Hello from California’s high desert, and welcome to November. Thanksgiving is just over three weeks away, and I couldn’t be more excited to host the family and friends coming to join me in the desert in a few weeks’ time.
A reminder to set your clocks back this coming Saturday night, as we fall back from Daylight Savings Time on November 5. I, for one, am not overly excited about the earlier sunsets, but I do enjoy the extra hour of sleep if the dogs will let me.
Onto this week’s news:
In local news:
The Highland Fire ignited Monday in Riverside County near Aguanga and has burned 2,487 acres as of Wednesday morning. It is 15% contained, and evacuation orders and warnings currently are in place.
Winds are currently pushing the fire westward, so air quality impacts to the Basin are not expected at this time.
A local group has organized a Change.org petition to save the Integratron, a historical landmark and incredible experience in Landers. The Integratron is being threatened by a development proposal that would rezone the area to allow a glamping site with “eco-domes.”
The petition has more information on the threats currently facing the Integratron. You can read more and sign the petition here.
Officials found remains in the Anza-Borrego desert believed to be those of missing Chinese woman Fang Jin. Fang Jin had gone missing after meeting up with a Morongo Valley man, John Fitzpatrick, on a trip to visit the U.S.
Fitzpatrick’s remains were also discovered in Anza-Borrego a few weeks back.
Applications are now open for the Yucca Valley Elks Lodge Most Valuable Student Scholarship.
The scholarship is available to high school seniors that currently live in the Morongo Basin who excel in academics, leadership, service, and have financial need for a scholarship.
Applications close on November 13. You can apply here.
Sunnyslope Drive in Yucca Valley will be closed from 6 p.m. until 5 a.m. for construction work aligned with gas pipeline replacements.
Sunnyslope Drive will be closed to traffic between Sage Avenue and Condalia Avenue and between Old Woman Springs Road and Johsua Lane through the end of the year.
The National Park Foundation is investing more than $5 million to expand service corps crews in Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve, and other parks.
Service corps crews are locally based organizations that engage young adults and veterans in projects that address recreation, conservation, disaster response, and community needs, per the Foundation’s release.
The Twentynine Palms High School Interact Club is holding a “stuff the bus” event on Saturday, November 4, to prepare for Thanksgiving.
The Interact Club is seeking stuffing mix, instant potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, vegetables, roll, pie and crust mixes, and any other canned food that can be donated to local families in need for the holidays. The drive will be held in the Twentynine Palms’ Grocery Outlet parking lot from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The developers of Yonder, a proposed resort in Twentynine Palms near Indian Cove, are holding a community event today (November 1) at 5:30 p.m. to answer questions about the proposed camp site. The meeting will be held at the Twentynine Palms Elks Lodge at at 6501 Barranca Street.
In state news:
It is strangely quiet on the state news front this week. Maybe that’s a good thing, but the reporter in me is quite skeptical of the silence. Hopefully more next week.
In other news:
Matthew Perry, the actor best known for playing the ever sarcastic Chandler Bing on Friends, died suddenly on Sunday. He was 54 years old.
Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was released on Friday, almost exactly nine years after it was first released. The vault tracks are especially good this time around, if I do say so myself.
Nick Ehman broke the speed record on The Nose, a famous climbing route on El Capital in Yosemite National Park. Ehman completed the climb in 4 hours and 39 minutes, breaking the previous record — set by Alex Honnold — of 5 hours and 50 minutes.
Walmart released its Black Friday commercial this morning, a spoof on the cult classic Mean Girls with appearances by Lindsay Lohan (Cady), Amanda Seyfried (Karen), Lacey Chabert (Gretchen), Rajiv Surendra (Kevin Gnapoor), and Daniel Franzese (Damian). Watch it here.
Pupdate of the week: We made a giant pillow fort for the dogs (and us, really) to avoid trick-or-treaters on Tuesday night. Both dogs are big babies, and even the friendliest looking ghost sends chills up their spines.
Trail tip of the week: A reminder to never wear cotton layers, especially as temperatures cool down here in the next few weeks. Cotton doesn’t dry quickly and absorbs a lot of moisture, so it can be hazardously chilly when you’re hiking out in cooler temperatures. Always wear a base layer with a moisture-wicking material to ensure you stay nice and warm.
Read of the week: I am back to tackling some light novels, and definitely leaned into the Halloween theme with Weyward by Emilia Hart. The novel spans three women’s stories of witchcraft — imagined or real, that’s for the reader to decide — across three generations ranging from the 1600s up until 2019. It’s a fun read, with some interesting literary tricks to distinguish each woman’s story, that felt perfect for the late fall season.
Watch of the week: World Series Game 5 is tonight, with the Texas Rangers expected to wrap things up against the Arizona Diamondbacks by the end. The Rangers are up 3 games to 1 in the best-of-7 series after a blowout win on Tuesday. The game starts just after 5 p.m. tonight.
That’s it for this week! I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine while we’ve still got it past 5 p.m.
- Megan