Desert Lady Diaries

Lisa Rae Black remembers her first experience with the desert as a visit to Grandpa's house - he lived in Morongo Valley. As a five-year old, she recalls jumping out of the back of her dad's 280Z, feeling like she'd landed on Mars. Fast forward about 50 years, Lisa inherited the property from her now deceased brother, Jim, who'd lived there for many years with his three thoroughbred horses. Her grandfather purchased the property in1931 and built the 300 foot homestead in 1951. In this episode, Lisa talks about the little bits of history that have come her way from her grandfather during the permitting and renovations process of the homestead. Lisa's interest in the guitar began early. At five, she commandeered her brother's Christmas gift, a Snoopy guitar. She began taking lessons at age 12 and credits her instructor, himself an accomplished classic flamenco guitarist, with instilling the importance proper posture, timing/beats and scales. After discovering she could play some Chuck Berry guitar licks, she was 'off to the races'. Her neighbor, a drummer for their high school marching band and a local surf band, was her ride to school each day. Eventually, he joined forces with the lead singer of the stoner band in the same school – if you're familiar with hair metal bands from the 80's you'll want to hear this story, which leads to another story of how Lisa got into her first band, The Pandoras, who got their first record deal after their first gig. Lisa says it all happened 'too fast, too soon' and admits she was too young to appreciate the opportunities. She says that while she's worked with some successful names you'll recognize, that level of notoriety never really manifested for her. After having recorded a five-song EP with The Pandoras, Lisa stayed on at the studio for awhile, recording with Berlin, Social Distortion and was in many other LA bands including Helle's Belles, Hardly Dangerous, Feline and Bellylove, whose music was featured on the third season of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. Thinking her move to the desert had put her band days behind her, one Sunday, she and Paul were looking for something to do and headed up to this place they'd heard some local folks talk about called Pappy & Harriet's. There was a band playing some mellow tunes and when the band called the Security guy up on stage to sing, Lisa and Paul didn't know what to think. The band launched into Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song'. Afterward, Lisa immediately approached him about singing Sabbath covers and 'Hammer of the Ozz' was born with Security guy 'Big Dave Johnson' on vocals and local Landers resident and another accomplished musician, Greg Gordon, on drums. The band is looking forward to recording at Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree in August 2019. Lisa and Paul have also formed a soul, funk band called 'The LP's'. Photo: Sandra Goodin Check out the bands: www.hammeroftheozz.com www.facebook.com/hammeroftheozz www.facebook.com/thelpsofsoul

While working at a print shop in Pasadena, news came though that the government was giving homesteads to World War I veterans. After his shift, Ann's father Bill Underhill , got in his car with a shovel and a sleeping bag and headed to 29 Palms to stake his claim. After moving to the area permanently, he recognized he needed a job and started The Desert Trail newspaper. After her own jobs in the various Underhill family businesses - the newspaper, movie theater, roller rink - Ann felt the urge to expand her horizons beyond the desert. She shares memories being at the home of a grade school friend, with immigrant parents, and being so curious about the air mail letters she saw on their table. A trip she took in an Airstream trailer across the country with fellow homesteaders, the Hatch family (Liz Meyer Ep 40) really expanded her horizons. While at Scripps College, Ann met her husband, Mike, who also had an interest in traveling. Soon after marriage and they graduation, moved to Washington DC, where Mike joined the State Department Foreign Service, which took them to Belgrade (Yugoslavia), returning to the states for a short time before they were off to Vienna, Austria. As residents in these countries, they traveled to many places in Eastern and Western Europe, as well as Asia. On their return to the states, while working in graphic design, Ann decided to change things up and go back to school for her Masters in Architecture. With Mike's work opportunity with the Air Force Academy, Ann was able to study at University of Colorado in Denver. After finishing her studies, she and Mike returned to Washington DC. A number of years later, Ann found herself returning to 29Palms more often as her mother, Prudie, was aging and still living in the home they all grew up in, which is now an Airbnb called 'Broadview'. Ann and Mike have now retired in 29 Palms. Back in 29 Palms for fourteen years now, Ann is the President of Sky's the Limit Observatory and very involved in all the activities and events that happen including their Full Moon nights and Star Parties (which happen every Saturday night that the moon is not full). The facility is experiencing great popularity and the organization is always looking for good volunteers, particularly those familiar with using telescopes, and grant writers. The big fundraiser for the observatory is the Night Sky Festival, September 21, 2019. This event sells out, so get your tickets early! Ann says, "29 Palms is a great place to be raised, it's a good place to leave and it's the perfect place to end up." www.skysthelimit29.org https://www.skysthelimit29.org/night-sky-festival.html http://www.hidesertstar.com/the_desert_trail/

Growing up, family summer vacations in a rented Winnebago meant traveling to the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico among others. In this episode, Kim talks about playing games with her siblings on the drives and running around in the open space. 'Wanderlust' is a word she uses to describe her family, "We were always going somewhere." Her love of photography grew from taking trips to all the places Huell Howser featured on his California's Gold television show. Though coming to live in the desert was a dream come true, Kim experienced anxiety about work and money early on, which at times was so strong, she could barely breathe. In the process, she applied for a house - and got it - and then applied for a job - and got it. One might think the desert was welcoming Kim with a little bit of a test, as only the desert can. In her role as a Professor in the Child Development program at Copper Mountain College, she works to prepare students for careers in child care and says the program is also a great foundation for elementary school teachers and classes also benefit parents looking for a better understanding of their children or themselves. If you're interested, Kim can talk with you about the program: 760-366-3791 x0452. Since Kim moved to the desert knowing no one, she began following photographers or other creatives whose work she came to like on social media. She also started attending open mic poetry readings hosted by Space Cowboy Books and Cholla Needles in Joshua Tree, which lead her to writing a sci-fi piece, read on a recent episode of 'Simultaneous Times' podcast. You can hear Kim's story in Episode 14 here. Discovering the book, 'A Wrinkle in Time', was what drew Kim in to the world of sci-fi. Though when she tried to watch Star Trek with her dad and grandpa, she was told, "this is what the grown ups or guys watch", which, of course, made it even more intriguing. She admires and is inspired by the work of African-American sci-fi writer Octavia Butler, as well as Poet Laureate outgoing, Tracy K. Smith. Find Kim and her photos on Instagram facebook.com/kim.photos

Experiencing a lunar eclipse at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon was Miriam's first experience with desert. She shares a memory of standing in the open space, and having the realization that she was living in outer space. Not viewing it as something 'out there', but as something she was a part of. Art school brought an interest in film and the next thirty years were spent as a freelance art director for television commercials. The job took her from Portland to New York City to Los Angeles. And though she'd made friends and built community in Portland and NYC, Miriam found Los Angeles a more difficult place to connect to her community. She loved working with the cream of the crop production teams, but needed to find a place to fit in and unwind from the '24/7 lock and load high' of television production. At that time Miriam and a partner decided to go in on a house together in Joshua Tree - the partner backed out - Miriam bought her place and never looked back. She continued to work in LA, making the drive out to JT immediately after she was 'wrapped' on Fridays - then hauling back in at three or four a.m. on Monday mornings. Four years ago, Miriam left LA to reside permanently in Joshua Tree. The week after closing on her home, as she traveled up the Morongo Grade, Miriam saw the chaos and calming community response that was brought on from the Sawtooth Fire. In this episode, she describes the experience as both beautiful and frightening, which made her realize this was going to be a completely different experience than she'd ever lived before. To get to know people and the area, Miriam went on the Highway 62 Open Studio Art Tours, an annual event in the Morongo Basin. She recommends it as a great way not only to meet people, but to see the geography and topography of the area. Since coming to the desert, Miriam has become a committed supporter of conservation organizations, as well as an involved activist within her desert community, informing herself about the detrimental effects of solar farms and panels as well as the flu from domesticated goats and sheep that is having a devastating effect on the local populations of big horn sheep. In addition to her rental properties, Miriam recently purchased and renovated a commercial property in downtown Joshua Tree, which will hold a bakery, a sundries store with stationery, gifts and home decor and an as yet to be announced secondary business from an already successful local entrepreneur. Miriam is proud to have all local residents filling the storefronts and talks about the solutions she found to some of the challenges in working with the County. Come and stay with Miram https://www.jtrusticmodern.com/ At the end of the episode, I mentioned a local Experimental Music production was looking for women who are interested in participating in these performances. If you or a female you know is interested, please refer them to: [email protected].

Sixty miles into her trip moving from Florida to Los Angeles, the car radiator sprung a leak. Meilani MacDonald and a friend pressed on to Los Angeles, with a jug of water in the trunk to keep the radiator full. Once they got to the desert, they took to driving at night where the cooler air was kinder to the vehicle. This was Meilani's first experience with desert. Meilani's first brush with Joshua Tree was weekend camping trips to the national park to escape LA's urban environs. Though she doesn't get into the park much these days, the feeling and natural beauty of this place, here in the hi-desert, is enough to keep her grateful to be living in this paradise. After many years in LA, Meilani left LA for more wide-open spaces, landing in Desert Hot Springs - partially because those weekend camping trips she'd taken to Joshua Tree often ended with a run through one of the may hot spring spas in DHS. And who wouldn't want to live in a 'spa' town? After a difficult relationship break-up, a search for cooler temperatures and for reasons of economy, Meilani came to the hi-desert and found a home. In this episode, Meilani tells us she only knew one or two folks in the area when she moved. However, since joining a business referral group (bnirsb.com), she has met more local folks in a professional capacity. Then we get into the personal side of making friends and difficulty dating. We touch on the spiritual awakening that can occur if one is open and allows themselves to be immersed in the silence and space of the desert. In addition to her Virtual Assistant business where Meilani offers services of writing, editing and graphic design, Meliani has recently discovered a calling to lead Creative Intention Setting sessions, and read tarot. She'll be adding to her repertoire of services after working through her processes and work space logistics. Look for them on her website soon. https://1meilani.com/ Meilani on Facebook Meilani on Twitter Meilani on Instagram

Pulling up to their new desert home in the dark, Kajiel Sullivan and her husband were greeted by a coyote. Now living on base, Kajiel misses the privacy and quiet of the desert and sadly feels less a part of the 29 Palms community which she'd grown to enjoy. In the meantime, she also a busy full-time mom to her and Reginald's daughters, Rosie (4), Millie (2) and baby Rain who enjoy time in the park near their new home on base. Kajiel hopes to take a ride with them through Joshua Tree National Park sometime soon. 29 Palms is the Sullivan family's first military move. Previously, Reginald was a member of the Reserves in Nashville, now he is a member of the Navy. In this episode, Kajiel talks about making the adjustments from civilian to military life. Kajiel was born and raised in Milwaukee and besides being a huge Green Bay Packer fan, has fond memories of the Juneteeth celebrations held there. Upon learning how many folks here were not familiar with Juneteenth, Kajiel felt strongly that this was not only an opportunity to create and celebration she was missing, but also an opportunity to educate more people about the Emancipation Proclamation reaching Galveston, Texas and why it is not only an important part of African-American history, but of American history as well. Working with a small committee, doing much of the fundraising and permit paperwork legwork herself for the first time, Kajiel is looking forward to having everyone at the first 29 Palms Juneteeth Celebration in Luckie Park on Saturday, June 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be food, music, games and some local high school students will be participating for prizes in a Juneteenth Essay contest. If you're interested in donating to or attending the 2019 Juneteeth celebration, click on the links below to the Facebook pages for fundraising and the event. Say hello to Kajiel when you're there. Though she knows they will leave the desert next year, Kajiel feels she has found a home and community she loves here and senses she will return to the desert someday. Photo: Lady Guidry Photography Juneteenth in 29! Event Page https://www.facebook.com/events/796271517405502/ Juneteenth in 29! Fundraising Page https://www.facebook.com/donate/430893884336975/

Born and raised in NJ, Adriene's first experience with the desert happened after moving to Los Angeles in the late 80's. She and a friend took a trip to Baja, CA. Adriene says she immediately felt, 'this is where my bones will end up." and has been in love with the desert ever since. After returning to the east coast to obtain her graduate degree, Adriene returned to the west coast and having visited Joshua Tree with friends from Los Angeles in the late 80's, decided the hi-desert would be a great place to have a sanctuary in which to write and create. Those were the days before the park received it's National Park designation and one was able to go into the park and camp for any length of time for free. In this episode, Adriene says reliable internet was one of the things that precipitated a big shift in population here in the Morongo Basin. Prior to that people loved to come up, but it was difficult to find work - the internet changed that. And because there were fewer conveniences, like larger grocery stores or home improvement stores, inhabitants relied more on each other. No city or county structures were set up as they are now. And Rancho de le Luna, known as a music recording studio now, was more of a crossroads of creatives of more than just music. Adriene believes the artists culture in Joshua Tree survives because in the late 80's and 90's artists were able to rent to buy homestead cabins for $100 a month, while the owners would hold the mortgages. Adriene's most recent project combines art and performance. Her ECOtarot deck, climate change tarot cards, are used at events around the country to bring awareness to the issue of climate change and to help people see what their actions, no matter how small, can do to help. Teaching four months of the year at Arizona State University, where she serves as Professor of Intermedia in the School of Art, Adriene returns to the hi-desert, sometimes with students in tow, spending the remainder of the year at her home in Twentynine Palms. Her computer and media art spans three decades, including pioneering work in interactive cinema and live telematic performance. Adriene's Art Website https://ajenik.faculty.asu.edu/

Since the age of six, Juliette Tworsey knew she wanted to sing. Growing up in Chicago, she attended a small Catholic school with a really small choir. As she tells it, "there were like three kids in the choir". In her teens, Juliette worked up the courage one day to sing with the 'basement band' in her neighborhood. A group of kids, playing for other teens in her neighborhood. That lit the fire and Juliette began the process of trying to start her own bands, which she describes as difficult, being a woman, particularly a woman who wants to sing rock music without the trappings of the stereotypical female singer. There was a time Juliette's music was back-burned, devoted to work with no time for band practice, securing gigs or playing out. But, as a bartender at a Chicago blues bar, every once in awhile, near closing time, Juliette would get on stage there and belt a few tunes. Eventually, Juliette met her current band mate and life partner, Jules Shapiro, who'd been in a band that had a song called 'Firebug'... and their own band, Firebug was born. They left Chicago for Los Angeles landing in the Silverlake area. After a number of years, including playing at LA's famed Viper Room, they headed to New Orleans, getting into the music scene there and trying on being street musicians, to slide into the NOLA street culture. In this episode, Juliette explains this was not only a great way to meet other musicians, but also to try out new material to see what resonated with the crowds. Though she loved New Orleans, she and Jules found they missed the West. Remembering their time recording at Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree, they decided to come to the hi-desert, where they could live more affordably while pursuing their passion. Juliette is currently studying web and software development, affording her the opportunity to work from home, like many do here in the desert, to meet expenses and play music. Photo credit Jules Shapiro Firebug Website: https://firebugmusic.com/ Firebug's new album on Bandcamp: https://firebugmusic.bandcamp.com/ Firebug on Instagram: www.instagram.com/firebugmusic Firebug on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FireBugMusic/

An American citizen, Jessica Dacey was born in Canada. Her family left the U.S. when she was nine years old, living in South Africa for a few years before heading to England. After finishing her schooling, Jessica got the travel bug which lead her to Mongolia where, on the last day of her visit, she saw and applied for a job as Editor of the local newspaper. Jessica got the job, moving and living there for a year. On a month long van trip traveling through the southwest with her husband, Jessica landed in Joshua Tree, one of the last and longest stops of their trip. There was an attraction to the space, the quiet and the beauty. They returned to Switzerland and two years later Jessica found herself applying for and landing a job at Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) in Joshua Tree. Jessica recalls making the decision to leave Switzerland one of the most difficult of her life, as she had become accustomed to an organized and progressive way of life in Switzerland, though she admits, "the comfort became a little bit stifling after awhile" and she felt the need for some new challenges. The non-profit MDLT has been in existence for 12 years and, to date, has protected over 80,000 acres of the Mojave desert. As MDLT's Director of Communications, Jessica finds herself helping people understand the importance of the desert, changing their minds from thinking of it as a wasteland. With that in mind, in this episode we also talk about why the construction of a proposed new development, on the south edge of Joshua Tree National Park is detrimental to the area. Jessica intimates that while the chocolate and cheese in Switzerland are pushed to the forefront, the balance of their culinary history relies mostly on a heavy German food influence. Looking to eat lighter fare, while on a visit home to Bath, England, Jessica took a two-week class at Demuths Cookery School to learn vegan recipes and techniques. Returning to Switzerland with these skills, opportunities arose allowing Jessica to make food for musicians playing at a well-known music venue in Switerzland as well as at a refugee center. A 'global citizen', Jessica says she was surprised at the transformative effect the desert has had on her. Her travels have taught her we all share a common humanity and she encourages people to travel and experience other cultures when they have the opportunity. Learn more about Mojave Desert Land Trust here: https://www.mdlt.org/

From the age of nine, Petra Cimbalova dreamed of leaving the Czech Republic and traveling to exotic places. Growing up she kept a book of photographs, cut from magazines of islands and other distant lands. Inspired by cousins, who'd returned to the Czech Replublic after living in Germany for many years, Petra embarked on a trip to the United States at the age of nineteen. Landing in Newark, New Jersey, Petra made her way to Grand Junction, Colorado, staying with a friend who was a church caretaker, eventually making her way to Denver and landing a job in finance. In this episode, Petra describes the manifestation of some physical responses to the stress of her job and being discouraged by management, from using earned vacation time as factors that lead her to conclude she would need to leave this 11-year career behind. A New Year's visit to Joshua Tree and the feelings she left with, feelings of happiness within herself that she was not feeling in Colorado, were the final factors in Petra's decision to leave the job and Denver behind and begin anew in the desert. Petra talks about her transition from a daily job to finding her own way, which has included a trip to Thailand for a five week, 250-hour course in sacred dance, a dream trip she's held on to for two and a half years. Fresh off that inspiring and transformative trip, Petra has begun to share the skills and self-realization she gained, holding weekly classes at local yoga studio in Joshua Tree. What began as a creative outlet to make jewelry for herself, Petra now has an Etsy shop filled with her hemp-based earrings and necklaces - take a look here. Petra's Jewelry: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HighDesertAdornments?ref=shop_sugg Petra on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petracreates Petra on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofsacredfreedom/