High Desert Test Sites

Sites

Andy Stillpass’s 100 acre HDTS parcel in the mind- blowingly scenic Pipes Canyon hosts projects by Govanni Jance, Kate Costello, Tao Urban, Chuck Moffett, and Ingram Ober. And if you look hard you may still come across Wade Guyton's X (let us know if you find it, as there have been many sightings since it fell over in 2004, but no traceable directions.)

Directions: From 29 Palms Hwy turn right at Pioneertown Road. Drive 7.5 miles up the hill, through Pioneertown to Pipes Canyon Road. Turn right on Pipes Canyon Road. Drive 2.2 miles to Gamma Gulch Rd., turn left (please respect our neighbors - do not drive above 20 mph on this road!) Drive 1.6 miles to God's Way Love (sign has blown off), turn right. Drive 0.4 miles.

Art Queen

A downtown Joshua Tree gallery founded by Shari Elf and Randy Polumbo, and home to The World Famous Crochet Museum.

Directions: On the south side of Hwy 62, just west of Park Blvd in downtown Joshua Tree.

Behind The Bail Bonds

The ten acre, boulder strewn, parcel behind the Bail Bonds is the one corner of A-Z West that is open to the public. Sited up in the rocks is untitled by Sarah Vanderlip (two aluminum truck heads welded together) and below are signs by Julia Scher.

Directions: From 29 Palms Hwy and Park Dr drive east one mile to the big yellow Bail Bonds sign. Turn right onto Neptune. Drive up Neptune. Road will veer left. Follow the road along the powerlines and look for a parking spot right before the turnaround area.

Coyote Dry Lake

A sprawling dry lakebed, popular with dirtbikers and 4x4 enthusiasts.

Directions: From Hwy 62, head north on Sunfair/Coyote Valley Rd. Turn RIGHT on Broadway and keep driving.

HDTS Headquarters

Pick up the driving map to the sites and peruse our book shop and gifts made by HDTS related artists.

Directions: 4670 Veterans Way, right off of 29 Palms Hwy. Right around the corner from Pie for the People and next to Mount Fuji General Store. As you leave town don’t forget to look for Landon Wigg's Welcome to Joshua Tree sign on the corner of Park and Hwy 62.

Iron Age Road

Iron Age Road is a 40 acre site out at the most eastern edge of Wonder Valley in the Sheephole Valley Wilderness area.

Directions: From 29 Palms continue east on 29 Palms Hwy. Drive forever (23 miles) and look for the sign for Iron Age Road. Turn left onto the dirt road right after the sign. Drive a few more miles until you see something.

Krblin Jihn Kabin

(By Eames Demetrios) Like many of the cabins in the area, this structure was originally used to house defeated heretics. This site explores the history and context of this important structure and community, including the remnants of its remarkable compass wheel. www.kcymaerxthaere.com

Directions: From 29 Palms Hwy drive north on Sunburst.Take a right on Crestview. Drive 1.3 miles and take a right on Border again. Drive about one "block" - the Krblin Jihn Cabin will be on your left.

Noah Purifoy's Outdoor Desert Art Museum

Noah Purifoy's Outdoor Desert Art Museum consists of 7.5 acres of open land displaying Purifoy's assemblage sculptures, created between 1989 and 2004. The works themselves are great - as is the decay due to the harsh elements of their desert setting. Resisting the ideologies of institutionalized art, Purifoy proposed to find out what role nature could play in the history of an art piece, arguing that "changes are an integral part of life itself."

Directions: From 29 Palms Hwy drive north on Sunburst. Follow the paved road as it turns right and then turns left and becomes Border. Turn right on Aberdeen drive onto dirt road and turn left on Center and then right again almost immediately on Blair Lane.

Sky Village Swap Meet

The Swap Meet in Yucca Valley is a world of it's own; a dense shanty-like town of booths and stands packed with curios, desert junk, and overgrown cactus gardens. In the heart of the swap meet is the Crystal Cave - a masterpiece originally created by Bob Carr, owner and creator of Sky Village Swap Meet. In 2010 Merete Vyff Slyngborg and Mette Woller, two art students visiting from Denmark, teamed up with Bob to reconstruct and expand on the Crystal Cave as an ongoing and neverending endeavor, now known as The Crystal Cave Project.

Directions: 7028 Theater Road (just off Hwy 247, right behind Barr Lumber), Yucca Valley, CA 92286

The Palms (Amboy Rd)

The Palms is 15 miles east of town, but feels like the end of nowhere. Our favorite desert haunt, where you can take time out to play a round of pool, order Pabst on tap, and buy used cowboy boots (opens at 3 PM).

Directions: From Hwy 62 head north on Adobe Rd in 29 Palms. Turn RIGHT on Amboy Rd and continue about 13 miles. 83131 Amboy Rd, Wonder Valley 92277.

Zittel's A-Z West

Andrea Zittel's project is the site of ongoing "investigations in living". Her A-Z enterprise encompasses all aspects of day to day living. Home furniture, clothing, and food all become the sites of exploration in an ongoing endeavor to better understand human nature and the social construction of needs and desires. Some of the experimental projects that have been developed at A-Z West include the A-Z Homestead Unit, the A-Z Wagon Stations and A-Z Advanced Technologies such as Paper Pulp Pannels and Fiber Forms. www.zittel.org

Please Note! A-Z West is open to the public for workshops and special events on pre-announced dates. Because this is a personal residence, please respect the private drive signs and do not visit the site at other times.