I was staying in Twentynine Palms near Joshua Tree last weekend and decided to stop by the…read moreobservatory on a whim around 11 PM with a couple of my friends. Little did we know that this would be one of the highlights of our trip. Not only were the stars beautiful but we met a very nice and passionate scientist who decided to chat with us and teach us all about the constellations. It was such a treat. He and his wife were finishing up and packing away their telescopes and he told us that they were going to lock the gate of the parking lot that our cars were parked in, but let us know that we could move our car right outside of the gate and stay all night if we wanted to because it was open 24 hours. He also warned us about the coyotes and cougars. Coyotes stay away with noise and cougars are attracted to noise, so pick your battle lol. We definitely can't wait to come back! And it's free!

So many different little areas to put your telescope on and check out the stars. This area is just…read morefor getting together with other enthusiasts and checking out the night sky. Love that this was built just for that purpose.

I've been coming to Save The Meow Meows for a while now, and honestly I think every time I go is a…read morebetter experience than the last! You can really tell how much attention, care, and work they put into giving their cats a good home. Every cat has to start somewhere, and STMM gives them a great environment to learn to socialize and adapt to not being in the dangerous situations that they were rescued from! I've watched many of their cats go from extremely anti-social to snuggly in their time with this organization. I have adopted two cats from them, and helped a roommate adopt one as well. They are extremely helpful and as long as you communicate, they give you a lot of grace throughout the adoption process! If you're not looking to adopt a cat, you're also just free to hang out and play with the kitties! I end up going just for a third space to do homework and stuff! They have snacks and drinks for sale that you can enjoy during your stay as well. They also have a ton of great goodies in the shop portion of the space, and you can even buy collars or accessories for the lounge cats to wear! Overall, I've never had a bad experience here. This place has been my escape when going through difficult times, and the staff are genuine people that will connect with you. I cannot recommend coming to this place enough!

I received an unwanted direct written message from Bert V., who is one of their representatives…read moreconfirming that less than one week went by and they gave Lois to someone with another cat so they could "bond." .... That message validated the exact concern I raised in my original review, and I am even more upset now than I was before. I cannot understand separating an EXTREMELY bonded brother and sister, only to place one of those cats into another home with the expectation that she form a new bond with a different cat!? OF COURSE THE CATS DIDNT EXIBIT THE BEHAVIORS THEY WERE STILL SCARED it was less than a week are you kidding me?!! It's so clear to me this place just wants to turn the cats over and make a profit. This place pulls in almost half a million dollars per year and they DO take salary's - this is all public record. They're all about MONEY and NOT the cats. So after Bert upset me all over again with this info he then had the audacity to send me ANOTHER message less than 24 hours after I specifically asked him not bring this up again (see texts). And He did this after I asked him to pick up another cat he had left dumped at my home months ago....he then tried to BRIBE ME to take down my review bc ONLY THEN he would be willing to pick up the cat he left dumped at my house!! Evil. ...So Instead of simply handling that responsibility, he chose to bring up something he knew would upset me further and try to bribe me. Based on my personal experience, the person I dealt with privately is very different from the public image he presents as an animal rescuer. If you want me to take down my review, trying to bribe me isn't going to work..but he knew that he just wanted cut the wound deeper. I strongly believe this organization should also take a closer look at the people it partners with and allows to facilitate placements. When someone is also involved in the communication between fosters, adopters, and a rescue, their words, representations and conduct matters too. What happened to this bonded pair is heartbreaking to me and I'll never forget this. I trusted repeated assurances that they would remain together, and learning that Lois was placed elsewhere so she could bond with another cat only made the situation more disturbing. Her poor brother Charlie he was so obsessed with his sister Lois and i know he will always be looking for her. Bert V. also gave me one more assurance the day before pick up that he had also communicated with this rescue and that I had been promised the bonded pair would never be separated. **See pictured text message** Pathetic, cruel and backstabbing.

Another new development in the city. This sportsplex offers the children a place to play soccer,…read morefootball, baseball, lacrosse, and a nice place to gather if you reserve a spot with the city. There are BBQ areas, and even a stage should you want entertainment. There are public restrooms that are very well maintained amd a snack bar as well. Parking is extremely plentiful at the moment however, as this city seemingly gets more popularity I can see it becoming a problem. There isn't too much to get under as far as shade is concerned so bring your sportbrellas and the like on those hot days.

The Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center is about 15 minutes north of downtown Joshua Tree, way…read moreout in the desert near the Marine combat center. In the middle of this very rural area, sparsely populated and laced with dirt roads, sits this amazing oasis of desert energy and local community culture. Programs include First Saturday Breakfast cooked and served by an all-volunteer staff ($5). Delicious and you sit at community tables with super-friendly desert dwellers. First Tuesday Bingo is a hoot and there's a CAKE break for $1. In addition there's a USDA Food Distribution for low-income residents, a PTSD group, monthly board meeting and an incredible THRIFT STORE open during events. Rock bottom prices and new stuff all the time. Summers bring movies in the outfield screened against a cargo container. Come get a taste of the desert at a community center kept open purely with member funding. You'd be hard pressed to find another place as wonderful as the Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center.

I moved up here a few months ago with my long time bf and I dont really know anyone besides a…read morecouple of nice folk who have pulled us out of the sand and what not. Lol! I was told that they had stuff going on at the community center and thought we should check it out. So we went to the community breakfast that they have every first Saturday of the month. Im supper happy and pleased! Alot of nice people to talk to and a great way to get to know your nabors! Ill be going more often! Please excuse any misspellings thanks! :)

Camping in the summertime is absolutely a must! And with Alpine Meadows Retreat Center in Angelus…read moreOaks, California near the city of Big Bear Lake it's a place I trust! Alpine Meadows Retreat Center which borders Camp Mountain Chai (pronounced Hi) is a larger spacious multi-level and terrain center as well as site has several bunk cabins, buildings and a main lodge center with tons of ammentinities including soccer field, basketball court, fire circles, mini amphitheater, ropes courses, swimming pool, gathering spot cabin filled with board games, sound system, tv monitors, snacks, popcorn machine, etc. There's a main theater for announcements, shows, classes, etc which is connected to the kitchen and dinning areas not to mention several other facilities. Water areas for refilling bottles or jugs and usually cold water and beverages filled by staff daily. Vending machines with mainly soft drinks only. Plenty of restrooms throughout the entire space in cabins or various rooms and buildings. I was able to attend 9 day event for 4 days with an organization that rented out the area for the duration of 10 days (including set-up and clean-up/breakdown) with the Community of Men enjoying Naturism group and had probably the best vacation getaway gathering retreat camp experience ever especially as an adult lol The group organized some many great events, contest, activities (both in and outdoors), daily hikes, sporting, classes (including zumba and hip hop line dancing - I did both!) and much much more. The meals were amazing including the vegan and vegetarian options that were made available. Tons of BYOB/D made for a huge supply for any and all during social hours and throughout the evening. Everyone at Alpine Meadows, Camp Mt Chai and the C.M.E.N. group did such an amazing job accommodating and providing services through the duration that I can't thank every enough. I'm pretty sure I attended this site in my early teens for a youth leadership and development camp with the Red Cross of America back in 2001/2002 as I had such a sense of nostalgia the entire time including climbing up those massive steps on both the "treacherous" O.O and not so treacherous inclines from the bunk level up to the recreation and rope course areas. Unloading and loading vehicles can be easy as the paths and roads are wide enough for most vehicles to maneuver around, just try not to block the main road for the parking area so vehicles can pass going in or out simultaneously. Enjoy this retreat experience with your group to the fullest, soak of the stars, memories, human interactions and connections and cherish you semi-vacay. Looking up at the stars, spotting beautiful blue jays and breathing in fresh mountain air... It's easy for me to say... 7000+ ft up and away is the way!

Nestled in the mountains, this is a decent retreat center…read more There are a lot of cabins and meeting halls to accommodate multiple groups. The cabins can sleep up to 20 people, but it's not the most comfortable. It's very bare bones and feels old, but everything works. All the beds are bunk beds with a basic sleeping pad; make sure you bring your own sleeping bag and pillow. The bathrooms run on a septic system, so be judicious about what you flush. All the cabins are left unlocked for the duration of your stay, and that's a bit unsettling. We spent 2 nights here, with 30 people across 3 cabins, and didn't have any issues with theft. The meeting rooms come with coffee machines, a giant cooler of water, a fridge, a microwave, and as many chairs as you'll need. There's also a projector, speakers, and a control panel to hook up instruments and microphones. Microphones and accessories are provided by the staff. A wide range of activities are available to help with team building or alleviate cabin fever. There's a basketball court with a bunch of balls, but a vast majority of them are deflated and/or have no grip left. Tackle the rock-climbing wall or the ropes course to overcome your fear of heights. Work on your aim and hunting skills in the archery range, or run around the synthetic turf ball field to improve your conditioning. There's also a pool, some swings, a small jungle gym, and a life-sized foosball table. Meals are buffet style and offered 3 times a day. Breakfast has a cereal bar, instant oatmeal, packaged yogurts, and fresh fruits. The kitchen whips up some scrambled eggs, French toast, pancakes, soy based sausage, and potatoes. Lunch has some pasta, salad, and veggies. Dinner was roast beef and mashed potatoes one night, and rotisserie chicken with rice the other. A full salad bar is offered during lunch and dinner. The food is decent, and I appreciate the effort the staff puts into it, but it's not going to win any cooking awards. Out of everything I ate, the chicken was easily the best. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. A walkie-talkie is provided to your group leader for communication with the staff, and there's someone available at all times. Basic first aid is offered, but anything more serious is 45 minutes away, or 75 minutes to the nearest emergency room. The grounds and facilities are well maintained, but the facilities are in major need of a renovation. The location has very little, if any, cellular service, so communication with friends and loved ones who aren't on site with you can be challenging.

Martha is wonderful with my son and he has learned so much since starting there! He is doing new…read morethings on his own, it's amazing! My son also loves playing with the other children. It's comforting to know that he is growing and learning at the times I have to work. So thankful for Martha and Sunnyside Daycare! Thank you Martha for all you do for these little ones!

Martha cared for both of my children from 18 months old until they were 5, and I truly could not…read morehave asked for a better daycare provider. She is patient, kind, and genuinely loves what she does. The kids were always doing fun activities and learning in a safe, loving environment. Even now, years later (my boys are 17 and 11!), she still keeps in touch and makes us feel loved. That alone speaks volumes about the kind of person she is. I couldn't recommend her more -- truly a five-star experience.

Wow, what an incredibly, unbelievably awful experience…read more The only reason there's a star attached to this is because you can't leave a zero-star review. Though I sincerely believe that's what Plaza Art & Frame deserves. If you were running a business - let's say, I don't know, a picture framing shop - and someone came in to pick up a job and pointed out that the glass wasn't what they ordered, would you: A) Say, "Oh, sorry, we'll fix it." or B) Blame and attack the customer, become disagreeable, unpleasant, and combative, and say, "I have a mind to not even work on them now! I might just give them back to you! Do you know how much work it is to tear these apart, cut new glass, THROW AWAY THE OLD GLASS, and put them back together?!" If you said 'A,' you'd fix it, you know more infinitely more about customer service than Lance and Nancy at Plaza Art & Frame in Yucca Valley do. They chose 'B.' I'll spare you the painful details, but the gist is Lance gave us a quote to frame eight small watercolors. They framed them with the wrong glass, and Nancy immediately tried to blame us, over and over, for their mistake. Then Lance came out from the back room and said the bit about not wanting to do the work to fix their mistake. I couldn't believe how off the rails the whole thing went. I said (three times), "I don't understand the problem; we're going to pay the difference." But both of them were just awful. A couple of years ago I brought in a pair of photos to frame, and they did a lovely job, and Lance was friendly and nice. I didn't deal with Nancy during that time. So it was really something else to be ganged up on by the two of them. I was dumbfounded at being treated that way by a business we were paying a substantial amount of money to. When I say "disagreeable, unpleasant, and combative," I'm not just talking about that day. It was every time we had to go into their shop for this job. I dreaded going in there (for the last time ever) to pick it up because I knew they'd be awful, and they were. I would say I don't understand how they stay in business, but I do know. It's because they're the only framers within 50 miles of Joshua Tree. If another framer opened up shop in town, Plaza Framing would go out of business in a month. Or maybe they'd eke out a living framing American flags and pictures of The Orange Man for the people they actually like and respect while all the queer weirdos (like us) go somewhere that knows how to treat people with decency and respect. (Yes, that insinuates what you think it does.) Larry David did an entire season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" around opening a "spite store." Maybe I'll do that. Open a framing shop here in Joshua Tree just to spite the disagreeable, unpleasant, combative folks at Plaza Art & Frame. Ha, just kidding, of course. Maybe.

I'm a local artist in Joshua Tree who exhibits nationally. After five years of living here…read morepermanently, I decided to try Plaza Art & Frame for five of my 23 x 30-inch watercolors--a size I regularly work on. I was hoping to match some older frame jobs I had that float without a mat in a nice maple frame. I've been framing them this way for at least fifteen years. I even brought one of them with me in my car in case I couldn't explain myself clearly. I came in and met Nancy, who was friendly and willing to help me. Other than her calling me "Hon" a bunch of times (which may offend certain people like me), things started smoothly. But when I began to tell her what I wanted, she said the paper I used was much too heavy to frame floated because it would fall down quickly. I told her that I knew there was some way to do it and brought along one that was already framed, and she was welcome to take the backing off to examine it. It had been in its frame for twelve years. The paper has never fallen. She was not interested in looking at it. She said she'd been in the frame business for thirty years and floating paper that heavy doesn't work, and they would look better matted anyway. I tried to explain they needed to match the others, but she was not willing to frame them. About a year later, I needed more than a half-dozen pieces framed, all different sizes, and this time, with mats! I wanted a simple maple frame again, and since they're watercolors, I wanted the usual UV glass. On this visit, I met Lance. I truly liked him, as he seemed to know his stuff and gave me an extremely thorough estimate, using the largest of all of the pieces so as not to underestimate. He got me to get non-glare, too, showing me the differences in some samples. He wrote it down on one of their invoices, and I said I'd come back on another day. When I returned, Lance was in the back having lunch and Nancy was there, and wouldn't you know it, I forgot that invoice with the estimate written on it! Dang it...I told Nancy, I'd have to deal with Lance, not her, because I forgot the paper. She kept trying to help me anyway, but I kept insisting that he knew the job already. "But he's at lunch right now!" She kept saying, "I can help you." Lance must have heard us snipping and came out. Then, they both helped me. Both Lance and I told Nancy what I wanted, and she wrote it down. Both Lance and I remembered the exact price, even with the tax and change. When I came to pick up the job, the glass on all the frames was not UV or non-glare. I mentioned it, but Nancy said, "You said 'clear!'" But I never said that. I said, "Even Lance knows I wanted non-glare..." and so started an unbelievable eruption. She blamed me for not bringing in the paper and yelled at me about some fantasy how she ASKED me and I answered that I wanted clear glass. (Never happened!) I said I'd pay for their mistake (because I really hated this conflict we were having, and I still wanted to have a local framer for my art). But I wouldn't frame a stinkin' cockroach there. She was so mad because the price skyrocketed to change the glass out, even though I was the one paying for it. Luckily, I came back in before I drove away just to make sure she knew it was UV glass, and her head nearly exploded. "NOW you want UV, too!!!!??? Oh my god!" I told her, I always wanted UV; it's watercolor!" That's when Lance came out, more angry than she was, and threatened not to do the job at all! I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong by paying the difference and paying them to do a job. I didn't argue about who was right or wrong. By then, it was extremely pricey because of the labor to pull apart the back, cut new glass, etc. (even though you pay for the labor when you order ANY glass from any framer). I didn't care. I just paid it, and got blamed. And they lost a good and loyal customer for life. At least I don't have to hear (over and over) how they both have been working in the frame business for "forty years." I thought it was thirty, but I guess it went up a decade because they were so irate. Now that it's forty, they match how long I've been getting my art framed. I should have mentioned that. Ha! To be fair, I've seen their work, and it's precise and professional. I also think their prices are fair to good under normal circumstances. But they will only be nice to you when the mood strikes them. I've experienced them when easygoing, and I've experienced the opposite. So, be forewarned.

I'm tearing up thinking about how much this daycare and Miss D has meant to our boys and our…read morefamily. Even in the short time we were with her (about 6 months) my kids thrived so much under her care. They loved going every day and were excited to tell us about their day when we picked them up. She not only cared for our boys but was open, warm and encouraging with us as well. It was really a safe space for our entire family. The only reason we left was because we moved.