Desert Lady Diaries

Heather recalls her first experience with desert was on a road trip with her grandmother and says that wasn't the one that put the desert in her heart. At 14, on a Nile river cruise to Egypt with her mother and grandmother, the desert set her soul alight. Years later, living in Silicon Valley, Heather traveled to LA for work and planned a solo motorcycle trip back through the Mojave, up through Tahoe. She'd camped in Joshua Tree National park overnight, waking up to the sound of coyotes. Heather tells us as she drove out of the park into 29 Palms and heard a voice inside her say, "you're going to live here someday". Heather bought a property in Wonder Valley and after taking a writing sabbatical at one of her own desert properties, she found a sense of feeling more energetic and creative in the desert, which spurred her to move here full time - that was about a year ago. Heather finds being in tune with nature, the mountains, the sky and the ability to be a bit isolated has been very beneficial for her work. She feels a deep connection to this desert, to the earth and the rock. In this episode Heather tells us about the painting from a friend that helped her extend the threshold of her desert home while working for a company that required extensive and regular global travel. As a futurist and security researcher, Heather studies things that are happening today to predict certain future outcomes. We talk about considering future outcomes that result from present outcomes and making strategic decisions that will lead to more predictable outcomes. Heather's clients include US & UK governments, SWIFT, Disney, IEEE, mid-size companies and start-ups. Her research has been covered in the New York Times, CNN, American Banker, CNBC, Fox and the Atlantic. She is the author of the Cyber Attach Survival Manual, published by Weldon-Owen and is the writer/producer of 14 documentaries and short films about future technology. Her work has won multiple awards from the Association of Professional Futurists. Watch some of Heather's films and learn more about her at her website: www.heathervescent.com Heather on Twitter: @heathervescent Heather on Instagram: heathervescent

Originally from the Philadelphia area, Janet became enamored with the desert while traveling through New Mexico on a family vacation to visit her dad's one and only uncle in San Diego. Driving through the desert she thought, "I have to come back to this place." Attending school for architecture in Cincinnati, Janet decided she wanted to get into the construction side of the business and through a co-op program at the college, she'd heard about Habitat for Humanity and landed a co-op in Atlanta, GA. While there, she caught Albuquerque architect Antoine Predock on the cover of Time magazine - this was her way back to the desert. Though the Predock office continued to say no co-op opportunities were available, Janet remained hopeful and persistent. She drove to Albuquerque, having no interview appointment. While there, Janet worked at the youth hostel where she was staying and picked up a job waitressing at the local pancake house. The people were unique and interesting and she quickly realized she wanted to live in this kind of environment. And she finally ended up with a six month work session with the Predock firm. Though Janet thought she might continue her schooling in New Mexico, her last co-op experience was in Berkeley, CA, where she was eventually hired on with a firm where she discovered straw bale construction. The firm received a call to build a straw bale home for composer Lou Harrison in Joshua Tree, known today as Harrison House Music, Arts and Ecology, and Janet found herself in Joshua Tree to work on the project. This project would also be the beginning of Janet's interaction with the San Bernardino County planning, development, land-use and code enforcement departments. Janet's ability to navigate county codes and ordinances became very useful later, in her role helping to fend off what became know as 'Alta Mira', a proposed 248-home, gated community on about 100 acres of land in Joshua Tree. Janet's knowledge and dedication was instrumental in this matter and after 10 years of, the developers decided to move on. You can read all about it here. When Janet arrived in Joshua Tree, she knew only one person, George, who was associated with the Harrison House project. There was no Crossroads, just Park Center Deli, known today as Park Rock Café, next to the JTNP Visitors Center. This was Janet's social scene until she was introduced to the local radio station, which helped her get more information about events happening in the community. Our conversation about the County and the former Alta Mira project leads us into a discussion of how and where neighbors can get involved in the community, so as not to be caught off-guard about the goings on around town and make their voices heard. We also discuss the serious crisis of a shortage of long term rentals, multi-family units or apartments in Joshua Tree, one that Janet sees more and more local families with school-aged children experiencing, and strongly suggests it would behoove the community to come together to talk about these issues in proactive, rather than reactive, ways. Janet's Company - StrongArm Construction AAA Map - Indian Country

Born in France, Marie Bobin's first experience with desert was a trip with friends to Death Valley. It was a last minute, 'let's get out of LA for the weekend' kind of trip – in August. Marie says they drove a lot, got out of the car to snap a few photos, then jumped back into the air conditioned car. Marie's family moved to California when she was in her preteen years. With a background in performing arts and producing, Marie started her career in London with a pub theatre, producing shows for four years and then came back to the states working with museums and cultural centers. Though she has lived in Thailand and London, she says she always returns to the Golden State. Looking for a change of pace from Los Angeles and being self-described national park lovers, Marie and her husband were considering areas near Yellowstone and other places. In this episode, Marie says when she mentioned Joshua Tree, her husband said, "The desert?!", but after a number of short day trips out here, he started to fall in love with the place just as Marie had. They put their house in Topanga on the market - it sold in 10 days. Marie immediately found work. Marie says, "The doors just kept opening, confirmation that this is where we were supposed to be". Moving to the area without knowing anyone, Marie attended Kip's book club, 2nd Saturdays in Joshua Tree and other events around town, where she started to meet her community. With a background in cultural programming and consulting, Marie became involved with local non-profits Harrison House, Joshua Tree Retreat Center and Mil-Tree, of which she in now holds a board position. She also met Jenny Kane, Executive Director of Arts Connection, where the idea for applying for the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Grant happened. Marie says she immediately recognized the good work so many Morongo Basin organizations were already doing. It was her desire to produce an event that would support and enhance their work. Being familiar with the NEA Big Read grant, Marie was certain it would be the right vehicle to pull all these organizations together for one big cultural event. An entire month of free events - with something for everyone - are scheduled during September, beginning with the kick off at Mojave Desert Land Trust Headquarters on September 7, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To view and download the schedule of events, visit Arts Connection of San Bernardino or check out Big Read Morongo Basin on Facebook and follow them on Instagram @BigReadMorongoBasin.

Teaching brought Gay Smith (left in photo above) to California, as after college graduation there was a glut of teachers on the east coast. She'd read about a fellow student who came to Corona, CA to interview, she followed suite and got the job on the spot. Having been in teaching for over 40 years, Gay talks about the changes she's witnessed in the students over the years. Gay's first experience with the desert was during the December holidays in the early 60's with a group of friends she'd met through teaching. The place they visited was her soon to be husband's cabin on Copper Mountain Mesa. Though there was no electricity or water in the early days, Gay and her husband, John, continued to come back to the his cabin on weekends, all vacations, including the summer months. At some point, they decided it would be wise to at least run electricity to the cabin - which they did themselves, impressing the County code Inspector. When the kids came along, they added a room to the cabin and became permanent residents of North Joshua Tree in 1974. Gay talks about a developer who had a big vision for Pioneertown, found Gay and her husband John purchasing several acres in the area. The developer went broke and plans for the 'Golden Empire' fell through, but John and Gay remained. Thank Gay when you see her for being involved in making Mane Street in-accessible to cars and holding off the County from adding paved roads and sidewalks! In this episode, Gay takes us back in time to 1965 and one traffic light at Old Woman Springs Road and talks about tricks they used to find their home at night. Gay also talks about the history of Pappy & Harriet's and tells of it's origins, including the biker gang fights, before it became the infamous music-lovers haven it is today. Gay owns the Pioneertown Wild West Theatre, which is a 501(c)3. You might be inclined to check out a show there or donate to the cause after hearing this interview. Check out Gay's vacation rental: Desert Willow Ranch

In part two of the 100 episode milestone celebration, I read the remaining excepts chosen from 'The Desert Was Home', by Elizabeth Crozer Campbell. Elizabeth describes the beauty of the landscape, shares some stories about desert friends and neighbors and laments the changes she and Bill witnessed in the time since their initial arrival to the desert. The last passage describes a moonlight drive and concludes this love story between Elizabeth, Bill and the desert. If you'd like to read more about Elizabeth's history and see more photos of her beloved Campbell House, check out the Campbell House Inn website. And once again, if you listen: thank you, if you have been interviewed: thank you and if you have donated: thank you. I appreciate all of you.

In this special celebration episode, I'm reading excerpts from 'The Desert Was Home', a book by an original Desert Lady, Elizabeth Crozer Campbell. If you're unfamiliar, Elizabeth, or Betts, as her husband called her, she was born in Beach Haven, NJ – so of course I felt an immediate kinship with her. Elizabeth Warder Crozer, was born the youngest of four daughters, in 1893 and died in 1971. She was raised in Upland, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a wealthy family and her education through her post graduate studies were in private schools. She met Bill, an orphan from Los Angeles, at a west coast wedding, where they were both in the bridal party. As the story goes, it was love at first sight and they themselves married in 1920, even with the disapproval of Elizabeth's family. They initially lived in Pasadena and Linda Vista, but Bill's health issues, stemming from his involvement in WWI, found them desperate to find a place where he could heal… that is where 'The Desert Was Home' begins. Visit the Campbell House website (from which the photo of Betts and Bill came) for a glimpse of the modern day Campbell House and learn more about Betts and Bill's love story, which also became their love affair with the desert. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into early life here in the Mojave desert from one of it's original homesteaders.

Kim Fulleman's first experience with the desert were as a Girl Scout, visiting Joshua Tree National Park to camp and hike. Kim and her friends would find the biggest rock formation they could – and climb it. After 20 years in a 400 square foot Hollywood apartment, Kim was ready for a change. She was feeling like it was time to get back into nature and heal from some things she'd experienced in her life. After looking for and bidding on a place in Joshua Tree, only to be outbid, a friend suggested she take a look in Landers - where she found her home. Kim's first few months here were not without some desert challenges. In this episode, Kim talks about moving to her home in early June and having the swamp cooler go on the fritz – causing her to be sequestered to her bedroom with only a small window air conditioner for relief. Then roots were entering the plumbing. But that wasn't the end… when she heard something that sounded like explosions, she texted a friend and found she was hearing the military exercises conducted at the Marine base in 29 Palms. In Hollywood Kim was a professional musician, playing bass and on vocals for 'The Distillers' and other bands, including 'Punk is Dead', a band that performed Grateful Dead songs punk style. When not working professionally, Kim did what most folks do in Los Angeles to pay the rent – restaurant work, bartending, security, pet-sitting and more. Now, here with the silence and expansiveness of the desert, Kim has found herself inspired to begin writing poetry and talking with a friend about creating some healing type music.

Christine Anthony's first experience with the desert was on a commercial shoot at the Glamis sand dunes in southern California. She'd picked up this commercial production job after arriving in LA on a greyhound bus from Cleveland, OH with $7 in her pocket, having followed her rock-n-roll boyfriend to the West Coast. The romance fizzled and Christine found her self reaching out to a few folks she knew in LA, also from Cleveland, one of whom became a roommate. Deciding to remain in LA, Christine navigated her way through a few jobs, producing television commercials, then moved to the agency side of the business for many years. About 18 months ago, while on a regular visit to Vegas, with the Mojave to the southwest and the Sonoran desert to the southeast, Christine decided to take a look at some real estate and a few weeks later, seeing a mid-century modern house come up in a search, immediately placed a bid on it, site unseen, and bought it. We talk a bit about her neighborhood in Las Vegas, the background of the neighbors and how they interact, as well as the designers of these mid-century modern homes in her Paradise Palms neighborhood. We also talk about the differences between Las Vegas and Los Angeles as far as friendliness, competition and economics and some common misconceptions people have about Las Vegas. Christine also offers up some interesting places to visit off the strip and expands on the feeling of safety the city keeps at the forefront of it's operations.

A lifetime of careers with Parks and Recreation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Park Service, as well as being a Jazzercise instructor, radio ad executive, secondary social studies teacher and director of a youth drug prevention program, Carmen Mendoza is finding her soul back in the Mojave desert, returning here after spending over half her life in Colorado. In this episode, we talk about the ways the light travels along the mountains during a desert day, which leads us to a discussion about Carmen's training in using Harmonic Light Frequencies, which she found through searching for other methods to reduce her own pain from fibromyalgia. One day, while watching the snow fall from her Colorado kitchen window, Carmen heard a voice utter a phrase which inspired the first of seven short stories in her book, 'Road to Soul: 7 Captivating Short Stories'. Her own desert photograph adorns the front and back covers of the book. Carmen is also a professional, certified life coach and provided us with some examples of some of the ways in which she has assisted her clients. Additionally, Carmen provides 26 weeks of pro-bono coaching to caregivers of wounded Veterans, to help them manage their lives and ensure they are practicing self-care along with caring for everyone else around them. We also have some conversation about the desert Carmen remembers growing up, compared to the one she has found on her return. If you're interested a light treatment, coaching or purchasing Carmen's book, visit her Harmonic Coaching website: www.carmendoza.com At the time of this writing, Harmonic Light Frequency treatments are available at Carmen's home office in 29 Palms by appointment or in Yucca Valley at Rainbow Stew on Wednesdays from 1-5 p.m. for $35 per session. Carmen's Website Harmonic Coaching by Carmen Facebook Page Road to Soul Facebook Page

Brenda first visited the desert as a young girl on family camping trips and those visits continued into her teen years as a destination for soul-searching and wandering the space. Needing a change, Brenda made the move to the desert with her horses. Upon arriving, she found she had many friends here and immediately found her way into the community. Brenda loves the diversity of the weather, the beauty of the landscape and talks about the differences of living in Idyllwild and the desert, particularly the inconveniences of being locked in - or out - for events like fires or snow. At her sanctuary on the mesa, Brenda grows plants, from which she creates various essences and has created spaces to work on her art, as well as a space for her clients to do their healing work. In this episode, Brenda shares her experiences of living a corporate life with an environmental company in Japan, which segued into a job in entertainment. After leaving these jobs and living in Idyllwild, CA, Brenda decided to go back to school to complete her undergrad and Masters. Part of her Masters included writing a book on post modern and quantum science for which she won an award, which required that she teach. Never having taught before, she suddenly found herself in the lecture hall and discovered it to be extremely satisfying. Twelve years later, she returned to school to work toward a counseling degree. Now Brenda is creating her own classes and has begun offering them to the local community and talks about her research into the differences between PTSD and Complex Trauma. In the last part of our conversation, Brenda describes where her interest in herbalism comes from and how she uses it for self-care and, in one case, for the care of her beloved horse.