The upper Mojave has always been a special place to me. Maybe it came from watching the movie "Them!" one too many times as a kid. Spooky it was to me back then. But on New Year's Eve, 1981, I went out there with my father, my new wife and a lot of motorcycle heads, We lit off fireworks, shot off black powder guns, threw too many beer bottles in fire pits filled with Joshua Tree trunks (we were tasked with fishing out those melted bottles the next day by Pappy's wife, believe it) and even dropped a bit of quality acid to round things out (and boy oh boy did those high desert stars shine bright that night!).
On my way to Colorado last December I passed through that stretch of desert once again, took in my share of the views, knowing that it could be awhile before I would get a chance to see it all again. A year later I am champing at the bit for a taste of that desert life. I am not finding my place here the way that I thought I would and so, thanks to the internet and various job search sites, I have dropped a line to Banning and have one in the works for San Berdoo, just to see if they might be interested in having me serve their communities.
My mujuer and I are partial to the desert. Her take on them is up Nevada way but I think we can find a way to meet in the middle. We just find that this place is a bit too dry, too conservative, too filled up with townies, for our tastes and that is just not what we wanted or expected. The desert has it's own vibe, it's own way of marking time and dealing with politics. I know that the Mojave has it's share of hardships, too, but man, the joys! Sunsets to die for, wide expanses of nothingness, Baker and it's alien jerky! Palm Springs! Las Vegas! Calico! Calico? Well, the history geek in me has to have something to see!
In the meantime I post pictures here and wait to see what happens. One thing I know for certain and that's is cannabis is making out to be the big time crop out there in those little desert towns and the management of those cities have their arms spread wide open for that kind of municipal tax action. If libraries are not in my future, and if Sessions, or whoever gets the AG spot, can keep their hands off our mota, the desert just might be the place to be. Or so says the man who just can't stand air conditioning!
Salud!
Ah, Desert Hot Springs! Mota Mecca!
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-marijuana-cultivation-20160510-story.html
"Them!", the trailer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4URRp39XOo
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