Get to know Garth
In my late thirties, I gave up all of my possessions. With only a bowl, a spoon, and a bed roll I went on a walk across America to experience spirit with a group called the Christ Family. I walked around the country for 4 ½ years. It proved I was forced to move on; homeless, spiritual pilgrims, were usually not welcome. From that experience, I wanted to create a place that ALL would be welcome. A place where people could come together, and share their ideas, their wisdom, and their Love, to help create a new world. When spirit maneuvered me to this land, I knew this was the place to create our dreams. I drew pictures, drafted plans, and sought to create the funds to bring the dream about. Soon after my mother & father purchased the land. My father set forth a plan that would take eighteen years for me to become its legal owner.
It was in the early eighties when I first moved on to the land. At first my main function was to wipe away and cleanse the land of past unconscious destruction and debris, and to change the vibratory level to a new heighth. The previous owners had never been here, so it was left to become a wild west. I spent 3 years just cleaning it up, removing heaps of broken glass, gun casings, rusted engine parts, and bullet blasted tv's. To survive in this world and time I worked for the neighbors and the families in the area. My friend Victor gave me a teepee. Through the harsh desert winters and summers the canvas lasted for ten years. Then during a huge storm high winds finally shredded it to pieces and now it has a more durable shell. I've lived in it now for over 40 years. Well, I live outside mostly, except for when the weather is inclement. That's when I go inside where it's warm and cozy. For heat I use a wood burning stove.
For 14 years I hauled my own water. Eventually a well was dug, but that didn't get the water out of the ground. Thousands more dollars and 6 more years of work were required to get the first water out of the hole. From that point, by hand mostly, I put in 3.5 miles of water line through the boulders to bring water to all the areas where I garden and gather. For almost 20 years I had only a candle, silence, and no electricity whatsoever.
Once the water was established I planted shade trees, and fruit trees, but was frustrated at every turn by ground squirrels, bugs, and quail, and I’ve had to replace these trees three different times. I created vegetable gardens, rock gardens, cascading ponds for fish, frogs, birds, and other critters. Then watering holes in the boulders, a wood-burning sauna, outdoor bathtubs, bird aviaries, garden houses, an indoor solar shower, an outdoor kitchen, many rock gardens, an amphitheater, and still there is more. I opened a mountain spring right out of the hill. All of it I did myself with the help of friends and those that came seeking spirit.
In 2019 I organized a business and a Non Profit. I have planned for a greeting center, an advanced healing center, and an animal husbandry facility. Today and everyday I do my best to give to the land so people feel welcome.
Thank you for being a part of its future!
Love, Garth 1943-2023
Get to Know the Land
Garth's desert wilderness is nestled in the foothills of Pioneertown California 20 miles from Joshua Tree. His 640 acres is 4,800 feet in elevation and surrounded by volcanic mesas, the Sawtooth Mountains, and the Pioneertown Mountains Preserve. Garth welcomes people of all ages and spiritual practices to gather, share ideas, perspectives, and learn environmental respect through seminars, camp-outs, and other activities that teach us how to better our relationship with nature. Garth harmonizes with the underlying principles of spiritual renewal, sustainability, living consciously with nature, and interfaith cooperation, all while co-creating and cooperating with all living creatures. The trails, the scenic views, the meditation gardens, the water features, and the wildlife, all will open your connection to nature. Making new friends and sharing ideas becomes effortless. We welcome all that wander up the road with a warm hug and big smile. This warm and inviting way has led to a vast web of friends. Monks, holy people, and light-workers of all types retreat to these boulders to meditate and discover nature's sacred truths.
Everyone is welcome.