The Ghost and The Machine

Story by Koz Mraz

Joshua Tree has a very mysterious vibe about it. Native Indians claim the trees are spirits of dead Indian warriors ominously guarding their desert domain. Its home to the world’s largest freestanding boulder the oldest living organism on planet earth, a time machine energy dome, haunted Inn, mystics and shamans and Joshua Tree is a cauldron of intrigue.

 

Heading towards Joshua Tree we first visit Cabot Yerxa Pueblo in Desert Hot Springs. It’s an amazing 4 story, 35 room Hopi Style Pueblo. Cabot homesteaded here in 1913 on Miracle Hill and discovered the now famous natural hot springs.  There is a 40-foot Indian sculpture on the property that is hand carved by Peter Wolf Toth. In his “Trail of the Whispering Giants” he has placed one of these majestic sentinels in every state of the union. Look for the one in your state.

 

 

Highway 62 heads north and we pass by the Joshua Tree Inn.  That’s where Gram Parsons (The Byrds music group) died in 1973.  Room 8 is supposedly haunted and they tout its “Home of Gram Parsons Spirit”.  People come here from all over and hold séances. The site of Gram’s desert cremation was marked by a small concrete slab which has since been removed by the U.S. National Park Service and relocated to the Joshua Tree Inn. It’s a really bizarre true story made into a movie called Grand Theft Parsons (starring Johnny Knoxville), definitely watch it before your visit.

Off the 62 hwy is

Old Woman Road

which take’s you up to Landers, home of Giant Rock and the Integratron. Giant Rock is thought to be the world's largest freestanding boulder and sacred place of ritual and ceremonies for Indian shamans. Dr George Van Tassel, one of the leaders in the UFO movement of the 1950’s, held annual "Spacecraft Conventions" at Giant Rock for 25 years.  He built the Integratron, a 38-foot high, 55-foot diameter, all wood structure originally designed as a rejuvenation and time machine. Re-opened several years ago you can have a neuroacoustic sound bath, attend healing workshops or participate in an Unplugged Goddess retreat.

“King Clone” is a Creosote plant ring which is one of the oldest living organisms on Earth and has been alive 11,700 years in the central Mojave Desert near present day Lucerne. This single clonal colony plant of Larrea tridentata reaches up to 67 feet (20 m) in diameter, with an average diameter of 45 feet (14 m).  King Clone was identified and the 11,700 years old age was determined by Radiocarbon dating.

                           

Riding back through Joshua Tree National Park the scenery is surreal. The rocks take on a strange liquid like form as if floating gravity free. Armies of Joshua Trees loom before us, defending their arid empire. It’s an absolutely beautiful ride. We head up to Keys View and at 5575 feet the vista is staggering. You can see Mexico 3 hundred miles away. It’s truly in the middle of nowhere. The 40 miles of downhill grade back out of the park on Pinto Basin road through Cottonwood Pass road is a fantastic ride!  Whether chasing ghosts, UFO’s or just a magical ride through nature’s majesty Joshua Tree is an awesome experience.

Contact me @ gary@quickthrottle.com