UPDATE March 10, 2025– RIP David Myers, President of The Wildlands Conservancy, at age 73. He passed away at his home in Oak Glen of natural causes related to Parkinson’s Disease. Thank you for your hard work for conservation, tireless diligence and most of all, your inspiration to so many. You will be missed. Note:…
In the midst of the Roaring Twenties, a stout young man was a Ventura, California, attorney by trade. Although Erle Stanley Gardner immersed himself in juris prudence, he found that to make ends meet he needed what millennials nowadays call a “side hustle.” Writing fiction suited the gent’s keen wit, colorful oration and flair for…
Sometimes a desert is like a Trojan horse. Few desert rats disagree that the desert can be a beautiful, magical place. It’s wide open horizons and endless views across miles of sand, cacti, Joshua Trees, boulders and mountains, especially at sunrise and sunset, can be captivating. The allure is reminiscent of a Siren’s song though…
Although Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base is the largest Marine training base in the world, this distinctly military town has a softer side. In 1996, former Marine, 29 Palms resident and television host, Huell Howser, featured the unveiling ceremonies for the initial eight of Twentynine Palms murals commissioned by the Action Council in his “Visiting”…
Drive north out of Palm Springs on Highway 62, past Desert Hot Springs, and the appreciative eye is drawn towards the majesty of Mount San Gorgonio to the west. 11,503 feet above sea level, and about 9,000 feet above this place right here, the Mission Creek Preserve. In a land that is a little bit…
Update 2023: Visiting Coyote Holes is no longer allowed. It is presently off-limits. The North, West and South access points are fenced and/or gated, and posted as closed; strictly no trespassing. Please respect the integrity of this special archaeological site and follow the warnings! Update 2022: “The Coyote Hole historic petroglyph site in Joshua Tree, an…
The fearless explorers walk along the trail. Quiet. Ever on the lookout for desert flora and fauna. Suddenly, as they round the bend, they come face-to-face with a world of beauty in the guise of the Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium, just down the street from a good cup of espresso on Palm Canyon Drive….
If you sometimes find yourself driving on California State Highway 62, in Morongo Valley, between Palm Springs and Parker, Arizona, then you’ve been by Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, and maybe didn’t even know it was there. Once considered a secret hideaway by Native Americans and later settlers alike, the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a…