday thru Saturday

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20 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

was invited to become an art professor at Bethany College.

Considered a post-impressionist for his use of color and expressionist in technique, Sandzén’s paintings have been relatively unknown outside the Midwest until recently.

The Modern Masters new exhibit, June 26-September 26, will feature works by Cezanne, Chagall, Degas, Matisse, Picasso, Renoir, Rodin, and others.

Ending soon is The Passionate Pursuit: Gifts and Promised Works from Donna and Cargill MacMillan, Jr. This exhibition concludes June 20, with more than 75 contemporary sculptures, paintings, design objects, and works on paper from the MacMillan’s personal collection.

Museum hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Thursday 12-8 p.m.; 4-8 p.m. free admission. Closed Mondays and major holidays. 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs. (760)322-4800, www.psmuseum.org.

The Wright Gallery Local Photography Show. July 31-September 15. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Wright Image Gallery, 125 E. Tahquitz Canyon #100, Palm Springs. (760)322-5777. www.thewrightimagegallery.com.

TECOPA Tecopa Basin Artists Group (TBAG) Gallery Open daily 1 a.m.-4 p.m. TBAG Gallery at Tecopa Hot Springs Resort. (760)852-4420. www.tecopahotsprings.org.

LA QUINTA Old Town Cellar Rebecca Molayem, painter. June 1-30 Reception: Tuesday, June 1, 5-7 p.m.

Robert Ferguson, painter. July 1-31. Reception: Tuesday, July 6, 5-7 p.m.

Presented by La Quinta Arts Foundation. Old Town Cellar, 78015 Main St., Suite 109, La Quinta. (760)771-8950. www. lqaf.com.

RIDGECREST Maturango Museum Benny Alba: “American Vista Points.” Through July 7.

Curator’s Show, Edward Curtis Photogravures, amazing protraits of Native Americans from early 1900s. July 10 through September 8. The Friday evening of the opening of each show is an artist’s reception from 7-9 p.m. At 7:30 p.m. there is a presentation by the artist. The art is for sale and a portion of each sale benefits the museum. The museum is open daily (except major holidays) from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest. (760)375-6900. www. maturango.org.

BORREGO SPRINGS Anza-Borrego Desert State Park A new photo contest category is up in Anza-Borrego—The Desert at Night. Other categories include Desert Animals, Desert Plants, Landscapes/Skyscapes, and People Enjoying the Desert (that would be us every time we get to ABDSP!).

We think they should add insects, and perhaps coots, to the lineup, but that’s just us. Check out the photo contest entry info at www.theabf.org.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 21

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22 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

I

t’s been a long time since I’d gone out there. I remembered it differently than the way it was now, at least the ride out there anyway.

Maybe it was because I was just a little girl when I first experienced it, and things don’t look the same through the eyes of eight year old, as they do through the eyes of a….well, you know what I mean.

I had gone out there with my parents and my sister, when we were still living in Orange County, a couple years before we joined the hearty residents of the Coachella Valley and called it home.

My parents would often take impromptu jaunts out of town on my father’s day off; it was extra special for my sister and I because we’d get out of school for the day and go on an adventure in my parents station wagon. We’d munch on Zingers and make faces at the cars driving by; I blame the delinquent behavior on all the sugar we were consuming, I mean they don’t call them Zingers for nothing.

The roads in the desert were pretty barren back then and there wasn’t the scenic distractions that there are today,

just mostly desert, with the occasional roadside lizard waving hello to passersby.

A clear memory was all of the date gardens that lined the road, which have gone by the overdevelopment wayside over the years, but still stubbornly populate the landscape.

Perhaps that’s why things looked different to me now, there were many more distractions on this trip and the lizard was somewhere out playing golf. But as I drove closer to my destination and as the desert started to encroach on civilization, I noticed how honest it all looked, the desert, the date fields, the memories.

And then without proper warning, there it was, as frightening and as awesome as I remember: the Salton Sea.

It’s mind-boggling really, this huge body of water, confidently existing in the middle of the desert. The purpose of my journey to the Salton Sea was to visit the newly-opened Salton Sea History Museum, which is housed in the historic North Shore Yacht Club built by the famed architect, Albert Frey.

The building has been completely restored to its former glory and is now used

as a museum and community center. As I walked around the museum I came across an old photo of the yacht club before it went into disrepair. The photo showed its blue carpet, and then I remembered going there as a child. It was still open back then, but eerily lacking activity. The memory came rushing back, of me with my family strolling around the vacant building and gazing out in simple awe at the sea.

I met Jennie Kelly, director of the museum, and she shed some light on the building’s past and her hopes for its future. She introduced me to June Eliers and her daughter Lana. June is 93 and her father built a popular clubhouse on the water back in the 1930s where people used to hang out.

She reminisced about working there and the people she met, including her husband. She spoke of floods, boat races , and Guy Lambordo, who would frequent the oasis along with other Hollywood fugitives searching for a respite from the spotlight.

It’s clear that June has a deep connection with the sea, as most people in that June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 23

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KX96 96.3 FM 24 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

area do. And I guess without realizing it or giving it much thought in the past, I do too, a clear and calm fond memory of a road trip and blue carpet...

In the heart of Palm Springs, you can find a nice mélange of nightlife and entertainment. Something for everyone, you might say. And if the something you were looking for included flashing lights and cocktails, (and I don’t mean being pulled over for a DUI) then you’d probably find yourself at Zeldaz nightclub. It’s been there as long as I can remember, a beacon in the world of desert nightlife, always shining bright, refusing to be extinguished.

If you talk to anyone who has lived in the desert through the club’s life of 33 years, they most likely have participated in the party scene at Zeldaz. I have seen my fair share of nights at the popular club, something to do with shots of Goldschlaeger, a dancing cage, and did they have a basement? Well, that’s a different story, but suffice it to say, I always had great time when I went there.

If you want to go Zeldaz today, you won’t find it at 169 North Indian Canyon any longer. The club has moved out of its long-standing residence and swiftly into the 21st Century at its new location at 611 South Palm Canyon in The Sun Center shopping plaza.

Zeldaz’ new glamorous digs look good on her, with state of the art lighting and sound, three bars to indulge in, a game room and VIP seating with bottle service. The handsome bouncers dredged in black suits are there to invite eager club-goers in, but remember this, there is a strict dress code enforced—no boxerrevealing baggy jeans for guys allowed,

The North Shore Yacht Club before renovation.

and ladies, you know what to do.

The reason for the move is in direct response to the eminent demolition of the club’s former home by developer John Wessman, who has plans to make a road that will lead from the Spa Casino straight through to what will hopefully one day be the new and improved Desert Fashion Plaza. As I spoke to Zeldaz’ own Mike McCormick, there was no regret in his tone about the move, his focus and that of his partner Rod Copland, are firmly fixed on the future.

“That was our generation’s time, now it’s their’s,” said McCormick.

There’s no doubt that there will be many more great times to be had by all who step through Zeldaz’ doors, the last of the true nightclubs left in the Coachella Valley. Congratulations Mike and Rod. Here’s to another 33!

Okay, I know it’s hot out there, but there is still plenty to do, though it just might require a little extra hydration. The Palm Springs Short Film Festival showcases the best in short films starting June 22. Ladies, you can get all googled-eyed and pant when Julio Iglesias swoons into town on June 26 at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage. Don’t miss those colors bursting in air for the Fourth of July throughout the skies of the Desert Empire. And if you want to get some cooler climate action, then check out The Lemon Lily Festival in Idyllwild, July 16-18, where you can celebrate the rare flower and immerse yourself in family fun.

Enjoy the summer wherever you go, and catch me again in the fall for more Coachella Valley Confidential!

Continued...

use tax money to support something that MAKES money, after all...?).

Imagine California without the Redwoods, Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, Morro Bay, San Juan Bautista, Moonlight, Torrey Pines, Leucadia, Old Town San Diego, Castle Crags, Sutter's Fort, Fort Tejon, Tomo-Kahni, Bodie, Calaveras Big Trees, Mono Lake—you get the idea.

Then subtract too, our desert's parks— Anza-Borrego, Heber Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, Indio Hills Palms, Ocotillo Wells SVRA, Picahcho State Recreation Area, Providence Mountains SRA, Red Rock Canyon, Salton Sea SRA, or the Antelope Valley California Poppy State Natural Reserve and Indian Museum State Historic Park.

Please join with us in supporting the State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010. We know times are tough economically. But letting our state parks slide into decay makes our economy—and our state's future—worse, not better. If there was ever anyone or anything that deserves a trust fund, it's our state parks. Check it out at www. yesforstateparks.com, and read the initiative's text for yourself. And please, support our state parks this November.

Badwater The 2010 AdventureCORPS Badwater Ultramarathon gets underway July 11 in Furnace Creek. Entrants in the 33rd anniversary of this extreme marathon footrace include runners from Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A. Runners include 73 men and 16 women, split between 42 race rookies and 47 Badwater veterans returning for more, uh, fun.

The racers themselves are an interesting mix, ranging in age from 20 to 75 (you go Jack Denness, school caretaker of Kent!), and include professional runners to a sleep lab technician (who won't be getting any during the race!), a middle school teacher (heck, this probably is a breeze compared to her regular job), members of the U.S. and Brazilian navies, a TV and movie producer, doctors, accountant, lawyers, firefighter, truck driver—everyday people trying to accomplish what more, errr..., reasonable minds, might think impossible (we like

that kind of thinking!).

So, what makes this race so special?

Well, to start with, how about the 135 mile course and the fact that it is run in Death Valley at the height of summer?

Oh yeah, and that it starts at Badwater in Death Valley—282 feet below sea level, and ends at 8,360 feet at the end of Whitney Portals Road up above Lone Pine. Of course, the race covers three mountain ranges for a total of 13,000 feet of cumulative vertical ascent (with 4,700 feet of cumulative descent), means that Badwater runners have to be the toughest of the tough. The race also supports a host of charities.

The men's record for the race is held by Valmir Nunes of Brazil, who finished in 22 hours, 51 minutes, and 29 seconds in 2007. The women's record is held by Jamie Donaldson of Colorado, at 26 hours, 51 minutes, and 33 seconds.

That's right—they run the 135 miles nonstop—in about one day's time (it'd take us a week or two—if we made it at all).

Maybe that's why AdventureCORPS’ Badwater Ultramarathon is known as the toughest footrace in the world.

Want to keep up on this summer's race? Check it out at www.badwater. com. The one question that's on our mind is, where are the German tourists in this race? Hmmmmmm.....

Next up is the 27th Anniversary Furnace Creek 508 Bicycle Race in October—the toughest 48 hours in sport.

That race runs 508 miles from Santa Clarita, across the Mojave, through Death Valley, and ends up in Twentynine Palms on October 4.

You just have to love these AdventureCORPS folks. They've taken masochism to a whole new level!

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26 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

Fourth Annual Desert Writers Issue The Sun Runner’s annual Desert Writers Issue is coming soon.

Writers and poets throughout the California desert, or with strong ties to the desert, are invited to submit their work—poetry, short fiction, essays,and book excerpts—by the deadline of July 6.

Entries are juried, and we’ll fit in as many submissions as possible. Writers are encouraged to review the submission guidelines available at www.thesunrunner.com.

A Desert Writers Celebration & Reading will be held in September, with all contributors to all Sun Runner Desert Writers Issues invited to read.

Are you passionate about writing? Think you’d make a good judge for the Desert Writers Issue? Contact us by July 1 at publisher@thesunrunner.com for consideration. We have a limited number of positions open, but we love to include our readers!

News from The Ridge Writers Sun Runner publisher Steve Brown is the guest speaker at Ridgecrest’s Ridge Writers, East Sierra Branch of the California Writers Club, for June. Brown will speak at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 2 at the High Desert Haven.

Brown will talk about his six years with The Sun Runner, the upcoming Desert Writers Issue, and adventures in desert journalism.

Robert Williscroft will be the guest speaker for July 7, discussing, “The Adventure of Writing.” The August meeting will feature an Open Mike Night for Ridge Writers members and others. Get working on your five-minute piece of creative writing to present!

Howl at the Moon Writers’ Conference The High Desert branch of the California Writers Club is hosting their Howl at the Moon Writers’ Conference at the Lone Wolf Colony on Bear Valley Road in Apple Valley this September 25, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Conference speakers include Mike Foley, a writing teacher and author of more than 700 articlees, and co-founder of the Big Bear Writers’ Retreat; Alton Gansky, a Phelan Christian author of more than 30 books; Glen Hirschberg, novelist, CalState San Bernardino teacher and 2008 Shirley Jackson Award winner for his novella, The Janus Tree; and, John C. Moffet, TV writer/producer of numerous shows and a three-time Emmy Award winner.

The conference includes a catered continental breakfast and lunch, door prizes and gift drawings, speakers, and more. The price ranges from $35 to $55, until sold out. Full conference information and costs may be found at hdcwc.org/HowlAtTheMoon.aspx.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 27

T

here are, or perhaps I should say, were, two crosses that stood. One stood in a national park, one in a national preserve. One was made of stone, but had to be replaced with a later stone cross; the other, originally of wood, then later of metal, was made to endure all the desert could throw at it.

Both of these crosses have something other than shape and symbolism in common: Both were inspired by compassion.

And while one has been revered for that spirit of compassion for centuries, the other has been the target of lawsuits that would remove it and the compassion it represented.

The earliest record of the Ralph Cross dates back to around the year 1200, according to Rachel McIntosh of the North York Moors National Park Authority in England. According to the legend surrounding this cross that stands high on the moor, not too far from the old Blakey Lion, there were once crosses erected, possibly by monasteries, to help guide travellers across the moor. A farmer from Danby, Ralph, it was said, found a traveller who had frozen to death along this particular path.

Ralph was upset about the death of this man, so he erected this large cross. On top of the cross was a little hollow where people could put money, or pennies on the arms of the cross, for travellers in need. Finding the cross, travellers would know they would soon reach the Blakey Lion where, with the help of the monetary donations left at the cross, they could partake of a hot meal, sit by the fire, and perhaps even stop for the night.

The first cross was replaced sometime in the 18th Century, according to McIntosh, and this revered symbol has now become the logo for the North York Moors National Park. Virtually no one has seen that as a sign of religious endorsement by the British government.

Back in 1934, veterans of World War I who settled in the desert for their health (some veterans exposed to mustard gas during the war were encouraged to move to the desert for the 28 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

healing properties of the dry, clean air), and who belonged to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Death Valley Chapter, erected a small cross on top of Sunrise Rock in what is now the Mojave National Preserve. J. Riley Bembrey, one of the veterans of the Great War, was there when the cross was first erected, and the cross meant a great deal to Riley.

Meanwhile, the Mojave Cross, as it is known, became a gathering point for the small, scattered community that lived out near Mountain Pass and Cima. Vandals destroyed the wooden cross from time to time, but Riley and his friends, Henry and Wanda Sandoz, kept an eye on the cross and helped him repair or replace it. It was vandalized again, and hadn't been replaced at the time of Riley's death in 1984. His last request to Henry was that he wanted someone to look after the cross. Henry and Wanda, good folks who took their friend’s request seriously, erected a metal cross solidly anchored into the rock.

In 1999, Frank Buono, a former National Park Service employee, began to work with the American Civil Liberties Union to have the cross removed. That court battle wound up in the Supreme Court, which made its decision this year. While everyone from the Sandoz family to Rep. Jerry Lewis attempted to find a compromise to allow the cross to remain, it remained shrouded in a homely box and attacked by attorneys arguing it violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

While the Ralph Cross found its history embraced by Britons with virtually no one viewing it as an endorsement of a particular religion by the British government, the Mojave Cross has been attacked, from one insulting episode to the next.

There was a sense of celebration with the Sandoz family when the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling that allowed the Mojave Cross to remain, while sending the case back to a lower court to sort out the possibility of a land transfer that could keep the cross in its place permanently.

Then, the cross was stolen. The Desert Dispatch in Barstow received a 15 point statement from someone who claims to be a veteran, self-proclaimed champion of justice, on why the cross was stolen and is being held hostage. While touting high ideals about discrimination, the letter writer evidently has forgotten that taking things that don't belong to you is a crime.

Following the theft, a replacement cross was installed, only to be removed by National Park Service employees.

As of press time, the Mojave Cross evidently remains in the possession of the thief, New Gingrich is writing the theft displays “precisely the kind of wrongheaded and misguided interpretation of the First Amendment the Left has created,” according to FOX News, and the VFW has increased its reward for the return of the cross to $125,000.

Meanwhile, in England, McIntosh pointed out politely that if anyone wanted to erect a cross or memorial inside the national park now, they would need to apply for permission.

“A decision would be made based on locally agreed planning policies and taking into account the views of residents and relevant organisations,” she noted. “In considering the application we would look at how it would link to the cultural heritage that’s already here and there’s obviously a desire not to see the national park dotted with so many crosses and markers that it has a negative impact on the largely unspoilt landscape.”

Back alongside the well-traveled road between Castleton and Hutton-le-Hole, Ralph Cross stands within the borders of a national park, weathered, erect, and unthreatened by a culture that respects it and doesn’t view it as a governmental endorsement of Christianity, but as a valuable part of their history, with a touching story of compassion; their public and their guardians of civil liberties evidently mature enough to discern the difference between threats and monuments to the dead.

I

t all seems so much like a dream now that the details bob in and out of focus in my mind, weaving transient patterns and leaving blurred images that seem uncomfortably, uncontrollably familiar, like that perfect word you were going to use just a moment ago to describe how you feel, only to find it vanished entirely. Something I know, that I know I know, but I'm damned if I know what.

I sit in the throne of sacred quartz gazing off into the west.

As I turn my head, proud Aztec jaguar warriors and glistening white cranes, glaring mirrors, hissing steam, ancient rattles, and distant rumbling lines of dusty green tanks make it hard to see clearly, or hear the gurgling of the tortured, dying river that lays in shadow beyond Blythe. Echoes of purposeful footsteps on pre-Columbian dirt trails ring like drumbeats through the constant hum of traffic on the freeway, and the song that is always sung, even when human memory no longer retains its words or purpose, chants itself on a wind from the south.

This was the new “reality” I was coping with now that the old one had slid off into the lowering sun. There really was nothing to latch onto now that could stop me from drifting off into this timeless world of incredible possibilities. It was

like gravity had forgotten to get up this morning, and there I was, looking down on the desert, seeing the trails of the ancients connecting, the geoglyphic images connecting, the river connecting, the past connecting, peoples connecting, nature and mankind connecting... So much connecting going on that big changes were going on in my head, my heart, and maybe even my spirit itself.

I think it all happened, that rock really started to roll, when I tripped across that giant image of Sr. Kokopilli out on the lonely desert pavement near Blythe. It was Figueroa's fault, I told myself. How could I know what I was getting myself into? How could I have known I would meet up with the wandering mourner, the player of the flute of humanity's sorrows—what the Greeks call stenahoria, the burden we carry through this world, hoping against hope to shed in the next.

Nah, it was that wiley old Yaqui/ Chemehuevi elder, that self-taught scholar and historian, that stubborn man who refused to acknowledge that he didn't have a Ph.d. and therefore couldn't possibly know anything about Aztlan, the Aztec's ancient, most-would-say-legendary, homeland, and the migration of their civilization from Blythe, of all places, down to Tenochtitlan, where Hernando Cortes and company would encounter them in a few centuries, or how many passings of the Pleiades? We may measure time in many ways, but it passes still, does it not?

Or does it?

Things couldn't be that connected, could they? I mean, most everyone who talks about the Natives of Meso America knows that they all stayed put in Central America, and the Natives down in South America pretty much stayed there, and the Natives up here in Norte Americano had no cause to wander south of the border. Right?

Only there weren't any borders like the ones we build walls along now, back in the times we're talking about. Back then, the world may have been bigger and less populated, but it was also a lot less regulated, less formal, with a lot fewer walls and fences. People went where people went. Sometimes, they'd run into someone else's mesquite patch and there was trouble.

Sometimes there wasn't. You couldn't be "illegal" back then, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The world didn't belong to the lawyers and insurance companies and the politicians like it does now.

We know so little of life back in the time of Aztlan. Most of us couldn't accurately picture life 50 years ago, unless we ourselves were over 50, and even then, I'm betting many of us forgot what much of that early life for us was like. Now try 500, maybe 700 years or more. Like we'd know. Like we have a clue.

Mix in heavy doses of Avikwame and Mastamho, a fisherman far from the river with a spear tipped with sacred white quartz, a maze that leads souls to the underworld, stone-eyed snakes 200 feet long, little known trails that run to ancient holy places ignored by most, vandalized by some, revered by June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 29

those who know. What do you get? You get to where I am now—where you are almost afraid to open your eyes because you know there's more to this than can be seen.

And there it was from my perch in the throne, bathed in late afternoon desert light—the haunting vision of the battered walls of distant Constantinople. A tale Coyote, my old friend once shared, from the stories he gathered in his dance around the world. I miss my friend, but I believe I will see him again, no doubt when I least expect it, and boy did he get around.

It was the year they call 1453, and the last emperor was crowned standing on top of the regal double-headed eagle inside the cathedral in the beautiful walled city of Mistras. This humble hillside city had become a center of enlightenment, art, and learning for the Byzantines, as glorious Constantinople lay beseiged by barbarian hordes.

This newly crowned emperor sailed immediately to Constantinople. His career was about to take a nose dive. Ever since the Fourth Crusade when the Byzantine's Christian “brethren” slaughtered the citizens of that city, close to half a million—by hand—this magnificent city's fate had been in doubt. Now, the fate of the 50,000 souls still remaining in this city hinged entirely on the protection provided by one woman.

Every night, Coyote said, taking a long pull from my mescal jug, the emperor, monks, priests, and warriors would take a certain sacred icon of the Virgin Mary from its place and parade it about the walls of that embattled city. Every night the Turks would attack, but would be repulsed by the steadily diminishing number of defenders. The city remained safe, the walls withstood the assault.

Then one evening, the retinue went to take the Virgin Mary for her nightly walk, only to find the icon had mysteriously vanished, and with it gone, the protection of God was removed from the walls. The city fell, the emperor died in battle far from Mistras. The glory that was Byzantium was nevermore.

What could that have to do with Blythe, I asked myself as the sun dropped lower across the desert. Only this: things can change in a flash, in a way utterly and devastatingly unpredicted, with dramatic results that bend history in 90 degree angles.

What could have led the Aztecs from Aztlan? Who knows?

But something did, it would seem. We know something led cliff dwellers in civilizations across the Southwest to leave too, and we don't know precisely what (though I've heard some interesting stories...).

So, could Aztlan have lied here along the meandering banks of the Colorado River? Perhaps. Certainly, civilizations have risen to prominence along the banks of great rivers such as this.

Traces of their language linger in the river valley today. Maybe Mayans moved north, Aztecs moved south, and somebody else moved west, while others headed east.

Maybe, it was all part of Coyote's long, grand dance, which still continues to this day.

Perhaps, I think, rising from this crumbling throne, that is what is important: To dance the dance that began before time, that continues with every stirring of the breeze, every rising of the tide, every call of the cactus wren, every breath of everything that breathes, and passes through waking world and dream world alike. To be a part of the round cycle of continuity of the Aztec calendar, to leave one home in promise of another, to fully make the transit of the Pleiades. That is history, is it not?

“Bring me the head of Alfredo Figueroa,” I call out to no one but the unseen spirits of this great sleeping land, as that magic moment of golden dreamworld light glows the desert hills and the outline of Sr. Kokopilli. “Bring me his head, with all it contains, and let me drink deep from it.”

I long to see Aztlan.

30 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

I

'm driving somewhere northwest of the Jawbone Canyon OHV Open Area, and I find myself stopping repeatedly just to take in the vistas offered by the Kelso Valley. Up ahead in another truck is Ed Waldheim, president of Friends of Jawbone, who is spending his day taking me through the back country here in Kern County, where the organization is helping manage OHV use in a “limited use� area.

It is stunningly beautiful country, that ecological zone where the desert meets the mountains. Down here at the edge of the valley, there are healthy looking stands of Joshua trees, while up the mountainside, mighty Sequoias rise. A few ranches and an airstrip, and a whole lot of natural beauty that takes your breath away.

I've come here because I'm looking for signs that might point to the future of off-roading in the desert. Up until now, there have been decades of conflict between off-roading recreation enthusiasts and environmentalists. Over the years, it seems that too often the debate over how best to manage desert lands has degenerated into name-calling, bullying, and discounting the opposition's point of view. This has resulted in court battles, high levels of distrust, and an impasse where it seems you can either support off-roading, or you can be for desert preservation. But there rarely appears to be any middle ground.

I'm here looking for that patch of middle ground, that elusive compromise that might just work for both sides of this ongoing battle. Something that could break the impasse and maybe even re-establish a working level of trust, at

Friends of Jawbone President Ed Waldheim sits on a barricade the organization installed to help keep off-roaders off illegal trails on private property, above. An example of signage and barriers installed by Friends of Jawbone to keep riders off illegal trails, right.

least on some levels, so that somehow, there could be a solution found to provide for both popular off-road recreation and much-needed environmental protection in the California deserts.

No one has to tell me that off-roading abuses are common in the desert. I see proof of that personally on an ongoing basis. But I have also seen off-roaders set examples for voluntary stewardship, hosting events to clean up the desert (illegal dumping is another big issue in the desert), and who promote safe, responsible riding.

Still, objectively speaking, as far as I can tell, the biggest problem for OHV/ATV enthusiasts isn't environmentalists, it is other OHV/ATV enthusiasts, and at least some of the off-road community agrees with me. Certainly, OHV abuse drives a lot of the argument by the environmental community against offJune/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 31

Friends of Jawbone has full-time crews signing and fencing trails, top; a closed illegal trail begins to revegetate, above; Jawbone Station, with visitor information, permits, and a great bookstore, below; protecting a Joshua tree, bottom; and erosion caused by off-roading in the Jawbone Canyon Open Area, bottom right.

32 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

roading. It's hard to sell those who want to protect the desert ecology on allowing off-roading anywhere when there are so many off-roaders ready and willing to ignore posted closed areas, laws, and common sense.

But where lies the balance between public access and preservation? If you close all the existing trails, how many new trails in protected areas will you create? Off-roading in the California deserts is a huge draw. Waldheim has told me around 60,000 OHV enthusiasts come to this part of the Mojave on some holiday weekends. That's more than the population of Palm Springs.

Friends of Jawbone and nearby California City have compiled demographics on where their enthusiasts come from, and it breaks down to 45 percent from Los Angeles County, 25 percent from Ventura County, and 15 percent from Tulare County. Only about 15 percent are from Kern County itself.

With so many out of town visitors coming for off-road recreational purposes, Kern County tourism officials, Waldheim noted, are paying close attention.

But while off-road recreation may be big business, there are costs associated with it as well. Down near Glamis at the Algodones Dunes, upwards of 100,000 people set up camp on some weekends (around a million people a year—as many as visit Death Valley National Park). One local I met at Gold Rock Camp, an individual who caters to the off-roading community, regaled me with tales of drunken carnage on the Imperial Sand Dunes during a Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the nearly uncontrollable mayhem caused by an immense population arriving to form temporary encampments larger than many cities, filled with urbanites looking to cut loose over the holiday. Injuries, and even deaths, occur, and the Bureau of Land Management doesn't even come close to having the resources necessary to realistically patrol and enforce regulations across the vast swaths of desert lands they manage.

That's where groups like the Friends of Jawbone step in.

Just off Highway 14 near Red Rock Canyon State Park sits Jawbone Station, headquarters for the Friends of Jawbone.

Jawbone Station is at the entrance to the Jawbone Canyon Open Area, where OHVs are allowed to ride virtually anywhere within the area's 13,000 acres. To the north lies Dove Springs Open Area with its 4,000 acres, all open for riding. In between, and beyond these open areas, lie a system of legally established trails, open for OHV use, and numerous other trails that are not part of the BLM's approved trail system (which crosses both BLM and private lands).

Originally, Friends of Jawbone relied on volunteers to carry out the organization’s management plans.

“That wasn’t working,” Waldheim said. “We were burning them out. There was so much to do.”

Realizing that it would take more work than could be expected from their volunteer supporters, Friends of Jawbone obtained grant funding to help manage these lands, and now has a staff of eight who are doing something unique as offroaders—they are closing trails.

“I'll fight to close an illegal trail,” Waldheim explained.

“And I'll fight to keep a legal trail open.”

But wait. An off-road enthusiast who wants to close trails?

A system of "legal" trails were established back in the 1980s, he noted. Other trails, often duplicate trails, or short cuts between other trails, were left out of the legal network. While the system of deciding which trails are legal and which are not may appear somewhat arbitrary, it provided a framework that could be put to use. And that's what Waldheim and the Friends of Jawbone are doing.

Waldheim is a lifetime off-roader, the former president of CORVA, the California Off-Road Vehicle Association, an American Motorcycle Association Museum Hall of Fame and Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee, and president of the California Trail Users Coalition, and the Friends of El Mirage. The way he sees it, closing illegal trails and getting OHV users to stay on the legal trail system, helps the off-road community keep the trails they have. In one discussion, he put it bluntly, saying they're doing this “for selfish reasons.”

But what I'm seeing with Waldheim this day is more than just “selfish reasons” put into action. Friends of Jawbone is actively managing this area, not just for the benefit of offroaders, but for the benefit of hundreds of thousands of acres of desert lands. While the open areas at Jawbone Canyon and Dove Springs exhibit denuded hillsides and erosion from OHVs riding cross-country anywhere they want, I notice an immediate difference once we cross over to the limited access areas the organization manages. Trails and roads are marked clearly— something rarely seen in BLM-managed areas. Illegal trails that once branched off from the legal trails and roads are blocked Keith Axelson of Sageland Ranch and Ed Waldheim, top right. The Butterbredt Spring Wildlife Sanctuary on the Pacific Flyway, below.

off and signed as closed. Some are fenced to prevent attempts at riding around the wooden trail barriers. The Jawbone crews out working on fencing and signing look not only at blocking off and marking one end of an illegal trail, but both ends, to prevent any cross-country travel in between. Gates, almost two dozen so far, have been erected to prevent OHV access onto the hikers-only Pacific Crest Trail that runs through the area.

Some trails that have been blocked off are beginning to show signs of vegetation naturally regrowing. Waldheim noted he hopes to be able to mulch some areas to help them revegetate, lessening erosion—and the temptation to ride on them.

The management of this area seems well thought out and competently executed. With a detailed trail map that shows off-roaders how to get around this section of the Mojave legally, from Ridgecrest to Randsburg, California City to Mojave, Red Mountain to Kramer Junction, and beyond, along with GPS maps available for download, Waldheim and the Friends of Jawbone are making it indefensible for off-roaders to take illegal trails or make their own.

One of the ongoing problems with the systems of legal trails, Waldheim explained, is that often, there hasn't been much in the way of signage, and with hundreds to thousands of desert trails, that made it difficult to know if you were on a legal or illegal trail. With legal trails signed and illegal trails blocked, OHV users here no longer have to wonder. Though some riders still willfully ignore barriers and signage, and others protest the closing of any trail, legal or illegal, Waldheim said the incidences of OHV users choosing to ride illegally in the area has steadily been declining since the program of signing and closing illegal trails began less than a year ago.

“The demographics here are changing,” he said, noting that riders unwilling to stick to legal trails are declining, while family use is on the rise.

We pull into a shady little haven, Sageland Ranch, home to passionate birder and wildlife photographer Keith Axelson.

This has been Keith’s home now for 16 years, near the Butterbredt Spring Wildlife Sanctuary, an important stop for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway—and for birders.

“They’ve counted thousands of birds there an hour,” he explained. “One study counted 40,000 birds in a couple of hours.”

Axelson isn’t an off-roader, but he has joined the Friends of Jawbone. He noted there has been little in the way of law enforcement when it comes to off-roaders who choose to stray from legal routes, but added that it’s “getting better,” and he recently saw some off-roaders being ticketed. He applauds the work being done by Friends of Jawbone in helping to protect Butterbredt Spring.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 33

Later on, Waldheim and I meet up with a group of hikers he took up to the Pacific Crest Trail early that morning. They discuss possible illegal off-road trails that intersect the PCT with Waldheim, who is anxious to close OHV access to them.

Is what I’m seeing at Jawbone significant? An off-roading organization closing illegal trails, maintaining hundreds of miles of legal trails for recreation, and working to protect an important wildlife refuge, while writing grants to help restore and protect the desert through the kind of hands-on management practices governmental agencies should be using, but aren’t?

Could this be a sign of what the future of off-roading in the California deserts looks like: off-roaders helping to manage limited use areas with the interests of naturalists, hikers, equestrian users, and others all playing a role? Could off-roaders readily adapt to a broader mobile stewardship role in the desert, caring for hard-to-reach historic sites, policing and educating their own, and cleaning up after vandals and illegal dumping in an expanded manner, underwritten and encouraged by grants and other forms of funding?

What I encountered at Jawbone is inspiring. Within less than a year of recieving grant funding, there has been a significant improvement in the management of public lands here.

Legal trails are marked, illegal trails are closed and monitored.

It shows that with dedicated personnel and modest amounts of funding, you can go a long way toward finding solutions to some of the most controversial problems we face in the desert.

Marking trails and closing others doesn’t solve all the offroading-related problems in the desert. There’s a lot more to address. Enforcement is critical. Those off-roaders inclined to ride in restricted areas from Wilderness areas to private property, need to find themselves on the receiving end of very stiff penalties, making them think twice before acting irresponsibly.

The desert’s ecology, as well as its cultural and historical sites need to be protected, and those who approach off-roading in a reckless, selfish, and irresponsible manner need to learn better habits. Whether they learn the easy way or the hard way is up to them, but wanton destruction of the desert is not acceptable.

Enforcement cannot be effective in the desert with the funding and staffing levels currently in place in agencies such as the BLM. It is unacceptable that we have, in essence, temporary cities of campers that establish themselves at certain times of the year, with little to no law enforcement.

Tens of thousands of urbanites all heading to the desert to party and ride, with minimal law enforcement to maintain order and help ensure safety, is a recipe for disaster. Imagine cities the size of Palm Springs spread across vast areas of the desert with only a few BLM rangers to maintain some semblance of order.

Maybe though, it is time for off-roaders and environmentalists to seek out better ways to work together, instead of painting each other as the enemy? Perhaps groups like Friends of Jawbone should be viewed as potential allies, and should be encouraged in their efforts to educate and train “the 10-percenters” as Waldheim calls the off-roaders who refuse to ride responsibly.

Numerous off-roaders I’ve spoken with all resent the behavior of the 10-percenters, the “willfully ignorant,” to use a term I coined that Ed frequently uses. Most advocate for responsible, legal use of the public resources they have access to, noting that the more irresponsible off-roaders behave, the more likely they are to lose those resources they desire.

At the same time, for the environmental community to adopt an “all or nothing” stance toward off-roaders is also to embrace an attitude of willful ignorance. Off-roading in the California deserts isn’t going to go away. There’s a lot of talent in both camps, and it’s time to put it to use.

34 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

I

had heard some time ago that California City had created a trail system that allowed off-roaders from nearby OHV recreation areas to ride legally into town. The concept behind establishing this trail system was that thousands of off-roaders were coming to these areas for the weekends, but local businesses weren’t benefitting.

The off-roaders would arrive at the open OHV areas, set up camp, and ride for the weekend. In order to go into town, they would have to secure their OHVs, pack up everything, and drive their RVs or other vehicles into town, requiring more time and effort than most wanted to spend just to go pick up some groceries or have a pizza somewhere.

The plan was to make it easier for off-roaders to get to town, support local businesses, and still keep it legal and safe.

But while it sounded like it might be a good idea if done properly, I also heard there were complaints about the trail system, and that it wasn’t helping businesses.

Clearly, a trip to California City was in order to investigate.

I met up with Ed Waldheim, the president of Friends of Jawbone, who lives in California City. Ed had helped to create the trail system that allowed off-roaders from locations like California City’s Borax Bill Park, and Jawbone Canyon and Dove Springs open areas have formal access trails into town.

First stop was to visit Mike Edminston, a plain speaking city councilmember in California City. Edminston, retired from the aerospace industry, has lived here since 1984, and is nearing the end of eight years on the city council.

Edminston pointed out that California City is a very large city geographically, with hundreds of dirt roads that are attractive to off-roaders, even if they aren’t legal to ride.

“When Ed and I met 15 years ago, he asked me what I

thought about off-roaders. I said I thought they’re a nuisance.” he remembered. “But I came to realize everybody needs a place.

I took it on myself to start a permit program.”

Permits allow off-roaders to utilize the trails in and around California City, as well as provide access to water and other amenities. Most off-roaders have to pay for the permits, though California City residents receive them for free.

Asked about how well the program has worked, Edminston said that, overall, it has gone very well with respect to safety, law enforcement, and paying for itself.

Police Chief Steve Colerick explained that it was the ninth season of deploying to the desert on major recreational weekends. He noted that helping provide law enforcement and emergency medical support for the off-roaders coming to California City had no impact on the city’s general fund budget.

“Our number one goal is to not be an impact on the general fund,” he said. “Where we’re unique is that we have a special tax. We have 52,000 lots in California City, we’re the third largest city in the state in land. Roughly we generate, from 47,000 lots, an estimated $4 million a year and 63 percent of the police and fire budgets come from that tax. It has an incredible impact. But the off-road support has zero impact on our citizen’s tax dollars.”

Colerick said that grants and fees from the permit program pay for their off-road operations, and that he maintains a separate budget specifically for those operations. Grants have helped provide restrooms, patios, solar lights, off-roading educational programs and more, with permits generating around $100,000 a year.

Police, fire, and the D.I.R.T. team (Desert Incident Response Team), all cooperate in making sure the crowds of offroaders have as good of an experience as possible, Colerick said.

“I take a vacation and live among them,” he noted. “And the fire chief—we camp side by side.”

The D.I.R.T. team is a partnership between the California City Police Department and Fire Department designed to provide enforcement, search and rescue, medical care, fire suppression, and education to the off-roaders coming to the area. The team bases itself out of Borax Bill Park on holiday weekends when the area sees the most use.

The chief said he knew the city was on the right track with off-roading after a recent experience.

“How I knew we were on the right track was when the Kern County Board of Trade held its meeting in California City,” which Colerick said was unusual. “Five years ago, OHVs and tourism were never mentioned in the same sentence. But now we have demonstrated it can be a win-win situation.”

But it hasn’t all been without problems, or injuries.

“We do, from time to time, get an element in our camping areas,” the chief said. “We had three people on quads who came up on some campers. One of the campers took out a rifle. The campers had been drinking. They were L.A.-based gang members. That’s easy to deal with. We arrested two for being stupid, and the others, we encouraged them to clean up their campsite. We have a normal urban situation with 60,000 people.”

The chief seems to take it all in stride. But even with the help of easy legal access to town, businesses in California City are suffering through the recession. Several businesses around the trailhead in town have closed and the shopping center they’re in is reportedly going into foreclosure, but a shopping area not far away is doing well and would make a good destination for visitors, if a trail can be found.

“We’re going to have to get them across,” Colerick said.

“We’re going to have to use our imagination.”

California City Police Chief Steve Colerick, above.

“Every single law enforcement grant should have a commitment and focus to catch the “Willfully Ignorant” visitor. We see, every day, folks doing whatever they want, and they feel immune because it is their feeling “there is no one around to catch me.” That has to change.

Yes, we have Green Sticker violations, sound violations, and other normal day to day violations that by now should be all in compliance. It is the “Willfully Ignorant “ that does not abide by the rules of the areas they ride in, i.e. “stay on designated trails,” “respect private property,” “know the rules of area you are riding in, be it Forest Service, BLM, city and county.

All of us can put pressure on the “Willfully Ignorant,” but it is law enforcement that needs to focus their talent to those that want to ruin it for everyone. We can not let them rule our destiny or how we are being portrayed in the eyes of the public.

The other area of grave concern is our children. We need to make sure that all children 16 and under on quads have the proper certification. We need to make sure that they are properly dressed to ride, no tank tops, tennis shoes and short pants.

Parents need to be told of their responsibility in the strongest possible manner.”

– Ed Waldheim, March 28, 2010, taken from public comments on state OHV grants What do you think about off-roading in the desert, it’s environmental impacts, safety concerns, economic benefits or costs, abuses, and potential?

Is there room for off-road recreation and environmental stewardship to co-exist in the desert?

Can environmentalists and off-roaders work together?

Send your comments to us at publisher@thesunrunner.com.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 35

DeRanger Steve

I

CLOSED

sold the "Dirt Dawg" this year. It's a 20 year-old Jeep Wrangler with a monster 5" lift and tires to match.

The engine and drive line are guaranteed to drive it up and over rocks that would baffle a Hummer.

It’s an overpowered monster capable of surviving Moab, Utah. Only the thing is I don't live in Moab, I live in Riverside County where the County Board of Supervisors have officially said, “You can’t play here anymore (in your OHV).”

That is basically the decision of those, who in their wisdom have determined that the noise made by SUVs, OHVs and their ilk, are of such a nuisance that there shall be no off roading on any publicly—federal or county—owned land within Riverside County, unless it is on a designated trail.

So far the only designated trails I’ve found are The Bradshaw trail next to the Navy’s bombing range and... There are no others that I've been able to find, although unofficially Powerline Road, coming out of Pinkham Canyon and Berdoo Canyon off Dillon Road, which has become a freeway and is being destroyed by the new crop of OHVs there, can be used as far as I know.

Their (Riverside County’s) draconian rules also extend to private land where you must not only have permission but must observe restrictions on how close to a building or property line you can be. So now instead of heading for Edom Hill, Yeager Canyon, or Sky Valley, 10 minutes away, I have to drive to Glamis, Anza Borrego, or Johnson Valley—drives of an hour or more to play off road.

What was once a way to get out for an hour or two with a couple of friends on Saturday morning or after work has now become an all day adventure involving 36 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

planning, preparation, the repeated loading and unloading of vehicles and more.

A relaxing couple of hours in the boonies is now a stress-filled day of non-relaxing sport and huge additional expense.

But wait, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

No there isn’t. A call to the sheriff’s department and the BLM yielded only, “Go away little boy, the desert is closed.”

Finding maps of those areas where you can actually drive off-road, that is on a “designated trail,” is next to impossible and took over an hour’s worth of Internet searching, yielding little. What was found were a few loop trails off of Box Canyon in the Meccacopia Special Recreation Management Area, all leading to the Bradshaw Trail. Heaven forbid the cops and rangers should help you find a place to play.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department Off-Highway Vehicle Enforcement Program (R.O.V.E.) says in the first sentence on their website, “To stop the offenders in their tracks...” (taken out of context naturally). Whatever happened to, “Protect and Serve?”

Granted there is a line here, a question between what’s good for the local residents, the people who want to play outdoors (who are also local residents) and the ecology. That’s when I noticed something in all of this. In the quest to grant peace and quiet (something none of us have) to the local residents, Riverside County supervisors paid no attention to where these off-roaders would go in their OHVs and 4x4s when the ban went into effect.

It happened before when the Windy Point area between Snow Creek and Palm Springs was closed to OHVs in the late 1980s. Everyone moved to Edom Hill and destroyed that. Then they moved into Yeager Canyon. Fortunately neither of these is ecologically sensitive and far enough away from residences to prevent noise pollution. However both areas are now closed, and with that, along with the closing of the rest of the desert in Riverside County, the off-roaders have moved into Berdoo, Fargo and Pinkham Canyons with no regard to what they destroy.

This is perilously close to Joshua Tree National Park and the surrounding wilderness areas. What happens when they find a back way into Pinto Basin or the unpatrolled areas of the Mecca Hills Wilderness Area? For all I know they already have.

There was balance; places where the Baja Bunnies could dig up the sand and where the Fringed-toed Lizards could live

peacefully. Yet each time the politicians push off-roaders away, a little more is destroyed in their efforts to save whatever it is they’re trying to save.

So it's business as usual. Lots of action and little thought as they try to protect what?

Locally that means OHVs and 4x4's are going to start exploring our backyards. They already have in places like Pipes Canyon or up in Black Rock. You can see their traces.

“But wait,” sez you. "Those are protected areas.” “Yes, yes,” sez I, “but many of the Baja Bunnies (OHVs/4X4) don’t care.”

The lower parts of Berdoo and Pinkham Canyons have already fallen and the destruction is quite apparent.

Who knows what will happen if they start driving through the Dale Mining District and into Pinto Basin or when they reach upper Pinkham Canyon? The draconian measures put into place by Riverside County are going to have a far reaching negative effect on the hi-desert and it's play areas until the County gets it together enough to create a place to play off-road in Riverside County and knowing politicians that could take years.

There are a few places for RivCo residents to play besides the Meccacopia SRMA where access is restricted to designated trails.

One is Ocotillo Wells OHV Park, Imperial County. It is located between Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on the west and the Salton Sea on the east. From Palm Springs, south on SR-86 to Highway 78, then west to Ocotillo Wells.

Johnson Valley also offers good offroading (at least until the Marines acquire parts or all of it). Enter off of Highway 247 at Old Woman Springs Road or Camp Rock Road between Lucerne Valley and Yucca Valley.

Glamis and Imperial Dunes in Imperial County also offers classic sand dune off-roading. From Palm Springs, South on Highway 86 to Highway 78, then east to the Glamis exit. All other off-road travel is limited to those locations found on the BLM website at www.blm.gov/ca/ st/en/fo/palmsprings/mecacopia_srma. html.

Of course you can go further out say to El Mirage dry lake northwest of San Bernadino, or into Arizona. Je~ne.

Email questions and suggestions to desertranger@gmail.com. Catch me on the web at desertbandanna.com.

I

'm going to muse a little about the image that is portrayed about motorcyclists.

I am the grown son of one of those maligned biker types.

I have black and white photos of myself sitting on the tank of my Dad’s Harley as a young child.

He sits in leather jacket, aviator glasses, and a flat top.

As a young couple with kids, my folks only had a Harley and an old car my Dad drove to work. My 110-pound mother would coast start the bike to do the grocery shopping. After she’d fill the saddle bags, the box boy would start it and off she’d go back home.

Sounds like the riff-raff right out of the movies, doesn’t it?

They would seem very middle America today. Truth is; most motorcyclists are just average Americans.

The resurgence of the weekend warriors goes to prove the allure of the 40's and 50's, and 60's. The freedom of the experience, of simpler times, of just going for a ride. That might be hard to grasp for those who have never experienced it. If you could see the grin under a helmet going down the highway, it might belong to the late Malcolm Forbes or the local plumber.

I blame Marlon Brando! “The Wild Ones” set the stage for the bad image that persists today. This image took on a life of its own. The movie was based on an event in the town of Hollister, California. The newspapers sensationalized it. The movie took liberties with the truth of the event. What was really going on was a generation of WWII vets simply looking for adventure and freedom.

Hollywood continued to stereotype motorcycle riders, yet so many in the industry were racers and riders. Lee Marvin and

Steve McQueen come to mind. Both were top level desert racers in the days of the big twins. These were street bikes used to race on weekends, used for transportation during the week.

John Q. Public was fed a diet of wild people running amok in the desert. There might have been some entertaining nights around the camp fire; but, these folks had a real concern and appreciation for the great Mojave, and all the creatures in it. They still do.

Off-roading began during that time. Desert racing was a chance to gather with friends and family. A chance to test the bikes against the great Mojave, against each other, and against themselves. Can you imagine taking your weekday transportation to ride a 100 mile race in the desert? Well, that is what they did!

Even today the “bad boy” reputation persists. Those who take the time to step into our culture will meet various groups within the greater sport of motorcycling. They will find a kind and caring, freedom-loving group of people. Be they street riders, desert racers, motocross, or weekend families; each group enjoys the unique aspects of riding motorcycles.

We are average people who enjoy motorized sport.

I could go on with pages of stories, but, instead I will leave you with this: go rent the movie “On Any Sunday” by Bruce Brown.

It is decidedly the best movie about the sport of motorcycling.

It is one of the few things to come out of the entertainment industry that portrays us for what we really are.

Richard Myers got his first motorcycle in 1963 and has been riding and racing ever since, spending his life in and around the desert. Current bikes he owns are a 1988 BMW, 1963 Maico, 1963 Dot, a 1971 Maico, and two Motorcross sidecars.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 37

T

wo memories haunt me. It is an early Sunday morning in midsummer, already pretty hot, and I am on my way into town. I pass a young boy riding a large quad going in the opposite direction. He is on the edge of the dirt road and appears to be having trouble controlling the vehicle. He has a helmet but no other protective gear.

He pulls up over the berm as I drive past and I can see his thin 10 year-old arms working the handlebars of the unsteady machine, so large for his little body. No parents, and he is riding toward who-knows-where. I think: if he flips who will know where he is? Who will help him?

I visualize him all alone, pinned under the vehicle. I hope he has water. I also think, should I stop and tell him to go home? He is riding illegally on a single lane county-maintained dirt road, he is too young to ride without supervision, and he lacks protective gear. I don’t stop, but I listen to the news to find if any kid is reported missing.

I am driving home on the same road and pass an adult woman on a large 38 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

quad. She wears no protective gear of any kind. She is cradling a very young baby in the crook of her left arm. She is stopped, but for the remainder of her ride she will be controlling the large unwieldy vehicle with her right hand only. The baby appears to be in real danger but I don’t stop. What might she do even if my grandmotherly lecture struck home; she is at least a mile from any place she could call home.

I worry, yet I am told that ATV riding is wholesome family entertainment— something all family members can do together. The extensive back country dirt roads and public lands in San Bernardino County offer what many think are unlimited opportunities.

Some families make sacrifices for this togetherness with the bills running from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for multiple vehicles, toy haulers, and safety equipment. For others it can be dirt cheap—step outside and ride from your door.

If you accept the testimonies, and I see no reason not to, whatever the price tag, it is worth it. Since the early 1980s

I have repeatedly heard in public meetings that without this family hobby, the kids could be on the street either smoking dope or selling it. Besides parents, I have witnessed grandmothers and even children stand to voice this dire prediction. I assume this statement is hyperbole but it makes the point. For many families ATVs are the cornerstone of their parenting strategy.

Am I to assume that parents are concerned for their children’s safety on these vehicles; that they have done their homework and know the risks? Or are they overlooking real world ATV performance and negligently putting their child in harm’s way?

Monte King of the Oregon Vehicle Dealers Association says “It’s the responsibility of the parent to make the child safe. Riders who get hurt are usually behaving irresponsibly. You can’t fix stupid.” Okay Monte, I easily attach “stupid” to the adults involved in my two memories, but I will also do some research. It would be irresponsible to just take your word for it.

I can spare you the pages of tables

cataloguing death and injury in the United States by ATVs from 1985 to 2008.

One example is enough. In 2005 there were 932 ATV-related deaths for all ages and 136,700 emergency room injuries.

For children under 16 there were 124 reported deaths and 40,000 emergencyroom treatment injuries. Source: 2008 Consumer Products Safety Commission Report Appendix B.

The injuries included skull fractures, hemorrhages, brain injuries, spine fractures including damage to the spinal cord, lung injuries, amputations, and fractures to extremities, most commonly leg bones.

Regardless of the numbers, enthusiasts maintain that every sport has its risks and ATV riding is no different. The U.S. ATV industry asserts that voluntary safety standards have worked and should be made mandatory for all ATV makers.

Few states require a license to operate an ATV and there are no nationally mandated safety standards. With their large, soft tires and high center of gravity, ATVs can reach speeds of up to 50 mph or more. Almost 60 percent of accidents involving ATVs result from tipping and overturning. Orthopaedic surgeons, those responsible for treating these kids, uniformly believe that, “Younger children do not have adequate physical size and strength to control these vehicles. Nor do they have the thinking, motor, and perceptive skills to operate a vehicle safely.

Children under 16 years of age should not operate ATVs that have an engine size of 90cc or greater.”

When I was growing up it was bicycles that kids rode at breakneck speeds. Today roughly seven times as many children are still riding bikes as ATVs (14.2 million vs. 2.2 million).

Yet the hospitalization rate for children under 16 in ATV accidents increased 67 percent between 2000 and 2004 while the hospitalization rate for children in bicycle accidents decreased by 12 percent.

Even more thought-provoking is that the number of deaths and the death rate for child ATV riders increased 24 percent, while the number of child bicycle deaths declined by 18 percent.

Injury and death are not just family tragedies, there is also a cost to society, exclusive of lost human potential, and it is going up. In the United States it is estimated that among children (15 and under) six were admitted to hospitals each day in 2000 for ATV-related injuries, increasing to 10 per day in 2004. The average cost for a child sent to the hospital is 44 percent higher for an ATV accident than a bicycle accident ($19,706 compared to

$13,713). Medical costs related to child ATV deaths have increased by 70 percent whereas the costs have decreased by 20 percent for child bicycle deaths.

Do we really need to know more?

I thought not until I ran across the July 2007 Pediatrics reference which revealed that nearly one quarter of all injuries in the U.S. among children under 12 years old were incurred on many types of non-automobile motorized vehicles: dirt bikes, mini-bikes, trail bikes, go-carts, mopeds, scooters, riding lawn mowers, golf carts, dune buggies, farm vehicles, snowmobiles, and boats. Dr. Mary Aitken, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hopes that the findings will result in a reality check for parents, pediatricians and policy makers.

“There are enormous risks for children on motorized vehicles of all sorts in the United States, and these injuries are dramatically increasing,” the doctor notes.

The pleasure that children take in riding cannot be denied. Just check the look on their faces. It is a family activity of shared excitement and fond memories.

But a trip to the trauma center has no joy. To preview deep heartbreak, Google Concerned Families for ATV Safety to experience how the three founders are dealing with the unexpected and violent loss of a child. Check their map for details on this year’s fatal accidents: 21 kids from two to 17 years old—flipped, pinned, thrown, no helmet, no safety gear.

No one planned that these kids would die. Everyone grieves. You’re right Monte King, it’s stupid. Where’s the fix?

Who is responsible?

Not the kid with the central nervous system still under development. The parents, the manufacturers, the government safety nets for children—all appear to have a part to play here but they don’t appear engaged. If you think I am way off base, a busy-body worrier, let me leave you with the sentiments of those who are engaged and do care.

In January 2005, the doctors at Pioneers Hospital in Brawley posted an ATV ad with altered wording:

“Thinking about an ATV for your child? Why not just beat him in the head with a baseball bat and cut out the middleman.”

California reports 95 deaths of children under the age of 16 for 1984-2004. Visit Concerned Familes for ATV Safety at www.atvsafetynet.org, and for ATV safety laws for each state, www.atvsafety.gov.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 39

Join the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy

Help protect the spectacular night skies, singing sand dunes, Joshua tree forests and crenulated peaks of the 1.6 million acre Mojave National Preserve. Your donation will help support education programs at the Mojave National Preserve and introduce adults to this spectacular resource.

For more information and a list of membership benefits, please go to www.preservethemojave.org.

C

hris Clarke could see the entire northern part of the Mojave National Preserve from the summit of Kessler Peak. The view was spectacular and dappled light from that magical hour around sunset highlighted distant mountains and ridgelines. But as the sun dipped below the ridgeline he realized the path he’d taken to climb to the top was too steep to descend. Suddenly, Clarke heard the melodic song of a canyon wren and saw a safe path open up before him. “It was one of those moments when everything came together,” says Clarke.

“The Mojave National Preserve took care of me.”

Clarke has returned the favor. He’s a board member of The Mojave National Preserve Conservancy, a new non-profit friends group that seeks to protect the 1.6 million acre Mojave National Preserve. The Mojave National Preserve Conservancy works to protect the Mojave National Preserve by supporting the National Park Service’s educational programs, restoration and green projects and capital improvements.

Clarke applauds the National Park Service staff that works hard at the Mojave National Preserve to keep the public safe, protect rare plants and animals, preserve archaeological resources, and provide educational programs for youth. But sometimes even the National Park Service can use a little help.

“There is a role for a citizen organization to complement the park staff in interpreting the park’s natural and cultural resources,” says Clarke.

In April, the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy funded the National Park Service’s Mojave Outdoor Education Program, which brought 52 underserved students from Barstow to the Zzyzx Desert Studies Center for an overnight visit. While at Zzyzx, the children learned about desert ecology, Native Americans, and climate change, through interactive, hands-on learning. They also hunted for scorpions in the darkness with ultraviolet lights, in a sandy wash near the Desert Studies Center.

40 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

Linda Slater, Chief of Interpretation of the Mojave National Preserve, believes that environmental education programs like the one at Zzyzx are critical in educating today’s youth about nature.

“Kids spend more time inside at the computer or in front of the television today,” Slater says. “Programs like this are a chance for them to get out to the desert and make a connection to the environment.”

The Mojave National Preserve Conservancy is also helping identify artists for the Mojave National Preserve’s Artist in Residence Program. The Artist in Residence program allows selected artists to stay at the Preserve while honing their artistic talents. Bob Killen, a Conservancy board member and fine arts photographer, puts out announcements for the Artist in Residence program during his teaching activities and workshops. He’s received a great deal of interest from a wide variety of artists.

The next Artist in Residence will be Terry Ellis, a photographer, whose work depicts small flowers that punctuate the rocky soils of the Mojave Preserve each spring.

“She’s got a great interpretive eye and really appreciates the loneliness and solitude of the desert,” says Killen. The funds from the sale of the artist’s work are donated toward education, restoration, green projects and capital improvements in the Mojave National Preserve.

David Lamfrom, California Desert Field Representative at the National Parks Conservation Association and President of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy, speaks glowingly about another recent Conservancy event: a star party at the Black Canyon Group Camp. The star party celebrated the pristine night sky in the Mojave National Preserve and built support for the protection of the Preserve’s stunning night skies. An astronomy group called the Old Town Astronomers interpreted the night sky and provided their powerful telescopes to view the celestial bodies.

For Lamfrom, the star party, Artist in Residence Program, and Mojave Outdoor Education Program highlight the importance of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy. “The formation of the Conservancy is a community action,” says Lamfrom. “As people become more familiar with the wildlife, wildflowers and wide-open spaces of the Mojave National Preserve, they choose to protect it, for themselves and for their grandkids. Support the Preserve by joining the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy. If you have yet to experience the Preserve, get to know this national treasure.”

Seth Shteir is senior program coordinator at the National Parks Conservation Association in Joshua Tree, California.

E

dward Beale had accomplished the objectives set by the U. S. Army. He had proven camels could effectively and economically travel from Texas to the Colorado and from there across the desert to Los Angeles and Fort Tejon north of the San Fernando Valley. It was early 1858 and time to return to the river and test the route across the desert in winter.

The return trip was uneventful. The General Jessup steamboat under the command of George Johnson was waiting to ferry the men and their baggage across the Colorado. For the camels the adventure was now over and Beale sent them back to Samuel Bishop’s ranch in the southern San Joaquin Valley, north of Fort Tejon. Edward Beale was proud of his accomplishment.

“A year in the wilderness ended! During this time I have conducted my party from the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and back again to the eastern terminus of the road, through a country for a great part entirely unknown, and inhabited by hostile Indians, without a loss of a man. I have tested the value of the camels, marked a new road to the Pacific, and traveled 4,000 miles without an accident.”

At the end of 1858 Secretary of War John B. Floyd reported to Congress that the camel experiment was a great success and requested an appropriation for 1,000 camels. But Congress was now becoming totally preoccupied with the slavery issue and the possibility of war. Official interest in these remarkable animals died.

Samuel Bishop had been using the camels to ferry freight to his ranch and also to the small town of Fort Tejon just south of the actual fort. They were overworked and exhausted and the Army soon arranged for them to rest at a grazing camp near the fort under the care of civilian herders and the protection of a small detachment of soldiers, until September, 1860.

Army Captain Hancock arranged for a trial courier run to Fort Mojave by the herder Hadji Alli (“Hi Jolly”) and George Caralambo (“Greek George”). They were to perform somewhat like the famed Pony Express and carry official dispatches.

It was a disaster for two of the camels. One died near Daggett and another near Barstow from exhaustion. Hi Jolly was not punished since he had been hired to conduct the race.

But he was retired from service for the Army for a brief period with a month’s pay of $30.00. Greek George was temporar-

ily fired “for cause,” which likely had something to do with a serious drinking problem.

In early 1861 the Army organized a party to survey the California-Nevada boundary and hired Hi Jolly to use three camels to assist the expedition of men, horses and mules. The party crossed the desert to Fort Mojave and then headed north.

This trip was also a disaster. They failed to locate coordinates for the new state boundary line and drifted aimlessly across the treacherous northern Mojave Desert. The camels proved to be the most reliable animals with their steady ability to plod through wilderness with heavy loads. They finally crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Visalia with losses of mules and equipment. The three camels, together with 31 others at Fort Tejon, were transferred to Captain Hancock at Los Angeles on June 19, 1861. They were herded in with the mules.

Hi Jolly and Greek George were again hired to care for the camels which were moved to Camp Latham at present-day Culver City. The camels ate well, dropped calves, and the herd grew. The country was at Civil War and cared little about what to do with a herd of camels.

In late 1862 Hi Jolly again attempted a mail run to Fort Mojave with one of the camels. It died 65 miles from Los Angeles and Hi Jolly had to finish the trip on foot.

Meanwhile, in mid-1863 Beale tried to get back into the camel game and proposed to use some of the camels to conduct surveys in Nevada. A political battle ensued with accusations that Beale had been misusing $65,000 of government funds to furnish his San Francisco office. Lieutenant Williamson who was in charge of matters in Los Angeles, argued that Edward Beale has lied about the success of camels in the California Desert. He claimed that subsequent experiments by Hi Jolly had shown that the camels were fine in sandy soils but became lame and useless in the rocky terrain of California’s deserts.

By late 1863 the decision was made to sell the remaining camels. The authorities transferred the camels to the San Francisco bay area since the residents of Los Angeles were now all too familiar with the camels’ weaknesses. On February 26, 1864 the camels were sold at auction in Benicia. The 37 camels brought only $1,945 and most of them were sold to Samuel McLeneghan.

The Benicia quartermaster wrote to his senior officer in San Francisco that he was sorry the sales proceeds were so low.

However, he noted that the camels had produced nothing but costs and difficulties in the past years. The Army experiment was over.

McCleneghan sold several of his camels to a zoo in Oregon.

They were killed in a shipwreck off the coast. He may have sold several to a circus, but did use the rest in his freight business.

However, they caused difficulties to him since they spooked other animals and eventually he turned them loose. For many years there were reported sightings in Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona.

Hi Jolly acquired some camels as pets and became a character in the West. He was reported to have been insulted once in Los Angeles because he was not invited to a party. He showed up in a cart pulled by two of the camels. Rumor has it that Hi Jolly died in 1903 with his camel in the Arizona desert.

There is a monument marking his “last camp” at Quartzite.

Greek George made peace with the Army and had a long military career., He died in Montebello, California in 1913.

The Oakland Tribune reported in 1934 that Topsy, the last known camel in the Army experiment, had died at the zoo in Griffith Park at Los Angeles. Reportedly her ashes were interred at the monument for Hi Jolly in Quartzite.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 41

L

ong before motorhomes with microwaves, long before Lucy and Desi’s “Long, Long Trailer,” families still managed to go camping. One early Randsburg family’s conveyance was a covered wagon which provided such a memorable trip that the ‘children’ still spoke about it 70 years later….

The first week of August, 1900, Tom and Olevia McCarthy and their six children (ages 12 down to two) set out from their home in Randsburg for a month-long camping trip to the Kern River. Mama had everything ready when Papa drove into their yard with two mules and the covered wagon.

“Everything” was described, by the eldest daughter, in a quite extraordinary list. Firstly came Mama’s old trunk which held everyone’s clothing followed by an oblong table with folding legs… “next came three tall tin containers with lids, formerly coffee bean cans, about three to four feet tall, about two feet across. One held our tin cups, dishes, silver, kettles, and pans. The second had staple goods like sugar, flour, shortening, canned milk, coffee, spices, a slab of bacon, and small pans.

The third was filled with bread Mama had made. Our bedding was rolled in two separate rolls on canvas, and tied tightly with ropes, and placed on each side of the wagon, serving as seats for us children. Behind these rolls, indispensable for prospectors, Papa laid the axe and pick. The rear tailgate supported several five gallon pails of water and a bale of hay for the mules, back of which Papa put the long handled shovel, and behind that a small sheet iron wood cooking stove and a tin wash tub holding the washboard and the large round Dutch oven. Under the tailgate hung a lantern, a water pail and a shovel. The floor of the wagon had many necessary boxes shoved in corners. On the shady side of the wagon hung a large flannel or canvas-covered canteen for our drinking water which was always kept damp.”

After a late start…the middle of the afternoon…the family drove seven miles before enjoying the light supper Mama cooked. They all slept on the ground beside the covered wagon.

The family rose at six the next morning and after devouring a particularly yummy homemade breakfast headed for the quiet splendor of Red Rock Canyon. The older children thought the red and yellow streaked formations looked like pictures of Chinese villages. “Age carved on the walls.”

42 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

Randsburg in 1904 as pictured in Men of Achievement in the Great Southwest published by the Los Angeles Times, above.

McCarthy Family with five children in 1897, three years before the camping trip, right.

P i c t u re t a k e n i n front of their store in Randsburg.

A portion of an early AAA map of the area, top right.

The children walked behind the heavily laden covered wagon for hours stopping frequently to rest and water the mules. The sun was disappearing behind the mountains as they arrived in Dove Spring. Some doves were killed and prepared for the Dutch oven which was buried under the coals until breakfast.

That night the family slept on the floor of what had once been a store awakening late to a delicious breakfast of roast dove and finally getting underway about noon.

Eventually, after several mishaps including 11 year-old Tom falling out of a tree (Tom had never climbed a tree before perhaps because there were few large trees worth climbing in Randsburg), and a cloudburst and flash flood with knee-high water, the family arrived at their destination, the Tanner Ranch where two other families were already encamped.

Tanner Ranch was a splendid setting for three wonderful weeks. Mama set up her kitchen under a great tree and Papa dug a large fire-pit. He purchased chickens, eggs, milk, butter and vegetables from the Tanners. The family even bought six boxes of fresh juicy peaches which Mama canned. Yes, this self described “pioneering woman” had the foresight to bring canning jars with her!

The following winter, in cold and occasionally snowy Randsburg, eating those summer canned peaches was a delight.

Even more delightful were the family’s magical memories which lasted a lifetime. May your family’s memories of this summer remain as sweet….

A Scott Sayre mural on the exterior wall of Trona’s Old Guest House Museum depicts a 20-mule team historically used to haul borax across the desert from both Boron and Trona, left.

The chemical plant in Argus, on of the two main plants in the Searles Valley, is operated by Searles Valley Minerals, below.

Photos by Liz Babcock

T

he Upper Mojave Desert is the home of two enterprises that are among the largest, if not the largest, of their types in the U.S. Both can be called “mines” or “chemical plants,” but each is of a different character. However, they have one thing in common: the element boron and the several of its compounds called ”borates,” the most familiar of which is borax.

Borax and its fellow borates have extensive and diverse applications in consumer, industrial, and medical products, agriculture and many other fields. The U.S. produces about 60 percent of the world’s total production, and the majority of that 60 percent comes from our two enterprises.

Let’s start with the little town of Boron, located west of the intersection of State Hwy. 58 and U.S. Hwy. 395 called Kramer’s Corner (Junction) near the Kern and San Bernardino County line. Five miles north of Boron is the site of an enormous pit mine of high-grade borate ore and an extensive complex of processing, concentrating and refining plants.

The pit is more than 6,500 feet long, 4,400 feet wide and 600 feet deep. The location is adjacent to major highways and the main east-west line of the original Santa Fe Railroad, facilitating shipment of products via motor and rail. The enterprise is owned by a British corporation, the Rio Tinto Group.

The history of the “Boron pit” complex starts with the development of the rich deposit in 1926 by the British company, Borax Consolidated Limited, in what was called the Baker Mine. The ore was extracted by the classic mode of shafts, underground tunnels, etc. — a “room-and-pillar” method that left pillars of good ore as supports.

Production continued through the ’30s and ’40s. The demand for borax compounds increased following WWII, resulting in the 1957 conversion to the pit method of ore extraction.

In 1956 the name of the owner company changed to U.S. Borax and Chemical Corp. In 1968 U.S. Borax was purchased by the Rio Tinto Group.

Now move 50 miles north to the town of Trona, located in the Searles Valley due east of Ridgecrest 20 short miles via State Hwy. 178. The town sits on the western shore of Searles Dry Lake amid a large complex of chemical plants. The wealth of Searles Lake is not in ore, but in layers of brine rich in minerals several fathoms below the lake surface.

More than 22 million gallons of brine are pumped through all plants daily to extract the minerals and turn them into useful products. The minerals are principally borates, including borax

and boric acid, plus many other minerals. such as soda ash and potash. About 1.9 million tons of chemical and mineral products are produced every year and shipped out to various industries, with 50 to 60 percent sold worldwide.

Searles Lake is named after John Searles who discovered borax on the surface of the lake in 1873, then established a company and operated a small plant, abandoned in 1897.

The California Trona Co. was organized in 1908 to operate the claims, but folded up the following year. In 1912 the American Trona Co. was formed and prospered, especially with the sale of potash during WWI. More importantly, a new process was developed to handle the lake’s brine.

In 1926 American Trona was reorganized into American Potash and Chemical Corp. The plant was rebuilt and enlarged to increase production and produce new products. AP&CC operated successfully for more than 40 years. A 1968 merger with Kerr-McGee Corp. started a series of plant expansions and changes of ownership until December 2007, when an Indian company, Nirma, Inc., became the owner, retaining the business name of the prior owner, Searles Valley Minerals, for the works at Trona.

You’ll find a visit to these two enterprises worthwhile. The town of Boron has a fine museum that includes exhibits of the “big pit.” The museum also has exhibits of the 20-mule teams that transported borax from Death Valley to Mojave during the 1880s. The Rio Tinto works can be seen from viewpoints built by the company on the pit’s south side. Access is by a road from Hwy. 58.

The Searles Valley Historical Society in Trona also has an excellent museum, exhibits and interpretive programs of the chemical plants and their history.

Both sites can be reached easily from Ridgecrest. Boron is only an hour away via Hwy 395 and Trona only a short halfhour via Hwy. 178 through picturesque Poison Canyon.

–John Di Pol, Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 43

Maturango Museum collection, photos approved by Liz Babcock.

P

lanning a trip? Want to learn more about the first Californians, or just what the heck is out there in the desert?

One great resource is the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest.

As a natural history museum, a great variety of information can be accessed about local tribes, the living desert, wildlife, and plant life. Their expertise can be as near as your computer.

Check out the website at www.maturango.org for all sorts of nifty data, e-mail them at matmus@maturango.org, or see www. facebook.com and search for Maturango.

The Museum makes a delightful destination all on its own, or as a side trip on your way through Ridgecrest. Even if you arrive after hours, there is a kiosk with information on Highway 178, plus a 70-foot labyrinth formed of tufa stone, which you can walk as a form of moving meditation. Shown in the photo, the labyrinth reproduces a design used in Crete over 2,500 years ago. Also shown in the photo is one of the Museum’s six-foottall metal shaman sculptures, patterned after some of the most famous Coso rock art. For a great photo, pose your loved ones standing next to a shaman.

The Gladys Merrick Native Plant Garden is like a minibotanic garden, and paths around the grounds are inviting and pleasant to walk. Displays of intriguing “rusty junk” from century-old mining sites also make easy photo subjects. A new feature is the sundial, big enough that your shadow will tell the time of day. The white astronomy dome is used for star-gazing parties from time to time.

One unique feature offered by the Museum is the schedule of guided tours of the world-famous Coso rock art in Little Petroglyph Canyon, located on board the Naval Air Weapons Station. Visitors can see amazing rock art cut, scraped, or pecked into the surface of the rocks by local indigenous people, much of it pre-contact. The tantalizing images are not “writing” in the sense of hieroglyphics; rather, they seem to be images from vision quests or perhaps storytellin—each one unique.

Theories abound as to what the images mean. The Museum’s gift shop stocks a wide range of books on rock art, so you can investigate the theories yourself.

Years ago, I volunteered in the gift shop, and always enjoyed seeing visitors return from a “Petro” tour. Along about mid-afternoon, they would straggle in, sunburned and a bit dazed—and I always had the feeling they were floating about two feet off the floor! Their eyes were wide, and when they pulled off their hats, their hair was always windblown and wild.

44 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

“Did you have a good tour?” I would always ask, trying not to smirk.

“Oh, YEAH!!!” They would always say breathlessly, with a huge grin.

The canyons in the Cosos feel as though they were used for ceremonies, and let me tell you, the magic is still very much there. Everything shifts with the light; images give the impression of appearing and disappearing as the light changes.

Mighty few visitors come away without being affected on a deep, unspoken level.

It doesn’t matter if no one can “translate” the rock art. Just enjoy being with it, like an outdoor art gallery with over 5,000 images. Human hands—just like yours—made these images.

After you get home, look at your photographs. You’ll swear the images dance when you’re not looking! They never seem to be quite where you remembered seeing them last.

Tours are available in spring and fall; sign-up information, fees, and other vital info is found on the Maturango website.

Scheduled dates for the fall tours will be posted mid-August.

If you visit the Museum when they’re open you can see what’s on the inside—exhibits on Indian Wells Valley history, geology, minerals, plants, and animals.

The history exhibits run from baskets and artifacts of the indigenous people, through early- to present-day mining, to the Navy’s famous (and locally-designed) Sidewinder missile. The special Discovery Area provides a hands-on place for children to touch and explore. Be sure to look up, to see the mounted birds hanging from the ceiling. Local Natives told stories about these birds.

Home of the Northern Mojave Visitors Center and Death Valley Tourist Center, and a member of the California Deserts Visitors Association, the Maturango Museum is a great place to browse a rich selection of free information on things to do and see, many within an hour’s drive or less (you can also pick up a copy of the latest issue of The Sun Runner while you’re there). There is a nice gift shop with all sorts of natural history and petroglyph-themed gift items, including books, jewelry, toys, and much more.

The Museum is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on major holidays. Located at 100 E. Las Flores Ave. in downtown Ridgecrest, it is next to a shady park with playground equipment and picnic tables. For more information, call the Museum at (760)375-6900.

Writer Linda Saholt lives in Ridgecrest.

Desert Theatre Beat

By Jack Lyons Sun Runner Theatre Editor

N

ot only has the weather changed from spring cool to summer hot we’ve experienced some unwelcome changes, big time, in our theatre venues in the low desert. More about that later when we cover the lower desert.

First let’s highlight the hi-desert.

HI-DESERT THEATRE… Theatre 29 – Twentynine Palms “Blood, sweat, and tears” (to loosely paraphrase Winston Churchill) plus talent and dedication to a mission statement, continue to pay off for the community theatre located in “Marine Country.”

They are the only theatre, in either the hi- or low desert, that keeps their doors open and seats filled 12 months a year.

Other theatres are not so lucky.

The annual summer musical production, “The Pajama Game,” directed

by Gary Daigneault (stage) and Ed Will (music), is gearing up for a July 2 opening. The production, featuring music and lyrics by Richard Addler and Jerry Ross with a book written by George Abbott and Richard Bissell, will perform Fridays and Saturdays, at 7 p.m. through July 31. For reservations and ticket information call the box office at (760)361-4151.

Hi-Desert Cultural Center – Blak Box Theatre – Joshua Tree The HDCC and its main stage venue, the recently renamed Kaye Ballard Playhouse, is focusing a great deal of its energy these days on the fall opening after an almost three year renovation period as a result of damage from the big winter storm of 2007.

During the last three years, the Center’s state-of-the-art Blak Box theatre picked up the slack, producing many award-winning productions. Among the winners were, “Another Day In Baghdad,” and “Swift Fox: The Untold Stories of Willie Boy,” along with concerts, cabaret acts, stage readings, and other cultural events.

The Center may be diverse in what it presents, but looks forward to the return of producing musicals and straight theatrical plays in the new Kaye Ballard Playhouse this fall.

For information on events over the summer months check The Sun Runner’s online calendar and this column, or call the box office at (760)366-3777.

Groves Cabin Theatre – Morongo Valley The tiny but mighty, Groves Cabin Theatre (just 22 seats these days), is presenting the comedy play “In the Rest Room at Rosenbloom’s,” by Ludmilla Bollow.

The play directed by Steve Fuji, which opened May 22, features a four woman cast that includes: Kathy Ferguson, Joy Groves, Sue Kelly, and Vicki Montgomery, and performs on Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through June 14. For reservations and ticket information call the box office at (760)365-4523.

The Groves is on hiatus for the summer beginning June 15. The 2010/2011 Season resumes in October. Stay tuned to the Desert Theatre Beat. I will have more 2010/2011 play information in the next issue.

DOWN VALLEY THEATRES …

Palm Canyon Theatre – Palm Springs The flagship theatre of Palm Springs, concludes its 13th Season in the desert with “Disney’s High School Musical,” as part of their “Hot Summer Nights” selection, which premiere’s Thursday, July 8.

The musical, based on the Disney Movie of the same name and directed by David McLaughlin, will perform Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. through July 18.

Call the box office for reservations and ticket information at (760)323-5123.

The Thorny Theater – Palm Springs The “Thorny” is currently presenting the James Kirkwood, Jr. classic comedy “P S, Your Cat is Dead,” directed by John Alex Houlton. The play produced by Arch Brown, opened on May 21 and performs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through June 13.

Next up for the only theatre serving the GLBT community in Palm Springs is Terrence McNally’s powerhouse play “Love ! Valour ! Compassion !,” produced by theatre founder Arch Brown with direction and scenic design by Jim Strait.

The play opens on June 25 and performs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays, at 2 p.m. through July 31.

Please note: Thorny Theater productions

are for mature adults and may contain some nudity. Check the box office for content rating. For reservations and ticket information call the box office at (760)325-0853.

RIDGECREST Community Light Opera and Theater Association Director Tristan Kratz has selected a “spectacular cast” of theatrenewcomers and veterans for CLOTA’s summer production of Kander and Ebb’s famed musical, “Cabaret.” Lee Alan Nolan will serve as musical director, as well as playing piano in the Kit Kat Klub’s band.

“Cabaret” opens Friday, August 6, and runs weekends through August 21.

For information, call (760)446-2411.

Theatre Closings At the beginning of this column I mentioned something about “unwelcome changes.” The changes I alluded to were the possible closing of some low desert live theatres.

Well, it’s no longer “possible,” it’s official. The La Quinta Playhouse is no longer in business. The Joslyn Players of the Joslyn Senior Center after a most successful 10-year run is no more, merely a memory. The Indio Performing Arts Center has shuttered its doors, that is, as far as live theatre is concerned. The lights and telephones still work, thanks to the dedication of staffers working without pay and a couple of committed volunteers. It’s all so very sad.

It’s difficult to point fingers at any one single reason. It could be changing audience tastes, and yes, the economy has indeed taken its toll on many people and business ventures, with live theatre being one close to home.

The arts, here in the desert, as well as nationwide, have taken a big hit in our educational system, and the lives of our citizens. Let’s hope that as the country climbs out this economical black hole we find ourselves in, the arts will, once again, regain their rightful prominence in our society. We are a better people when we honor the magic that live theatre, classical, jazz, and other music, concerts, and dance provide to the community.

Please support those theatrical ventures that are still with us. After all, there’s more to our cultural lives than rock concerts and music festivals, although, goodness knows, we sure need them as well.

I confess, however, I may be just a little bit biased on the theatre thing.

See you at a live theatre performance.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 45

“Here and There,” photo by Vanja Bjelobaba.

FADE IN: June brings out the best in everyone and everything. There will be a ton of June brides and grooms. Our wildflowers are still blooming, the sun is shining bright in azure skies over the mountains and desert, and soon we’ll have 30,000 more visitors and film junkies eager to descend on our fair valley. Why? Because June also signals the return of the Palm Springs International ShortFest, which runs Tuesday, June 22 through June 28.

The festival of short films and its film market makes it the largest film festival of its kind in North America. More than 320 new short films, programmed in 90-minute packages, feature diverse and thematically linked stories. Subject matters include a dazzling array of comedies, thrillers, film noir, dramas, romances, animated shorts and documentaries. (Did I miss any film categories?) In addition to the screenings, there are seminars and master classes available for hard-core aficianados to attend. In short, (no pun intended) there is something for everyone.

ShortFest is somewhat of an Oscar qualifying event, as well. In the festival’s 15 years, 68 short films premiering at ShortFest have gone on to win Academy Award nominations, including four of this year’s nominees. This world-class festival is one of most celebrated events of its kind in North America, and it’s right here in our backyard, in Palm Springs. Films will screen at five local venues: The Regal Cinemas, the Annenberg Theater in the Palm Springs Art Museum, The Camelot Theatres, Palm Springs High School, and the Palm Canyon Theatre.

For ticket information, special event tickets and all access passes, go online 46 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

to www.psfilmfest.org, or for further information call (760)322-2930. Order early before many of these interesting and exciting events are sold out.

The ShortFest event, big as it is, is not the only movie-related event taking place in June. The Desert Film Society present its June selection, “Chamaco,” starring Martin Sheen and Kirk Harris.

“Chamaco” is a timeless story; one told inside the gritty world of boxing. In it, Abner is trapped in the rough life of Mexico City. His escape? Boxing. Dr. Frank Irwin (Sheen) and his son Jimmy (Harris), a pro boxer, come together to teach Abner that the heart fuels the punches we throw in life.

“Chamaco” screens at the Palm Springs Camelot Theatres, Saturday, June 5 at 9:30 a.m. The doors open at 9 a.m. with a film introduction at 9:20 a.m. and a Q&A session following the movie.

There are complimentary refreshments available. Admission is free to Desert Film Society members, however, for non-members admission is just $15 at the door. If you miss the June 5 screening, you can catch the Saturday, July 19, 9 a.m. screening of the Serbian dramedy “Here and There,” with the same timeline and rules applying as to admission. Is that Cyndi Lauper as Rose?

Their July 19 film is a Spanish language (with English subtitles) dramedy called “Undertow.” The town’s handsome young lothario has gotten his girlfriend pregnant and they plan to marry, however, he hasn’t told her of his on-going relationship with a male seaside painter.

The Desert Film Society is a wonderful way to view other cultures and countries without having to use your passport in the process. It’s cheaper too.

Applications for membership are available at the theatre, or by going online at www.desertfilmsociety.com, or you can call the Society and talk to a live person at (760)772-2999.

See you at the ShortFest or a cool theater.

FADE OUT:

Two of the Coachella Valley’s best. Veteran sax man Reggie Alexander plays a sweet hot mix of blues, jazz, and more, at Stuart’s in Rancho Mirage, left. Denise Motto, jazz pianist, keyboardist, and vocalist, above.

Y

ou have likely seen the TV ads depicting Stuart Anderson’s redux in the restaurant business, this time simply called Stuart’s, on Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage. It’s a restaurant for a good black angus steak and some excellent entertainment.

Veteran sax man Reggie Alexander has been entertaining diners since the place opened in April. He will apparently have longevity at this locale, as he mixes it up with his alto and tenor saxes, guitar, and his rich, melodic voice. The ladies do love that voice.

Reggie also invites other musicians to sit in if they come by and that too adds to the variety of this one man show.

To date, some of his friends who have dropped by include Al White on keyboards, Charlene Jeane on vocals, as well as Darcy Daniels and guitarist JoJo. The restaurant boasts one of the largest dance floors in Rancho Mirage, so that gives you a chance for a dance before dessert, Reggie has been a musician for 40 years and is pleased that he gets to play anything, the whole gamut, from blues to jazz and everything in between. You

will likely get to hear some great old Temptations tunes because Reggie used to play with them. He has also played with Clarence Carter.

That’s the great thing about many Coachella Valley musicians—they truly are veterans of many years. Reggie can be reached at (909)534-8475.

Denise Motto came to my attention several years ago as the hand-picked substitute for the late, great Andy Fraga, jazz pianist, at The Lodge and other venues, while he was still performing. She had just arrived from 20 years in Japan. That Motto is a fine jazz pianist is a given, but I also noted that she has an excellent voice and knows how to use it.

Motto describes herself first as a piano player, sans any electronic accoutrements. When the live music industry was signaling a change toward solo artists with accompanying tracks, she got out ahead by recording her own backing tracks with highly rated professional musicians rather than buying pre-recorded tracks by unknowns. She did it to enhance the nuances not found in many tracks but heard by the discerning ear.

She is skilled as a front performer and can just as easily provide outstanding accompaniment to other musicians and singers in any genre. For the past few years Motto has teamed up with singer Nancy Franklin to provide a fresh and thoroughly enjoyable duo for the valley. They know how to read a diverse room like Dink’s and give them what they want.

Whether she is backing another singer, providing musical direction to a dance group, or just playing and singing solo as she does at the Rainbow Room at Studio One11 (across form Target in Cathedral City), Denise Motto never disappoints.

You can reach her at (760)343-0560.

On a final note, the changing economy is hitting everyone, including your favorite venue. Restaurants, normally on thin margins, are shaving it even closer and many music jobs are in jeopardy.

Some have already been cut. Some musicians are taking a pay cut from their normal 1969 wages just to keep the job going and they are being pressed by club owners as well. Some clubs and restaurants are replacing fine, albeit low paid musicians with DJs who charge more and are paid more for spinning discs, than a musician who has practiced and played for a lifetime. It is happening everywhere and is a testament to utter absurdity. In a valley rich and deep in talent, such nonsense is inexplicable. Remember, when planning your evening out, plan to tip your server and the performers as well as you possibly can.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 47

Arctic Monkeys, left; Wunmi, above; Dave Catching, Judy, and Ted Quinn, below.

A

rctic Monkeys played to a packed house at Pappy and Harriet’s in April with cars parked at least a mile down Pioneertown Road. All the members of opening act Earthlings? except for Dave Catching were stuck in Amsterdam due to the volcano so Dave called in his band mates from Eagles of Death Metal who surprised the crowd with an outstanding rocking set. Arctic Monkeys then took the stage with a complete rock show complete with lights and fog, and as they said “Can you believe we are playing at Pappy’s?” What a night!

Congratulations to the John Linn Band who were invited to take the main stage at the Coachella Valley country music festival “Stagecoach.” John owns a guitar company that makes some amazing acoustic and electric guitars and basses, and they give a guitar away at every show. They also did an intimate benefit show for the Boys and Girls Club in Yucca Valley.

Things have been quite spectacular at the Joshua Tree celebration Center on Tuesday Nights. Recently Les Falconer drummer for Keb’ Mo joined Bobby Moses Nichols. A great new venue with some world class musicians.

You never know who will show up any given night at many of the open mics in town. This was proven once again when pop sensation Ke$ha preformed for a surprised crowd recently at Ted Quinn’s Monday night open mic at Pappy and Harriet’s. Seattle’s Band of Horses (currently on tour with Pearl Jam) were filming a video in Pioneertown and sat in for an impromptu set with the All Stars on a Sunday in May. Also here filming his video for “I Rep the West” was Actor/Rapper Ice Cube. Many of the members of the Pioneertown Posse are in the video that was shot on Mane Street.

Congratulations to Krissie Gregory and Nohelle Shurley of Harmondale who have been out on tour and just released their first single on I-Tunes!! We are so proud of you!

Once again the Joshua Tree Music Festival was incredible.

One of the most comfortable and fun festivals ever with a top notch line up of bands for three outstanding days in our beautiful desert. The festival was kicked off with our own Bobby Furgo, Gar Robertson and Ben Kennedy playing with Amy LaVere.

The party went on late into the evening on Friday, and Saturday had sets from Geri X, Wally Ingram and Jerry Joseph, who were 48 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

joined by Eric McFadden and the explosive energy/afrobeat of Wunmi. There we so many amazing bands including Fort Knox Five and Midnite. Evaro helped close the festival on Sunday and everyone was very sad to go home. The Line up for The Joshua Tree Roots festival to also be held at the Joshua Tree Lake and Campground on October 16 & 17 include The Shadow Mountain Band with more to be announced soon. Thanks to everyone who helped put on this magical event that included amazing art, love, friendship and fun!

Gram Rabbit put on a drive-in theatre in the parking lot behind Pappy’s that featured their music put to Alice in Wonderland. The music fit every scene and it was a fun night where you could pull your car up and watch it on a huge drive-in screen.

Some other great shows at Pappy’s included Nashville’s A-list songwriter Jim Lauderdale and a CD release party from Dave Gleason and the Golden Cadillacs. Look for upcoming shows from The Rave Ups, Jake Busey and The Farmers. It’s going to be a rocking summer!

At the Joshua Tree Music Festival: Bonerama bring a little taste of NOLA to a JT Saturday night, top; could that be Kinky fiddling around at the fest?, center; the auto-gamelan tent provides a rather zen way to chill out, right; and Geri X, below.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 49

Sustainable Living

Simple Times in a Simple Place Hot tubbing with John the Hippie and his Magnificent Outdoor Shower (Part One)

(By Pasquali via David Brown)

O

h compadres and companeros, what a magnificent day! There is delight in the air, and wondeful things to partake in and of.

"Is this not so?" I ask of you! To let depression and disappointment rule the roost of this day's time is to cheat one's very self out of the simple joys known to living. A good mid-afternoon siesta after a simple meal and a morning of creative and engaging tasks.

Celebrate! Do what you enjoy and revel in your time...as so many times before, says Pasquali, philospher and lover, of life amoungst other such things.

"What else is there, if not it all?" Perhaps there may be something to this "Neohedonistic" query, no? Por example...

To sit one's self in a tub of hot water, the very essence of life, as we think we know of it. Where one may ponder the sensual feeling of weightlesness and a sense of, how do you say, "suspended animation" of sorts? Yes, that's it. re-animation, a connection to life started in water! How profound of me to say, especially while seated in such in the middle of a desert where it is said there is no water to be found!

A mystery of life, if I may say so...

The hot tub of John the Hippie is a simple affair most any enterprising person could build for pleasures of their own! It is the sort of thing my good friends Claire and Allan had partaken of during their communal celebration of life outside of the town Winnemuka in Nevada, of course many years before. It has itself origins of a most humble beginning, the best of kind in fact. A simple galvanised steel water stock tank, a small one at that, just large enough to stretch out in "a solo" or perhaps enough to be "friendly" with a partner of one's own choosing if this be the case! Why should it be any other way?

John's tub is roughly two metres, oh pardon, about six feets in length and breadth and two feets in depth. Yes my friends, like Mother Earth, the Circle of Life and the womb, all things great 50 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

in Creation, this is a round affair. One could use another shape, but I ask why?

Oh, I feel so inspired taking of it, even the small tap installed on the side at the bottom for draining! Simple thrills!

This one is even set into the ground at about a foot's depth, and then a small deck made of salvaged wood pallets was built on one side. These pallets are coated with tar where they make contact with the ground, of course, as I have, how should we say, expounded upon before! I love the complexities of the English as a second or third language, even if I do the injustice of it's misuse from time to time! Oh well, this is why it is called a "living language" and not a "dead language" such as Latin.

"Class is now over," and I laugh out loud.

So this wonderful tank of water and it's small platform sit in the sun with a custom cover made by John fashioned from two by threes and plywood, most likely salvaged, and painted black of course to help absorb the rays of our good and constant friend the Sun. This, on a good desert day, will warm the water to a most pleasant temperature. Being myself short of stature, this is the perfect size for my person to stretch out within the tub and actually submerge my head if so inclined. Even with a partner or two in the tub with me...how nice, is it not?

For continued use during the colder time of the year, which some who do not know better may say "when is that?" John has fashioned a heater. Yes, it is a small affair using trash or pieces of wood and it is placed within the tub. It hangs upon the rim of the tank on a set of clamps most like a small outboard motor unit of a fishing boat. He used an old propane tank, a small five gallon one with the valve removed first, of course! As he pointed out to my person "what sort of idiot would use a cutting torch or welding unit on a tank which may contain any fuel in it, no matter how little?" A most normal idiot, was my reply! Be careful, most strong of words to be sure, however, not so harsh when one ponders the lack of sense in not heeding them.

With this last of thoughts in mind and using a small cutting torch, John cut a somewhat squarish (is this a real word or just a liberal usage of a living language again?) opening in the top of the tank facing the front. This would be a "firebox" opening. He has affixed hinges to the cut out part, although John has assured me this door is not necessary.

I wonder what Allan would think of such a thing, with his minute attention to detail and Teutonic design and all...Oh, Allan is not here so what does it matter, at least at this point?

Back to the matter at hand, another opening was cut in the top rear of the tank. This one was fashioned to the size and shape of a section of single walled stove pipe, roughly four inches in diameter as you would say. This was mild welded into place. Use black stove pipe and not the galvanised type used on heaters, this being, after all, a wood stove of sorts. Why expsoe one's self to toxic chemicals if one needn’t have to? The living language strikes again!

John affixed two lengths of stove pipe topped with a proper cap and fire screen.

Like the union says, "safety first."

When the temperature would warrant the use of heated water, it is obtained as follows...first, my friends, construct a small and proper "tee-pee" of kindling and good dry firewood within the heater box, keeping in mind it will be slow to draft at first and this is also the best shape to build fire of any type.

Firebuilding 101—twist the paper to simulate kindling. Continue to stoke the fire until the desired water temperature is obtained. The, simple sit and enjoy!

The duppie of Allan appears from behind a creosote bush and whispers into my ear..."Isn't this all so wonderful, a simple and ecological alternative? An old tank saved from a dumping to who knows where...and a fossil fuel tank at that, converted to something better.

“Sure, some may argue about the carbon due to wood and or the trash burning, however, let's look at the alernative, shall we? Trash on the desert or buried in a hole, or hauled many miles away by truck. What about the infrastructure required to do this?”

Yes Pasquali, thinks I, there is always a catch, isn't there? Allan’s duppie moving right along...

"The pipelines asociated with the delivery of natural gas and the cost to the environment. How about liquid propane shipped by truck using more fossil fuel to deliver and that complex infrastructure from some place distant? And what about the so called "smart grid" which really isn't all that smart or effective and then there are the myths of "clean coal," actually the dirtiest of energy sources and the most used, and then there is the nuclear option and and solar stations in the middle of nowhere and other such contradictive and misinformatives supplied via PR firms by your now friendly and "green" global energy corporate conglomerates and appropriately purchased lobbyists and politicos.

“One may only ponder, now that corporations themselves have the right of free speech via the Supreme Court,

whether they may now be required to pay the same tax rates as other "individuals" with first ammendment rights... hmmm...talk about cutting the national debt. Perhaps the court is was right after all. Is there really such justice?"

Where did that come from? To think duppies existed in the desert, so far from their Carribean or African lands!

Allan has penetrated my personal thoughts—is this not both interesting as well as disturbing? Well, I suppose, it is safe to say it's time to exit the tub of hot water. It is said that too much time in a hot tub or sauna or sweat lodge or even the sun may cause one to see apparitions and this must be the proof. Time to get out! Really, sometimes too much of a good thing...at least the coyote and the rabbit have remained silent and invisible. Come to think of it, so has John the Hippie.

And my cervaza! What has happened, it was just here and half full? Not there, as I look down to my bare feet. Hmmm, what are these, animal tracks? No! Some small ones and what? Paw prints! Dios Mia! Now what?

Dripping wet and standing atop the wonderful deck of pallets, wondering if perhaps a friendly rattlesnake is taking siesta below and gazing up at the soles of my feet or even the so called "private parts" of my person while he is given a likely unwanted shower, the mind's eye is attracted to a most colourful and wonderful apparition! Is it real? It appears that the monkeys have built it.

Walking towards it and forgeting of the bathing snake as well, I am delighted and amazed by the structure of recycled lumber those talented desert primates have constructed. Multicoloured and purposefully odd-width planked, this is John the Hippie's most Magnificent Outdoor Shower! Complete with foot grate and solar heater! A simple wonder to behold!

And my friends, as much as I may wish to stand here and exort it's virtues to you wearing my birthday suit, some of you may feel, however slightly, disturbed by this thought.

Let me go find my towel, and may peace shower upon you and your travels!

– Pasquali

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 51

JUNE June 1 – Super Ruby Tuesday Open Mic with Ted Quinn. Tuesdays, 8 p.m. 21+. Joshua Tree Saloon, 61835 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree.

(760)366-2250.

June 2 – Ridgewriters Meeting. Sun Runner Publisher, Steve Brown speaks. 6:30 p.m. Free. Presented by the Eastern Sierra Branch of the California Writers Club. High Desert Haven, 1240 College Heights Blvd., Ridgecrest. (760)375-7900.

June 3 – Wine Tasting, WCP Cellars. 5-7 p.m.. 21+. $20 for members/$25 for non-members. Hors d’oeuvres & prizes. Café Potpourri at Carriage Inn, 901 S. China Lake Blvd., Ridgecrest. (760)446-7910.

June 4-13 – Palm Springs Restaurant Week. A culinary celebration featuring restaurants from Palm Springs to Indio that offer a threecourse menu at a fixed price. w ww.palmspringsrestaurantweek.com.

June 4 – 2010 Annual Street Fair and Car Show. 6-10 p.m. Free.

Downtown 29 Palms (Hwy 62). Information: (760)367-3445.

June 4 & 5 – “Star-Spangled Girl.” Neil Simon comedy, 7 p.m., Advance tickets $6, Red Rock Books, $7 at the door. Historic USO Building, 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd., Ridgecrest. (760)375-3454.

June 5 & 6 – Petroglyph Tours. $25 for members and $35 for nonmembers. Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave. Ridgecrest.

(760)375-6900, www.maturango.org.

June 6 – 92nd Cherry Festival.

Noon-9 p.m.

Adults $5, kids $2 (6-11), 5 & under free. Carnival, festival, arts & crafts, music, more. Shuttle service $1 off admission. Shuttle at Walmart lot , 2nd St. & Sports Park at Brookside & Beaumont Ave. every 1/2 hour. Stewart Park (9th & Orange St.), Beaumont. (951)769-8524. www.beaumontcherryfestival.org.

June 7 – Borrego Birders. 8-10 a.m. Free. Christmas Circle, Borrego Springs. (760)767-3098.www.borregospringschamber.com.

June 9 – Wednesday Night Dance. 7-10 p.m. $7. Ballroom dancing every Wednesday. Billy Reeds Restaurant, 1800 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs. (760)325-1946.

June 10 – Brown Bag Lunch Lecture: Earthquakes & Volcanoes.

Noon-2 pm. Free. Iced tea. Hi-Desert Nature Museum, 57090 29 Palms Hwy., Yucca Valley. (760)369-7212. www.hidesertnaturemuseum.org.

June 10 & 11 –Star Party. China Lake Astronomical Society, Ridgecrest. Signs out 8:30 p.m., 9 p.m. viewing. Directions or info call Carroll Evans (760)375-5681.

June 11 – Muir Roots: At One with the Wild. 2nd Friday Old Schoolhouse Lecture Series. 7 p.m. $5. Optional dinner with speaker at 5 p.m. at the 29 Palms Inn. Dinner RSVP to Marion Gartner (760)3611202. Old Schoolhouse Museum, 6760 National Park Dr., 29 Palms.

June 12 – Cabot’s Annual Celebration & BBQ. Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, 67616 Desert View Ave, Desert Hot Springs. (760)329-7610. www.cabotsmuseum.org.

June 12 – CDC Victory Hoot. 5-8 p.m. Celebrating the victory over Green Path North. $5. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956. RSVP here: www. cadesertco.org.

June 13 – Pappy’s Allstar Band. 7 -10 p.m. Every Sunday. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown.

(760)365-5956, www.pappyandharriets.com.

June 14 – Brown Bag Lunch Seminars @ the Library. 12:15-12:45.

Free every Monday, presentations on various topics while you eat your lunch.. Beaumont Library, 125 E 8th. Beaumont. (951)845-1357. www.bld.lib.ca.us.

June 16 – Indio Open Air Evening / Night Market. 4-10 p.m. Free parking, small admission. Riverside County Fairgrounds, 46350 Arabia Street, Indio. (800)222-7457.

52 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

June 16 – “Artists on the Edge” Reception & Sale. 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Free. Elks Lodge, 201 E. Church Ave., Ridgecrest. (760)375-8494 x25.

June 17 – From Austin, Horse Opera. 7:30-11 p.m. Reservations suggested. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956. www.pappyandharriets.com.

June 17 – Summer Films at the Palm Springs Art Museum. 5:30 p.m. Free. Every Thursday through Sept. 9. 101 Museum Dr., Palm Springs. (760)322-4800. www.psmuseum.org.

June 18 – Tehachapi Community Theater presents Godspell. 8 p.m. Beekay Theatre, 110 S Green St., Tehachapi. (661)822-4037. www.tctonstage.com.

June 19 – Shadow Mountain Band. 5 -7 p.m. 7 p.m. Outdoor show with Jake Busey & The Sons of The Lawless. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)3655956, www.pappyandharriets.com June 19 – Main Street Tehachapi’s 3rd Annual Chili Cookoff & Need for Speed Muscle and Sports Car Show. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Free. Petting zoo, pony rides, more. (661)822-6519 or visit www. mainstreettehachapi.org.

June 20 – Father’s Day Breakfast: Behind-the-Scenes with Giraffe.

7-9 a.m. Members $35, Non-members $45. The Living Desert, 47900 Portola Ave., Palm Desert. (760)346-5694. www.livingdesert.org.

June 22-28 – The Palm Springs International ShortFest. Short Film Festival & Film Market, celebrated as one of the most acclaimed short film showcases in the world. Camelot Theatres, 2300 E. Baristo Rd., Palm Springs. www.psfilmfest.org.

June 24 – Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series. Noon. 2nd & 4th Thursdays, June through August. Free. Hi-Desert Nature Museum, 57090 29 Palms Hwy., Yucca Valley. (760)369-7212. www.hidesertnaturemuseum.org.

June 25 – Love! Valour! Compassion! June 25-July 31. 8 p.m. $25. Thorny Theater. 2500 N. Palm Canyon Dr., #A4, Palm Springs.

760/325-0853. www.thornytheater.com.

June 26 – Julio Inglesias. 8 p.m. $50-$100. The Show at Agua Caliente Casino, 32-250 Bob Hope Dr., Rancho Mirage. (866)923-7244.

June 26 – 2nd Annual Gay Pride Celebration. 6-11 p.m. Free.

Gallery crawl, music, food, festivities. speakers, refreshments and exhibitors in a fair-like atmosphere. Downtown Joshua Tree. (760)4494048. www.hidesertlgbtnews.com.

June 29 – Youth Photography and Graphics Club. 4-5:30 p.m.

Free, suggested donation of $5/month, every Tuesday. Beginning photography, basics for taking and processing digital photos. Open to Pass area youth ages 8 and up. BYOC or share. (951)645-6545. www.banningculturalalliance.org.

JULY July 1 – Movies in The Park: Ink Heart. 8 p.m. Free. Bring lawnchairs and blankets. Concessions provided. Luckie Park, 74362 Joe Davis Dr., 29 Palms. (760)367-7562.

July 2 – Retro Swing Night. 6-9 p.m. $5. All Ages. Rattlesnake Jake’s, 51572 29 Palms Hwy, Morongo Valley. (760)365-0475.

July 3 – Evaro. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Reservations suggested. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown.

(760)365-5956. www.pappyandharriets.com.

July 4 – Independence Day Fireworks. Blythe County Fairgrounds, Olive Lake Blvd., Blythe. www.blytheareachamberofcommerce.com.

July 4 – Yucca Valley’s Fourth of July Fireworks Show. 6 p.m., fireworks at 9 p.m. Free. Yucca Valley High School football field.

Snack bar. 7600 Sage Ave, Yucca Valley. (760)365-0444.

July 4 – Independence Day Fireworks Celebration. 6 p.m. Free.

Music, food and more. Fireworks show after dark. Desert Empire Fair Grounds, 520 S. Richmond Rd., Ridgecrest. (760)375-2715.

July 4 – City of Tehachapi’s Hot Dog Festival & Taste of Tehachapi Food & Wine Festival. Hot Dog Festival. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Central Park. (661)822-2200. Taste of Tehachapi Food & Wine Festival, 5-8:30 p.m. Downtown Tehachapi. (661)822-6519.

July 4 – Palm Desert Celebrates Independence Day. 6-11 p.m.

Free. Celebration featuring music, fireworks, and fun. Civic Center Park, Fred Waring Dr. & San Pablo Ave., Palm Desert.

July 6 – Art & Science Tuesdays. 10 a.m. - Noon. July and August.

Free. Hi-Desert Nature Museum, 57090 29 Palms Hwy., Yucca Valley.

(760)369-7212. www.hidesertnaturemuseum.org.

July 8 –Rabbit & Rutherford (featuring Jesika & Todd from Gram Rabbit). 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Reservations suggested. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 53

5956. www.pappyandharriets.com.

July 8 – Borrego Art Guild. 12-2 p.m., every 2nd Thursday. De Anza Country Club, 509 Catarina Drive, Borrego Springs. (760)767-5577, www.borregospringschamber.com.

July 10 –Kennedy Meadows and Beyond for Flowers. 7:45 a.m. meet, 8 a.m. depart. $30 museum members, $35 non-members, member guests. Car caravan led by Naturalist Janet Westbrook. Sign up by 7/6. Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest.

(760)375-6900, www.maturango.org.

July 11 – Palm Springs Art Museum Free Second Sundays. Free admission the 2nd Sunday of each month. Family activities, theater & gallery performances, films, docent-led spotlight talks, artists at work. Admission, activities free except where noted. 101 Museum Dr., Palm Springs. (760)322-4800. www.psmuseum.org.

July 12 – Line Dancing. Every Thurs. 1-3 p.m. Free. Barstow Senior Center, 555 Melissa Ave., Barstow. (760)256-5023.

July 12-14 – AdventureCORPS Badwater Ultramarathon. Covers 135 miles (217km), non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney in temperatures up to 130F (55c). The most demanding and extreme running race offered anywhere on the planet’s 33rd anniversary! (888) 917-1117, www.badwater.com, www.adventurecorps.com.

July 15 – Palm Springs VillageFest. 7-10 p.m. Free. Every Thursday. Artists, artisans, entertainers, open markets in downtown Palm Springs on Palm Canyon Drive. (760)320-3781.

July 16-18 – Idyllwild Lemon Lily Festival. Art, music, food, and fun for all ages! Idyllwild Nature Center, 25225 Highway 243, Idyllwild. www.LemonLilyFestival.com.

July 16 – Butler’s Artist Showcase and Open Mic. 7-9 p.m. Free.

Butler’s Coffee, 40125 10th St .West, Suite I, Palmdale. (661)2729530. www.desertsong.net.

July 16 & 17 – Dave Gleason & The Golden Cadillacs. 8 p.m. New CD: “Turn And Fade” Celebration/Weekend’er/Extravaganza. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown.

(760)365-5956. www.pappyandharriets.com.

July 17 – Film: Undertow. 9 a.m. doors, film at 9:30. Free to Desert Film Society Members, $15 at the door. Complimentary refreshments. Camelot Theatres, 2300 E Baristo Rd., Palm Springs. www. desertfilmsociety.com.

July 17 – Harvey House Market Day. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 3rd Saturdays March to August. Historical Harvey House, 681 N. First Ave. Barstow.

(760)256-8617.

July 17 – Wild West Poker Run. $15 per rider—$20 with a passenger.

Fundraiser for Banning Stagecoach Days. Motorcycle ride through Idlywild mountains, compete for prizes from poker hands drawn at stops. Concludes with BBQ, 50/50 drawing and raffle. Register online www.stagecoachdays.net.

July 18 – Jackson Browne. 7 p.m. $60-$100. The Show at Agua Caliente Casino, 32-250 Bob Hope Dr., Rancho Mirage. (866)923-7244.

July 22 – Morongo Basin Life Drawing League. 6:30-8:30. Series $40 + $1 for center. Every Thursday. All levels, no pre-sign-up needed. Joshua Tree Retreat & Event Center, 59700 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree. (760)365-4955.

July 24 –Pioneertown Posse. 2:30-3:30 p.m. Free. Every Saturday.

Old-west re-enactment group performs thru October. Family-friendly atmosphere, free gifts for the kids at the end of each show. 3 miles up Pioneertown Rd., right turn from Hwy. 62 in Yucca Valley to Pioneertown. (760)365-4096.

July 24 – Sleep Sun. 10 p.m. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956. www.pappyandharriets.com.

July 29 – Wine Tasting. 5-7 p.m. $20/members, $25/non-members.

Hors d’oeuvres & prizes. Café Potpourri at Carriage Inn, 901 S. China Lake Blvd., (760)446-7910.

July 31 – 007 and The Souls. 8 p.m. Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown. (760)365-5956. www. pappyandharriets.com.

July 31 – Joshua Tree National Park Climbing and Bouldering Trip. Ridgecrest Outdoor Recreation (760)939-3006. www.ridgecrestchamber.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.

54 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

I

The Last Word

thought it would be good to let someone else have The Last Word for a change. Since this is the off-roading issue, I thought we’d let you hear from the doctors who deal with off-roading injuries. What they have to say pretty much tells you what they think(use some common sense), so I don’t need to add to it. The following is directly from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, followed by an advertisement they have created.

Obviously, ATV/OHV riders can make up their own minds about riding safely. After all, if the orthopaedic surgeons are urging you to ride ATVs responsibly, they aren’t too worried about job security.

– Steve Brown All-Terrain Vehicle Safety All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are fun, but they are also deadly. More than 136,000 ATV-related injuries were treated in hsopitals, emergency rooms and doctors’ offices in the year 2004, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). They cost the U.S. over $3.6 billion in medical, legal and work loss expenses.

Here are some safety tips for ATV use. Following these guidelines could help reduce your risk of injury. lRead all instruction manuals and follow the manufacturers’ recommendations for use, maintenance, and pre-use checks. lNever operate an ATV on a public road. Almost 10 percent of injuries and over 25 percent of deaths occurred while the ATV was on a paved road. lAlways wear protective gear. Helmets are especially important in reducing the risk of head injury. Protective gloves and heavy boots can also help reduce injuries. lDo not operate at excessive speeds or after dark. ATVs are difficult to control and collisions with other vehicles can result in severe injuries or death. lDo not operate an ATV if you have taken drugs or alcohol. According to the CPSC, 30 percent of all fatal ATV accidents involved alcohol use. lATV drivers should be age 16 or older and never allow additional passengers. lNever operate a 3-wheeled ATV. For more information about All-Terrain Vehicle safety, visit the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website at www.orthoinfo.org, or the Orthopaedic Trauma Association website at www.ota.org.

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 55

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

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

SUNNYVALE GARDEN SUITES 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

56 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

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

EL RANCHO DOLORES MOTEL

Circle C Lodge

Private oasis offers 12 spacious guest rooms nestled in a lush garden courtyard with heated pool, spa, BBQ pit. Full kitchen, A/C, HBO, phones, continental breakfast.

AAA, extended stay available.

6340 El Rey Ave., 29 Palms, CA (760)367-7615 • 800-545-9696 www.circleclodge.com

Country Inn

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.

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

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

June/July 2010 – The Sun Runner 57

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 Joshua Tree National Park

74485 National Park Drive (at Utah Trail) Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 Park Info: (760)367-5500 www.nps.gov/jotr

Joshua Tree National Park Association 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

Death Valley Chamber of Commerce www.deathvalleychamber.com

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park www.parks.ca.gov

Anza-Borrego Foundation www.theabf.org

Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association www.abdnha.org

California Deserts Visitors Association www.californiadeserts.org

58 The Sun Runner – June/July 2010

www.nps.gov/moja

29 Palms Chamber of Commerce 73660 Civic Center, Suite D Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 (760)367-3445 www.29chamber.org www.visit29.com

Barstow Chamber of Commerce www.barstowchamber.com/visitors

Ridgecrest Area Convention & Visitors Bureau 1-800-847-4830 www.visitdeserts.com

Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce www.ridgecrestchamber.com

Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism www.visitpalmsprings.com

Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention & Visitors Authority www.palmspringsusa.com

The Sun Runner Magazine www.thesunrunner.com www.desertfuncoupons.com

Fine Food and Lodging at the Historic Oasis of Mara

GEOFFREY PRESTON PHOTOGRAPHY

Family Owned and Operated since 1928

• 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

72 The Sun Runner – February/March 2010

The Sun Runner

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29 Palms, CA 92277

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