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We only visited
this destination due to an article in the Los Angeles
Times. Who would go to a Marine Base in the desert for a
vacation? Well, it was a lot of fun.
The Marine Base, by the way, is
the largest in the U.S. and is called the Marine Corps Air
Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC).
Colonel Henry Washington explored
this area in 1855, finding the Chemeheuvi tribe living
here. When prospectors
passed through the Oasis before venturing farther into the
desert, the place was first known as Palm Springs, then later
as Twentynine Palms. A.P. Green, however, reported that
the place should have been called Twentysix Palms. He
was a member of the 1858 survey party and probably capable of
doing the math.
Gold was found both in the Gold
Park District, and east of town at the Dale District, but
mining played out by World War I. Veterans suffering
from mustard gas exposure settled here to
recuperate.
Regarding The Inn itself, the
property was built in 1928 at the fan palm oasis -- "The Oasis
of Mara". "Mah-rah" is Chemeheuvi for "Land of Little
Water and Much Grass." The Inn followed The Gold Park
Hotel which had been build just a few years earlier.
Some of the bungalows date from the 1930's.
More were built in the early 1950's, just after the
swimming pool was constructed.
There are really no alternatives
for lodging that are worthwhile. Worth research might be
Mohave Rock Ranch Cabins, Villa dei Fiori, Rosebud Ruby
Star, or Roughley Manor Bed & Breakfast Inn (formerly
owned by the co-writer of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah").
You could, I guess, stay at the
Harmony Motel, where Bono stayed during the making of one of
U2's albums ("Joshua Tree") in 1987. Or Joshua Tree Inn,
where Gram Parsons died of a drug overdose in 1973 (in Room
No. 8). Or you could visit Eric Burdon (of "The Animals"
rock group from the sixties) if you can find his house (he
sometimes is also seen in PioneerTown). Or you could
join the Marines.
WHEN TO GO AND HOW TO GET
THERE:
- Approach from Interstate
10
- Take Highway 62 through Yucca
Valley, Joshua Tree, and then Twentynine
Palms. Look for National Park Drive, turn
right.
- Come here in the shoulder
seasons to minimize use of the swamp cooler (the noise is
significant).
- The high temperature of 118
degrees was recorded in 1961; the low of 10 was recorded in
1990. Annual rainfall is just over four
inches.
On Interstate 10, you will
encounter the two Cabazon Dinosaurs if driving in from Los
Angeles. I pity these long-time residents:
- Now obscured by the Burger
King which has budged in, separating them from direct I-10
prominence
- Overshadowed by the monsterous
Morongo Indian Casino Hotel to the west
- And now controlled by
Creationists fighting Darwinism
Claude Bell began building the
first of these guys in 1964. He spent eleven years
constructing the apatosaurus (not the animal in this
photograph, but the dinosaur with the internal souvenir
shop). The thing is 150 feet long and weights well over
100 tons..... Bell's handiwork has been the grist of
numerous articles, most recently in the Los Angeles Times
Magazine: "Bell's family
eventually sold the 60 acres to an Orange County
developer..... In conjunction with a Christian group,
the developer decided to use the dinosaurs as massive roadside
billboards to help sell the biblical notion that life on earth
was a divine creation during God's one productive week rather
than the result of millions of years of
evolution....."
Partial list of RESIDENT birds at
29 Palms Inn:
- Coopers Hawk
- Golden Eagle
- American Kestrel
- Gambel's Quail
- Greater Roadrunner
- Barn Owl
- Great Horned Owl
- White-Throated Swift
- Costa's Hummingbird
- Ladder-backed Woodpecker
- Red-shafted Flicker
- Black Phoebe
- Verdin
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Northern Mockingbird
- LeConte's Thrasher
- Logger-Headed Shrike
- Scott's Oriole
- Lesser
Goldfinch
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TWENTY NINE PALMS INN
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- 22
UNITS
- POOL
- HOT
TUB
- EXCELLENT
RESTAURANT
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".....Just
found your site. Can't wait to head for 29 Palms......"
-- Alinda & Art
The Inn does not
provide refrigerators in rooms except as specifically noted in
their literature. Evening movies are shown on the lawn
once a week.
| MUDHOLE-RATING |
|
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QUIRKINESS |
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ACCOMMODATIONS |
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GOOD AREA FOOD |
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DIVERSIONS |
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COST |
The room swamp coolers are
quite noisy. When it is cool enough to shut them off,
however, the bird sounds are very nice. A massage
service can be arranged by hotel staff.
At sunset, bunnies and quail
(with their little forehead doodles) scoot across the paths
and driveways of The Inn. A little later in the
evenings, the coyotes howl in unison (well, sort of
unison).....
| ATTRACTIONS |
- CLIFF HOUSE IN
NEWBERRY SPRINGS
- BAGDAD CAFE
- BIG AL'S PISTACHIO
PLANT
- SMITH'S RANCH
DRIVE-IN AT 4584 ADOBE ROAD (760.367.7713)
- PALMS RESTAURANT
AND BAR IN WONDER VALLEY (361.2810)
- SODA SPRINGS
AT ZYZZX (THIS IS PROPERLY SPELLED)
- JOSHUA TREE
NATIONAL PARK
- MORONGO
VALLEY CACTUS MART
- THE
BOWLADIUM
- BELLA ROUGE
BAKERY & BISTRO
- MITCHELL
CAVERNS
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The drive-in movie theater was
built in 1954, and is excellent. Movies change on
Fridays. If time permits, get a buzz cut & tattoo at
one of the many woman-run late night barbershops in
town. Or maybe "Combat Billiards & Bar (and Marine
Haircuts)."
See below for a link to the story of the murals of
Twenty-Nine Palms. There is also an interesting hiking
trail (1.5 miles) to the Fortynine Palms Oasis south from
Highway 62 (drive west of town to the top of the hill where
the High Desert Animal Clinic is located). Turn south on
Canyon Road.
| RESTAURANT
RECOMMENDATIONS |
- TWENTY-NINE PALMS
RESTAURANT
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2005 UPDATE: Local restaurant competition has
diminished, with Bella Rouge Bakery & Bistro and Jimmy the
Greek's no longer in business. For casual food, try The
Carosel in Twentynine Palms -- or Stefano's in Yucca
Valley. And maybe the Crossroads Cafe & Tavern in
downtown (?) Joshua Tree.
The 29 Palms Inn restaurant, however, is excellent.
It features vegetables grown on-site and a broad menu with
nightly specials. Free continental breakfast, and a
popular lunch as well. The kitchen will also prepare box
lunches for picnics. Many evenings, there is musical
entertainment and sometimes reservations are
necesary.
PioneerTown. Take the
turn-off to the north (left) from downtown Yucca Valley.
The turn is well-marked. This is an old movie set where
Roy Rogers and Gene Autry made movies and television
shows. "The Cisco Kid" was filmed here. The place
is generally dormant during the week, but there is a bar and
motel (760.365.4879) which seem to remain open. The
motel was featured as a military fort in "Cody of the Pony
Express."
On Saturday and Sunday (11am to
7pm), the place is more lively. There is a six-lane
bowling alley --Pioneer Bowl -- which also serves
hamburgers and ice cream sundaes (and is equipped with a full
bar). Roy Rogers rolled the first ball here in
1949. 760.365.3615
As you drive through the desert
on the various highways, you will not little deserted shacks
peppered about. Here's why: In 1938, the federal
government passed the Small tract Act which sold homesteaders
low-cost plots in the area. The land was generally quite
useless. With gasoline rationing in WW II, few people
came to the area to buy the land which was still
available.....
Paradise Cafe in Wonder
Valley. Find Amboy Road in Twentynine Palms; drive north
on Adobe Road about halfway to the Marine Base and turn right
onto Amboy Road (it parallels 62). Drive about fifteen
minutes east. Pardise Cafe is on your right at 83131
Amboy Road. Two dollar beers.
The website implies that they
serve dinner; didn't seem to be the case at 7pm on a Wednesday
-- maybe just on weekends when they open up their outdoor
stage. This venue has generated articles in The Los
Angeles Times regarding the high talent quotient of the
performances here. 760.361.2810 thepalms@cci-29palms.com
 This area was last visited in September
2005. Prior to that, we visited this property in
May 2001.
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