Welcome to the Mojave Desert and the wonderful community of Twentynine Palms. Ever since my first time here in 1979 I have fallen in love with the raw beauty, power, and constant but subtle changes of this land. Located in Southern California, the Mojave Desert is part of the great desert ecosystem of the southwest and encompasses more than 25,000 square miles. The climate is characterized by extreme daily temperature changes and an average annual precipitation of less then 5 inches. 

Some of the most well known areas are Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley, and the Mojave National Preserve. Other less known areas of interest are Amboy Crater, Mitchell’s Caverns, Hole in the Wall, and the Kelso Depot, just to name a few. All of these are within a days drive from here.

   Been pretty quiet around here with my attention mostly with family. Had lots going on with family back east and of course the holidays are upon us. So with that, if I do not update the site before the holidays, I wish you all the very best this holiday season and thank you for all your support.

    As for the night sky, get ready for a Total Lunar Eclipse on December 10th. It begins at 4:46am with totality at 6:57am. Of course this is during sunrise but it still should be a great show. As for Meteor showers, the Geminids on December 14th will have the Moon interfering but you still can see some bright ones. On December 23 the Ursids will produce around 10 an hours under a Moonless sky. Then to kick off the new year the Quadrantid meteor shower peaks the morning of January 4. The Moon sets at 3am so there will be about 3 hours of totally dark sky. This show averages around 120 per hour! Best time to catch meteors is after midnight to early morning of the dates posted. See ya out there!