Kip's Desert Book Club: Edna in the Desert

You are invited to: Kip's Desert Book Club | Edna in the Desert

Monday, October 5, 7:00pm

Palms Restaurant

83131 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley CA

It helps if you read the book, but it's not essential. Come and enjoy hanging out with this lovely, literate desert crowd. There's a potluck - bring something to share. Bring a flashlight if you want to venture over to Laura's Wonderland of Books afterwards. There's no electricity, so you'll need a flashlight to check out this lovely bookstore!

Wonderland Books with Gloria, Ken and Pat browsing.

Delightful decor

Halloween at the Palms

All Hallows Weird

at

The Palms Restaurant

83131 Amboy Rd, Wonder Valley, CA 92277

featuring

Drug

The Renderers

Golden Sliper

The Sibleys

Saturday, October 31, 8:00 pm

Free

Costume contest with prizes

Weather in Wonder Valley

James Sibley, of the Palms Bar and Restaurant, posted this photograph yesterday.

Looking toward The Palms. Click through to embiggen.

Community Meeting AGENDA - August 10, 2015

WONDER VALLEY MONTHLY MONDAY MEETING

Second Monday of the month, August 10, 2015, 9:00 a.m.

Wonder Valley Community Center

80526 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, CA 92277

Wonder Valley MAC Delegate and Meeting Chair: Teresa Sitz

Everyone is invited and welcome to attend and participate.

A G E N D A

http://bit.ly/wv08102015

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; 

indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

1. Call to order
2. Introductions
3. Community comment on items not on the agenda
   The community is also invited to comment after the reports and during the discussions below.
4. Reports and Presentations
   a. San Bernardino County Code Enforcement, Ignacio Nunez, Code Enforcement Supervisor
   b. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
   c. Discussion and possible action: Shall the community endorse the delegate’s MAC Report to be read at the MAC meeting tonight?
5. Ongoing Business
   "Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh
   a. Neighborhood Watch and NextDoor
   b. Illegal Dumping and Adopt-a-Road Program
   c. Discussion and/or possible action: Shall the Community enlist a group to form a “Friends of Wonder Valley” group to raise funds for various community needs, like Neighborhood Watch signs and Adopt-a-Road programs?
   d. Discussion and/or possible action: Shall the Community schedule a community potluck for sometime in October?
6. Agenda planning
   The community is invited to suggest items to place on the next meeting agenda.
7. Announcements 
8. Adjournment 

August 10, 2015, MAC Report: Wonder Valley
by Teresa Sitz, Wonder Valley Delegate

Our NextDoor network has increased to 39 members. A lot of useful conversations are taking place and there’s a good degree of enthusiasm building.

We had a community meeting this morning with ___ in attendance. We were very happy to welcome Ignacio Nunez, Code Enforcement Supervisor, to present. Also on the agenda was the creation of a Friends of Wonder Valley group to address community needs and provide community support.

On July 25 we had a very exciting event at the Palms. High Desert Test Sites sponsored Austrian artist Gerhard Treml who, with his partner Edith Edith Schwarzl, screened nine short films created around stories of people who live in the Morongo Basin, including Darlene Parris, our columnist at the Desert Trail. About 100 people were present and it was a beautiful night for films on the patio.

Neighbors continue to meet nearly every Sunday for community breakfast at the Palms between 9 am and noon. There’s a big community table in the back and breakfasts start at $3.50. There’s also been a gospel/folk sing along at a time determined by our pianist Miss Ida Lane. People come from all over and everyone is welcome so don’t stay away just because you don’t live in Wonder Valley.

There’s a Goodbye Summer party at the Palms on September 5th at 7. The Adobe Collective and the Sibleys will be playing. Admission is free.

The Wonder Valley artist Perry Hoffman is having a mail art show at the Glass Outhouse and needs people to send him postcards. Contact me if you’d like more information.

On a personal note, we bought our house in Wonder Valley last August so have now officially been here one year. It’s true we weren’t born here but we got here as fast as we could.
Thank you.

July 25, 8-ish at the Palms, 83131 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, CA 92277

From High Desert Test Sites:

EDEN'S EDGE, 9 SHORTS ON THE CALIFORNIAN DESERT

LEO CALICE
GERHARD TREML
JULY 25, 2015
Vienna based artists Gerhard Treml and Leo Calice developed a series of short films together with an interdisciplinary team of researchers (Elisabeth Marko, Christina Linortner, Edith Schwarzl) to explore the narrative nature of landscape and how everyday stories and mythologies are enacted in them.

Their film Eden's Edge features one of Hollywood's most iconic landscapes, the Californian desert. Tightly connected to movies and myths relaying the American meta-narratives of the Wild West, the new frontier, and the land of opportunity, this particular landscape is reinterpreted by Treml and Calice's short films based on the life stories of its actual people.

The visual settings follow a stringently maintained master-plan. We see bird eye-views of minimalistic scenes, meticulously arranged in gray desert sands, usually furnished with but a few props keeping the protagonists in far distance, however, conteracted by the their close accounts on desert life.

This program is supported by The University for Applied Arts, Vienna, The FWF, and Land Salzburg.

Update: The artists will be present.

Bat Country Summer Slam - 4th of July - All Ages!

HDU, Dirt Bag, and Radio Free Joshua Tree presents

BAT COUNTRY SUMMER SLAM

Saturday, July 4th - All ages 

Poop, the Hick-ups, Loc Jaw, Vatican Assassins, Incomsiderate Jerks, the Gashers, Agent 86 (Las Vegas), the Flickers, Tanzler, Patient Zero, Tracy Chaos, Underground Alliance, Down Fall, Withdrawal Symptoms, Horror Clinic Herbert, Infected

MD'd by Jeff "JJ Star" Duran

 The Palms, 83131 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, CA

Deserted, at the Palms, Saturday night

Deserted at the Palms
[ From the copy on the Facebook Page ]
A weekend at a dusty saloon oasis known as The Palms. All ages welcome. Tix cost $30. Free camping.

Doors open at noon.

83131 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, CA 92277

At the door, tickets will be CASH ONLY. Buy tickets with card online in advance: http://www.flavorus.com/desertedatthepalms2015 Online ticket sales stop May 29.

The Palms is a desert haunt in a desolate place called Wonder Valley, California. A shabby oasis run by a family known as The Sibleys, the beer costs two dollars and they sell twinkies at the bar. It has an out-of-tune piano missing some keys and its most dedicated patron is a tall mannequin with a giant cat mask for a head. The place is a treasure with PBR on tap.

SET TIMES
2:00 p.m. - Anna Oxygen
2:30 p.m. - Barfth
3:00 p.m. - Zombelle
3:30 p.m. - L.A. Takedown
4:05 p.m. - Feels
4:40 p.m. - Nedelle Torrisi
5:15 p.m. - Kim & The Created
5:50 p.m. - Bloody Death Skull
6:25 p.m. - Zig Zags
7:00 p.m. - Part Time
7:35 p.m. - The Memories
8:10 p.m. - Sonny & The Sunsets
8:50 p.m. - Jack Name
9:30 p.m. - No Age
10:15 p.m. - Magic Trick
10:55 p.m. - Black Bananas
11:45 p.m. - Pharaohs
12:25 a.m. - King Tuff
after...Butchy Fuego DJ set

Memorial Day Weekend in Wonder Valley

Memorial Day Weekend saw an influx of tourists into Wonder Valley for two special events.

High Desert Test Sites staged Carmen Argote's Vast Furniture at their Iron Age Road property. About 50 people gathered there to see the exhibit, hear the lecture, enjoy a community potluck and camp out under the stars. Kip Fjeld, an HDTS volunteer and itinerant tinkerer, provided rehabbed vintage kerosene lanterns to light the event. A gorgeous sunrise greeted the out-of-towners many of whom trundled over to the Palms for breakfast and gospel music after packing up.

It was a little mind-boggling to see a long row of cars along Iron Age Road. Is it time for Wonder Valley to consider valet parking?

Later Saturday night it was standing room only as around 200 people jammed the patio at the Palms to see Diane Best's three moving image pieces, part of  Boxoproject's Joshua Treenial. Reverend Screaming Fingers (aka Lucio Menegon), Wonder Valley's own The Renderers, and Artemis provided live accompaniment to the movies. The balmy desert night, the blanket of stars, the energy of the crowd, the music, the art, all melded to make a magical night.

Photo, courtesy of Doug Beale

Photo, courtesy of Doug Beale

People told me all the vacation rentals were booked up this weekend. I wondered how the community might better serve visitors on these busy holidays. Once people are in Wonder Valley they want to see more. Perhaps we could stage community popup businesses. Maybe the Glass Outhouse and Wonder Valley Thrift and the Community Center could be open and do something special - a crafts fair, a coffee/beverage shop, a bake sale, something that highlights the best of Wonder Valley. Let's think on it.

A big Wonder Valley thanks to Joshua Treenial, Diane Best, Lucio Menegon, the Renderers, Artemis, the Palms, and High Desert Test Sites for making this such an amazing weekend.

Desert Trail Column, May 21, 2015

Have you noticed our beautiful “new” grader going up and down the roads? It had only 2,000 hours on it, which makes it practically brand new! Tim has been lowering berms and crowning the roads where he can. We really appreciate all his efforts, and look forward to when the big-time road repairs can begin.

Miss Ida Lane plays some genuine honky-tonk piano at The Palms most Sundays. Stop in to listen and sing along while she plays such songs as “Yellow Rose of Texas,” “Waltzing Matilda,” “Angel Band” and “Uncloudy Sky.”

Pastor Max Rossi passed along some good news recently. The Road Extension Plans were finally approved by San Bernardino County, so the new church building should be up and fully operational on Godwin Road by the end of this year. Max wants to thank everyone for their prayers.

A WEMO Presentation for Wonder Valley will be held on Saturday, May 23 at our Wonder Valley Community Center at 11 am. WEMO stands for the BLM’s WEst MOjave Plan. They are working to designate 5,000 additional miles of off-road vehicle routes, and Pat Flanagan will talk about how this may affect Wonder Valley.

We send out Rainbows-of-Emeralds-and-Lilies-of-the-Valley to Barbara Finnegan who celebrates her special day this week. Happy birthday, Barbara!

Karen’s Commentary:  Ted and I had two firefighters over for a turkey dinner last week – old friend Jay Dimoff and his partner Aaron who lives in Azusa and is normally stationed in Needles! Wow, what a commute! Azusa was my teenage stompin’ grounds, we raised our family in neighboring Glendora and Jay lived in neighboring Covina when he was a kid, so there was a good deal of “old neighborhood” talk. What a fun evening.

Darlene’s Commentary:  Of all the good bands I have seen at The Palms in Wonder Valley, and there have been a lot, my favorite is the Blackwater Juke Box Band. The bandleader, Geordie McElroy, plays electric banjo like I’ve never seen – the whole band is on fire! Their music and lyrics are so unique and fresh. Blackwater Juke Box totally ROCKS!



The Wonder Valley Book Program is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 to noon at the community center. Books and movies can be checked out free. Come on in and look around.

Handy Hint:  Prevent soil from escaping through the holes in the base of flowerpots by lining with large coffee filters.

Thought for Today:  “We’re behind you all the way” is the motto of the Procrastinator’s Club of America. They have 14,000 members, and probably millions more who just haven’t gotten around to joining.

[ photo coming soon ]

Until next time . . . remember to take time to enjoy the WONDERs all around us.

Diane Best at Palms, Saturday, May 23, 8:30 p.m.

"[Diane Best] will be showing 3 moving image pieces outdoors at the Palms, as part of the 3-day Joshua Treenial Event. The show will start at 8:30, and will run 40 minutes. The pieces will be shown with live music by soundtrack composers: Reverend Screaming Fingers (aka Lucio Menegon), The Renderers, and Artemis. After that first showing, the show will be repeated with recorded soundtrack."

Come join me under the stars!

$10 suggested donation

Palms Bar and Restaurant

83131 Amboy Rd, Wonder Valley, CA 92277

www.joshuatreenial.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/686411334820951/

Art Installation in Wonder Valley, May 23 - June 20, 2015

From May 23 through June 20, 2015, artist Carmen Argote, A Vast Furniture will be installed at the High Desert Test Sites in Wonder Valley. 

The first part of the show will be installed at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House in West Hollywood from April 17 – May 17, 2015.

From the catalog:

For Part two, Argote’s sculpture will be separated from its defining walls and precisely reconstructed in an open landscape in the Mojave Desert, at the HDTS Iron Age Road Parcel in Wonder Valley. Here, Argote theoretically realizes an off-the-cuff proposal made by Schindler protégé Gregory Ain at an early Schindler House preservation meeting: considering the monumental costs of restoration and accounting for how West Hollywood had so radically changed since construction, Ain suggested to put the Kings Road property on the market, let it meet its inevitable fate, and use the profits to rebuild the house exactly to original specifications elsewhere, as an architecture study center: “Why don’t you do what Schindler did, just go out in the desert and build one? It doesn’t belong on a tree-lined, apartment-house neighborhood. It was built to be in the desert.”*
In Wonder Valley, the traced line-as-object will carry the influence and sociocultural imprint of the house. Within the outlined perimeter of vast horizons, the architecture of both spaces will be simultaneously activated. Visitors will be able to take up residence in the ghost image of the Schindler House as the sculpture will function both to define a campsite and host conversation around home ownership, cycles of prospecting throughout the region’s history, and the meaning of the outskirts to a city like Los Angeles. 

Saturday, May 23, 2015
Opening reception, potluck, and overnight campout at the Iron Age Road Parcel, beginning at 6:00 pm (visitors may arrive at their convenience, but it is suggested to arrive at the site before sundown), with a guided tour at 7:00 pm. Sleep under the stars in the “Schindler House,” transposed to a remote destination in the Mojave Desert community of Wonder Valley.

Saturday, June 20, 2015 
Far Enough Away, a conversation about the concept of transposing the frontier, at the Palms Restaurant and Saloon, 7:30 pm. 

All programs are free and open to the public.

Palms Upcoming Events: March through May, 2015

SATURDAY, March 28, 8:00 p.m., No Cover
Field Hollars, Drug, and The Sibleys

SATURDAY, April 4, 6:00 p.m., No Cover
Wonder Valley Music Festival, produced by Ben Vaughn: The Sibleys, Ben Vaughn Ensemble, French Vanilla, Donna Bummer, Arroyo Rogers, Gwendolyn, Hunter and The Wick'd

SATURDAY, April 11, 5:00 p.m., No Cover

Wonder Valley Experimental Noise Festival

SATURDAY, April 18, 6:00 p.m., $10 Cover
Etropol, Slow Poisoner, and Kosmic Halo

 

The Slow Poisoner

SATURDAY, May 9
BATT, The Sibleys, plus 10 bands

SATURDAY, May 23
Diane Best Art Music Event

SATURDAY, May 30
Deserted at the Palms 2
King Tuff, Black Bananas, No Age, Sonny &  the Sunsets, Magic Trick, Jack Name, Part Time, Pharaohs, Nedelle Torrisi, The Memories, Boody Death Skull, Zombelle, LA Takedown, Anna Oxygen, Barfth, and more. Desertedparty.tumblr.com

Desert Trail Column, April 4, 2015

The Glass Outhouse Art Gallery invites you to an Artists Reception on Saturday, April 4 from 5 to 9 pm, with featured artists Duncan Roseme and Ehsun Asapian. Refreshments will be served and music will be provided by the uniquely talented Joel Daniel. The gallery is located at 77575 29 Palms Highway. For further information, please call Laurel at 760-367-3807.

Glass Outhouse Gallery

Yet Another Wonder Valley Music Festival will take place at The Palms, 83131 Amboy Road, on Saturday, April 4 at 6 pm. The Sibleys, Ben Vaughn Ensemble, French Vanilla, Gwendolyn, Hunter and the Wick’d, Donna Bummer and Arroyo Rogers will perform. Admission and camping are free. Call 760-361-2810 for further information.

Arroyo Rogers

Since the birthstone for April is the diamond and the flower is the sweet pea, we send out Rainbows-of-Diamonds-and-Sweet Peas to Charlie Ware and to Charlotte Williams, who both celebrate their special days this week. Happy, happy birthday to you both!

Darlene’s Commentary: Who took the cushions and matching pillows that belong to the couch and chair that were donated to the Wonder Valley Thrift Store on Godwin Road? Pastor Max Rossi and his wife Olympia are loving and kind-hearted people. They don’t seek punishment or judgment. If you needed the couch and chair, but had no money, they would give you the couch, chair AND CUSHIONS, then ask if you need blankets or clothing or food. Everyone makes mistakes; please do the right thing – take the cushions back. Remember, when you do good, more good things come back to you.

Karen’s Commentary: About a year ago, I went through a period of buying scented candles for the house, but very few of them lasted very long, either physically or scent-wise. The best performer was a lavender vanilla one from RiteAid, so I put the jar with the burned out candle remains in a cupboard, thinking I’d get an exact replacement, but I never have. Ever since then, every time I open that cupboard, I can smell that wonderful scent, so I stick my whole head inside and just breathe it in for a minute or two. Yes, it may look a bit strange, but it sure is refreshing!

Tai Chi classes are held every Wednesday in our Wonder Valley Community Park at 10 am. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, classes are moved inside the community center. There is no charge and everyone is welcome.

Handy Hint: Put “plastic peanuts” packing material in the bottom of flower pots. They’re light weight and allow for good drainage.

Thought for Today: “Don’t try to take on a new personality. It doesn’t work.” – Richard Nixon

Until next time . . . remember to take time to enjoy the WONDERs all around us.

12 Bands for $5 - May 9th!

Summer's Eve
$5 bucks for 12 bands!!! 

CY DUNE // JT (member of Akron/Family)
THE RENDERERS // JT
TARA JANE O'NEIL // LA
BATT // JT
ALGAE AND TENTACLES // TUSCON AZ
FREE BLEED //
LA DICK PICKS // LA
Grateful Dead cover band
CASPAR SONNET // LA
JORDAN DYKSTRA // LA
DER // JT
GRANT EARL LAVALLEY // JT
THE SIBLEYS // WONDER VALLEY

Order and times will be announced soon.
Indoor and outdoor stages.

AT: The Palms Restaurant, 83131 Amboy Rd, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
The Palms serves dinner at night and breakfast in the morning.
Free camping.

This just in..., Rummelsnuff!!!

March 21, 2015, 7:00 p.m.
The Return of Captain Rummelsnuff and Maat Christian Asbach
LIVE at Palms Restaurant
83131 Amboy Rd, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
Food Special Bratwurst & Slaw 3.50
Drink Special The Drunk German 3.50
Happy Birthday Johann Sebastian Bach

Germans seems to have a particular affinity to Wonder Valley, and the wild west at large, which Wonder Valley seems to personify to some. I'm looking forward to hearing Rummelsnuff Saturday night, having hung out a bit with them one recent Sunday.

Captain Rummelsnuff, Wonder Valley artist Jill Reinig, and Maat Asbach

Does this spot look familiar?

Wonder Valley Experimental Festival

The seventh installment of the Wonder Valley Experimental Festival. A carnival of harsh noise, weird instruments, free improvisation and the joy of free sonic manipulation! Still Fun! Still Free! With free camping on site. If that isn't enough to motivate you to mark your calendar, then check out the videos of past WVE Festivals on YouTube.

Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
At the Palms, 80526 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, CA 92277

Here is the lineup:
11:20 PM Wheels - Ellen Weller
11:00 to 11:20 Set up
10:40 PM Andrea Pensado
10:20 PM The Oort Cloud
10:00 PM Asha Sheshadri
10:00 to 10:20 Set up Virons
9:40 PM Phog Masheeen
9:20 PM Endometrium Cuntplow -> cessation -> Sleepwalkers Local
9:00 PM Alien Ajenda
8:40 to 9:00 Set up
8:20 PM earth pitch
8:00 PM Toaster + Squirrellex
7:40 PM The Sibleys
7:20 to 7:40 Set up Skunk Puppet
7:00 PM Poly Wave Experiment
6:40 PM Violin K Sonata / Doctor Doctor
6:20 PM Jonathan Saxon
6:00 to 6:20 Set up Cathy Allen
5:40 PM Sykora
5:20 PM Nightmare Task Force
5:00 PM Tawee Kiva
4:00 Load in