A short update this week
Johnson Valley Shared Use Area closes tomorrow, Operation Hammer Strike ends its seventh week, and hazardous waste collection event is this Saturday.
Hello from California’s high desert, where it is downright autumnal at the moment. I’ve been traveling over the last week, and I couldn’t be happier to be home. I like to indulge in food delivery while I’m in a city, but really nothing beats coming back to the quiet solitude of our little desert.
On that note, today’s newsletter is a bit shorter than you might be used to, and a day late, because traveling in 2021 is not for the faint of heart. If you can avoid air travel at all, I highly recommend it.
And now, onto this week’s news:
The second of two closures in the Johnson Valley public use area begins tomorrow, October 22. It will be off-limits to public use until November 1.
The closure was initially supposed to begin on October 15, but the training windows were shortened to last just one week instead of two.
The Marine Corps will use the area for active training this week. When training is complete, it will conduct thorough inspections in coordination with the Bureau of Land Management to ensure the land is safe for public use.
The Marine Corps currently has two closures planned for 2022, but as with this week’s training, those dates could change based on exercise needs.
Any questions or inquiries on military training in Johnson Valley may be directed to the Resource Management Group by contacting the Combat Center at: SMBPLMSJOHNSONVALLEY@usmc.mil or 760-830-3737
Operation Hammer Strike, the county-wide initiative looking to bust illegal marijuana grow operations, made 15 arrests and shut down 23 operations in its seventh week.
According to Sheriff’s reports, deputies and investigators from the San Bernardino County Marijuana Enforcement Team served 23 search warrants at properties in Lucerne Valley, Landers, Apple Valley, Victorville, Adelanto, Pinon Hills, Yucca Valley, Fontana, and Hinkley from October 11 through October 17.
Deputies seized 20,031 marijuana plants, 3,596 pounds of processed marijuana, three guns, eight grams of concentrated marijuana, and nearly nine grams of methamphetamine.
A complete list of suspects and raided properties is available at z1077fm.com.
A reminder that the hazardous waste collection event is this Saturday in Twentynine Palms.
San Bernardino County Fire is hosting its hazardous waste collection event this Saturday at the Twentynine Palms City Hall from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The event is only open to Twentynine Palms residents at this time.
Officials will be collecting items such as antifreeze, electronics, batteries, oil, oil filters, cosmetics, pesticides, among others. Visit Sbcfire.org/hhw to see what is and what is not accepted at the event.
This is a contact-free event, so organizers have asked anyone dropping off waste to have everything ready to go in the trunk of their cars.
Pupdate of the week: The pups are very snuggly after we came home from some time away. It’s nice when they are like this instead of their usual chaotic selves!
Trail tip of the week: If you missed the full moon last night, you can still get out and get some great photos tonight! The skies are forecast to be crystal clear, and I always enjoy being out among the trees when the moon is so bright. It’s getting colder, so make sure you’ve packed some layers and, as always, plenty of water.
Book of the week: Not exactly a book this week, but a writer from The New Yorker attended a radio show from our own Ken Layne and has turned it into a delightful podcast episode. I am personally not the biggest fan of podcasts, but I really enjoyed their conversation and, of course, Ken being Ken.
Show of the week: I don’t know about you, but I am incredibly excited for Succession’s newest season on HBO. I loved the first two seasons for both the writing and the acting. It’s one of those shows that, so far, has really just gotten everything right, and this season has the potential to be the best yet. It follows an absurdly wealthy family that owns a group of media companies, cruise lines, theme parks, and TV networks as the adult siblings compete to succeed their father as the head of the company. Yes, it sounds dull I know, but I promise you it is worth it!
Small business of the week
The folks over at the Morongo Valley Fruit Market are always great, but they have really gone above and beyond this month in putting together an awesome pumpkin patch for Halloween. The patch is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and they sometimes have live music and food on-site during the weekends up until Halloween. In addition to the occasional festive flair, the Fruit Market also has an incredible selection of local and imported produce, food items, and beverages.
The Morongo Valley Fruit Market is open daily from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. It is located at 49643 Twentynine Palms Highway in Morongo Valley (right before the grade on the east-bound side).
That’s it for this week. I hope you have a great weekend and a chance to get outside!
- Megan