Pioneer Town, where western history comes alive

 Pioneertown is known for its marvelous western facades, dirt main street, hitching posts, wooden sidewalks, and dozens of films, television series, and music videos that have been shot there over the decades.

From films like The Gay Amigo in 1949, and The Last of the Pony Riders in 1952, to more modern films such as The Gambler in 2014, and Ingrid Goes West in 2017, this modern-day ghost town has the perfect Old West ambiance.

Of course, two of my favorite music videos were shot there. The 2010, I Rep That West, by Ice Cube tops the list. Nothing better than a rapper riding into a hot dusty western town in a beautiful convertible lowrider surrounded by horses and townsfolk. Or, the 2016 hit by Cyndi Lauper, Funnel of Love, filmed in and around the town with a special appearance inside Pappy and Harriet’s.

The iconic Pappy and Harriet's in Pioneertown

A pink-haired cowgirl with a Brooklyn accent says it all when it comes to authentic Americana.

“Hey yuz guys,” Lauper may have said when finished with the filming. “Anyone know where I can get a friggin’ cannoli in these here parts?”

Of course, one film not listed among dozens is the one Laureen, my lovely wife, and I were in nearly ten years ago. We had bit parts about something to do with the West and a bunch of bad hombres - but when the film was completed and in the can, it never came back out.

I called my agent. “Look, Johnny Baby, the film was so bad that it was declared a national disaster. Find another career.”

“How about writing a travel column?”

A snicker came over the phone. “I’m sure that will pan out. Lose my number.”

Recently, I pulled on my Tony Lama lizard skin two-inch heeled cowboy boots, snugged up the emerald buckled three-inch wide belt through the loops of my Wranglers, knotted the bolo tie just right around the collar of my Rockmount shirt, donned my ten-gallon Stetson, and walked down the main street in Pioneertown.

Luckily it was very early in the morning and no one was around, or I may not have been able to escape with that outfit on.

Nope, Pioneertown revels in the realism of what life was like in the Old West days and did not need some big city dandy wandering around.

Back in the day, that would be right after the ending of World War II, a man by the name of Dick Curtis had a dream.

“I want to create a living, breathing movie set to shoot good Western movies,” he may have said.

In 1946, Curtis was able to wrangle 17 cowpokes to pony up the cash to fund the purchase of 32,000 acres of land just a few miles from the small town of Yucca Valley. Some of those involved included Roy Rogers, Bud Abbott, and others who bought into Curtis’s idea, and soon the place that would be known as Pioneertown was founded.

But, friends of Roy Rogers had wanted to name the place, Rogersville.

It is rumored that Roy himself said, “Rogersville, seriously? How about Evansplace?” 

To settle the matter, after a few rounds of arm wrestling, and a song written by Tim Spenser called ‘Out of Pioneertown,’ the eventual name of simply Pioneertown took hold.

A French couple was walking down Main Street and smiled at me while I tried not to topple over in the high-heeled boots I had worn. I could tell they were very excited about traipsing through such a rich movie history that Pioneertown offered.

The woman looked at her male companion and said in French, “Il a l’air ridicule.”

Since my French is very limited, I am sure she was talking about how every building along Main Street was very authentic and painstakingly constructed to resemble those that would have been found around the 1880s in the west of the United States.

I smiled and said, “Oui, oui.”

The male nodded and said, “C’est un idiot.”

Which I took as meaning what idiot would not want to visit Pioneertown while on holiday from a country boasting about eating snails and attending operas written by Ravel?

Pioneertown was not just a movie backdrop to film western films, it actually was a fully functioning community when completed in the late 1940s.

There was a grocery, a motel, the Red Dog Saloon (still in use today), restaurants, an ice cream store, a bowling alley (also still in use today), and other businesses that were functioning and making a profit - including a newspaper: the Pioneertown Gazette.

Lots of places for photo ops in Pioneertown

Non-movie types could purchase an acre of land with full utilities for as little as $900, which would be in today's dollars about a million buckaroos. 

Soon trouble was a-brewing for Pioneertown when in 1948 Dick Curtis stepped down as President of the corporation in protest over the decision made to cater more to Hollywood than to making Pioneertown a truly independent community.

In a rather strange set of realities, both the land sales and movie production dropped off until a producer by the name of Philip N. Krasne stepped up.

He was the bigwig producing the very popular television series, The Cisco Kid, starring Duncan Renaldo, which ran for six seasons.

Krasne saw the potential of Pioneertown. So much so that he signed a 25-year lease which again put the western town back on the map for both locals, tourists, and those cigar-smoking Hollywood big shots.

As I teetered through the town on this early morning, I was, as always, impressed at the care each structure along Main Street gets to ensure that anyone viewing the buildings truly believes they have traveled back in time. It is hard not to imagine this town was not a rootin' tootin' cow-punching, cow-poking sort of town.

Any moment I was expecting a drunk cowhand to exit the Red Dog Saloon, spit into the street, and grin at me.

“Hey, lookey,” he may have said. “We gots us a real live cow dude.”

Though it was early and nothing was open for visitors, there is a lot to offer while visiting Pioneertown.

Of course, there is the famous Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace which serves amazing food and drinks, as well as live music on various days of the week.

There is the Custom Leather and Saddle Shop where I actually did purchase a gun holster and belt in the years past. The Pottery Shop offers handmade pottery and a visitor can watch as these products are produced. There is an art studio where folks can dress up in historically accurate clothing for the time period and have their photograph taken.

And as mentioned, the Red Dog Saloon not only offers dining options but adult libations to boot. There is a large barn soundstage that can be rented out and occasionally offers live performances.

The Red Dog Saloon in Pioneertown

The main street offers photo opportunities galore for those who want to immortalize their visit and share on Instagram, Facebook, X, or whatever social media a person wants to utilize to show their friends and strangers they are in Pioneertown.

A perfect backdrop for western films at Pioneertown

There is the Bath House facade, the Jail facade, the Jack Cass Saloon facade, and many more for those picture-perfect moments. My favorite is the facade facade.

Pioneertown, a place for gunslingers

There is the Pioneertown Motel which offers plenty of rooms for those traveling for a night or two, as well as local Airbnbs to accommodate any traveler. And, there is camping available in the town itself.

With the beautiful mountains and valleys nearby, there is nothing but natural wonder surrounding Pioneertown - as well as the Joshua Tree National Park within half an hour's easy drive.

And of course, there is always entertainment awaiting the visit to Pioneertown on the weekends with old west shootouts along Mane Street.

What would be an old west town without hombres and sheriffs shooting the town up at scheduled hours for the tourists?

I’m sure my French friends in Pioneertown would have exclaimed, “Pas possible,” to that question.

For more information: https://visitpioneertown.com/

Le Haute Desert Aerie - the place to be

 

Main Street, Pioneer Town

It was suggested by a reader that I should visit a place near Pioneertown, which I would find very interesting.

I like interesting places, and know Pioneertown. Laureen and I played a couple of characters in a low-budget western film utilizing the 1880’s themed town a few years back. 

Pioneertown - the place, where all sorts of Hollywood western legends used to film movies and television shows is approximately sixty-seven miles, southeast of Victorville off of Highway 247. The likes of Roy Rogers, Russell Haden and Gene Autry, just to name a few were almost locals in this place. Rogers enjoyed nothing better than bowling at the Pioneer Bowl between film shoots.

And there we were with a film crew, all dolled up in our western apparel and ready to act. It was a great deal of fun - if standing around for hours dressed in period wardrobe, on a hot summer day, and waiting for the chance for a three minute on-screen presence could be considered enjoyable at all.

We love dressing the part

Actually, we had a great time with the entire crew and couldn’t wait to see our film debut on the big screen.

We’re still waiting.

But, I digress.

I asked Laureen if she recalled a place in Pioneertown that had something to do with being hot and airy in the desert. “It’s called Le Haute Desert Aerie.”

Shaking her head, something I am all too familiar with when I pose certain questions, she responded. “It’s French, and roughly translated means a birds nest in the high desert.”

“That’s what I thought,” I responded.

Anyway, turns out that this Le Haute Desert Aerie, is a rather fancy getaway that involves Airstream trailers, safari tents, and a large hand-crafted house sitting on top of a high hill just northeast of Pioneertown.

Airstreams, tents, and anything crafted got my attention.

A road trip was needed – actually, in this humble writer’s opinion – a road trip is always needed.

I contacted the General Managers of the Le Haute Desert Aerie, to see if we could have a tour of the property.

Darrein Seqqoya, who is one of the managers along with her husband, Ryan, stated: “We’d love to take you on a tour.”

“And we’d love to be taken on a tour,” I replied. “Are the Airstreams really shiny?”

“Excuse me,” she replied.

“The trailers, the Airstreams, they are so cool and shiny when the sun hits them just right.”

There was a pause. “Yes, they are.”

They are really shiny!

We set a date and time for our tour.

“You didn’t really ask if they were shiny, did you?” Laureen asked, as we headed east out of Lucerne Valley on 247.

I didn’t answer. It did sound rather inane, when stated back to me. Shiny, of course they would be – they’re Airstreams.

Before starting out, research was conducted and learned that the owners of Le Haute Desert Aerie, were Eric and Lori Mueller. Eric is an internationally known artist as well as a successful custom furniture designer and builder. He had painstakingly built each section of the desert getaway himself. Native stone, scavenged Joshua tree wood, and other natural materials were used to create a sanctuary, all on forty acres of rolling desert hills.

Laureen and John beneath the Spirit Portal

For nearly a decade, they have run an Airbnb, used primarily for commercial photographers and film industry rentals. But now, they have expanded and the entire forty acre compound or specific sections of it can be rented from two nights to three million nights. A huge portion of their business is a venue for weddings.

“The photographs on line were beautiful,” Laureen stated. “The whole place looks so serene.”

“We shall see after our tour,” I stated. Being a travel writer, I have to see for myself before making judgement calls with only internet photos as a baseline. I’m disciplined like that.

The directions given to us were perfect. Just a half mile east of the restaurant, Pappy’s and Harriet’s, in Pioneertown there is a very well graded dirt road heading north. Stay on it until it reaches Le Haute Desert Aerie. It’s that simple.

A public service announcement; do not use a GPS. The Pioneertown and Sawtooth Mountains play havoc with the satellites circling the earth. 

“It says to turn around, get out of the car, and roll around in the dirt.”

“Must be the right thing to do. It is the global positioning system, after all.”

Driving up to the main entrance to Le Haute Desert Aerie was very impressive. To the right is the main residence, a large multilevel structure which appears to have come out of a different country.

Recognizable right off is a large wood pergola stationed on the lower level from the entrance way. 

“That’s not from here,” I said.

“No, it’s from Tibet,” Ryan responded, as he and Darrien introduced themselves.

All the way from Tibet

This young couple have been the property managers, and marketing team, for the resort for nearly eight months. They moved to the site from San Diego, and haven’t regretted one second being somewhat off the grid.

“We really enjoyed San Diego,” Darrien said. “But living here, and meeting all the wonderful people who visit us, is so worth it.”

“It’s so peaceful here,” Ryan stated. 

Peaceful seemed in abundance. The views of the desert were wide and open. They were also open and wide.

“Let’s begin with the tour down at the Airstream village,” Darrien suggested.

John with the managers, Ryan and Darrien

And we did. Walking down dirt paths, we were shown a garden of trees – juju bean, cherry, apple, and a whole lot more that I can’t remember. Well-tended and loved.

“The whole property is on solar, even though we are on the grid,” Ryan said. “And we obtain our water from a large underground aquifer.”

According to the U.S. Geological Survey information, the aquifer within the Yucca Valley – Joshua Tree area, is huge, and with its annual recharging from runoffs of snow in the nearby mountains, there is plenty of water to be had.

Airstream Village consisted of two large shiny Airstream trailers, with large outdoor covered decks, fireplaces, barbeques, and awesome views of the desert and mountains to the west. 

One great aspect was the outdoor shower. Well, not outdoor exactly. There are doors for privacy, but when showering there is an open view of the surrounding territory for the showerer.  

“I bet the view from this shower is fabulous at night,” I said.

“All the views at night are fabulous,” Ryan replied. “The Milky Way is our window to the universe.”

Well said, young man, well said.

One of the outdoor showers, staring into the heavens

“We have people from all over,” Darrien reported, “and say they’ve never seen such night skies like we have here.”

The places most of the folks come from are Los Angeles, San Diego, and other places south and toward the coast. Though, according to the managers, they are starting to receive guests from all over the southwest.

This place, this Le Haute Desert Aerie has an entire feeling of the Bohemian to it. It has artsy written all over it. Eric has spent years upon years creating a canvass with layers of relaxed patterns, style, texture, color and warmth.

Each section a visitor would find themselves is different. No two spots within the forty acre refuge is the same.

We learned that as the tour continued past a rather large and gracefully designed natural lagoon. Here, guests can sit in chairs while lounging on the sandy beach, enjoying the coolness of the clear and cool waters. 

On a long winding path, we came to a sign which pointed to the left to Little Tibet and to the right Marrakesh. 

This was the Safari Tent section of the resort. The term is, glamping, short for large canvass tents, with soft queen sized beds, stoves, chairs, and outdoor decks to enjoy the views.

“Now, this is rough camping,” Laureen said.

If this is Glamping - count us in!

A few moments later we were at the main residence, also available for those who desire not only a bit more comfort, but a chance to see all the love Eric put into this home. It is hard to explain in words.

Door frames, doors, floor tiles, ceiling panels, windows seem to speak of other countries in which they have come. The home is that of an artist – an artist with a perfect eye for every detail.

The main house is incredible - that's the best way to describe it

“It is absolutely gorgeous,” Laureen stated.

I had to agree. 

For further information:

https://www.lehautedesertaerie.com/

The Wild West is Back in Business

The title of this posting is not a push for the government to arm all citizens but simply as a way to announce that in the Southwest with the coming of spring Old West historical towns are really open for business. These locales, of course, cater to curious tourists throughout the year but it's when the cactus blossoms are blooming and the air turns from winter crisp to warm days that the towns start to awaken. It is this awakening which allows the inquisitive to explore and wander back into the days of when the west was truly wild and woolly.

Towns such as Jerome and Tombstone in Arizona, Virginia City and Goldfield in Nevada, Bodie and Calico in California are shaking off the dark of the winter and welcoming the warmth of longer days and higher temperatures. Having been to these true old west towns too tough to die when the silver or gold ran out brings us to the headliner of this blog. A small simple wooden facaded town in the middle of the Mojave Desert which is probably one of the most recognised frontier towns from the 1880's through the 1890's is the focus on this date. This dirt street, wood side walked ramshackle appearing village never existed. It was a town built to resemble any of a number of real locales where men walked armed down the streets, bar brawls were a daily occurrence and for a days wage a casual lady may offer her friendship to a lonely cowboy or miner. It is a convenience invented by Hollywood for the purpose of filming westerns when westerns were king.

We visited this tiny burg recently and learned more about the place than we had expected and actually became part of the daily runnings of a mining town from the 1880's. The best part for this writer was shooting his 1873 Colt .45 Peacemaker to the thrill of nearly 100 tourists. Of course, for the safety of everyone any weapon being fired has to be a replica blank firing gun.

We are referring to Pioneertown just a few miles northwest from Yucca Valley, only 33 miles north from Palm Springs and a good drive of 124 miles east of Los Angeles but all worth the scenic drive and time.

The historically accurate time period town was created for movies and televisions shows by Hollywood in 1946 as an actual 'live in' town for stars to reside during filming and production. Along the Mane Street (not a typo) there are still about a dozen or so people living in the actual abodes built during that time period. Though the whole of Pioneertown boasts only a population of 350 souls it is well spread out through the cactus and Joshua tree vastness in a pocket of land at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains. This location allowed directors to film their subjects without too much interference from the winds which generally are constant through the Mojave Desert and kept most nosey and noisy airplanes out of the camera shots.

Over two hundred films were filmed at Pioneertown including but not limited to The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Scarlett Worm (2011), Last Chance (1999) as well as dozens of television series including but again not limited to The Gene Autry Show(1950), Range Riders (1951), Tales of the Frontier (2011) which is by our good friend Tino Luciano.

We had been invited to Pioneertown by another friend of J & L's, Jon Linn (an accomplished musician and actor) who runs a newly opened guitar shop in the center of Mane Street for a day of merry making with the Mane Street Stampede. The Stampede is a local group of western re-enactors who perform every Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on Mane Street (of course) in front of excited tourists looking for a bit of yesteryear from the wild west between the months of April (we were in the first show for the season) until October. These folks never fail to tantalize the crowds with gunfights, comedy routines, and a brief oral history of what life was like in the early days of the West.

Did I mention how much I enjoyed joining this group and shooting up the place with blanks?

During the show we met visitors from France, Italy, Germany (it appears, during our conversations with these fine people that Europeans are enthralled with the American West and will take any opportunity to visit and experience what it was like during the heydays of the late 19th century) and of course across this great country named America. Nothing but smiles, grins, laughter, and wide eyed expressions of wonder greeted the company of Mane Street Stampede during the thirty minute show. It was great time for all involved.

Though this town boasts a fabulous movie and television history one has to remember it is a living entity. By no means is Pioneertown a ghostly haunt but one of vibrant characters making a living through film making, artisan crafts (we met the owner of Chaparosa Outfitters, Gary Suppes, who was painstakingly and lovingly oiling a special order horse saddle which was a work of art), overnight accommodations (Pioneer Motel), and the wonderful eatery Pappy and Harriet's (the food is awesome and the service outstanding). This locale breathes life into every day of every year and it may be getting set for an unbelievable resurgence of the western film making days which started its existence back on September first in nineteen forty-six when Roy Rogers broke the ground for the first building. For sixty-three years this town has survived recessions, loss of interest in westerns but has always existed to entertain those who have a love for the old west. A time when people truly cared about each other, when families stayed close, when a neighbor would never think of turning their back when needed and especially when personal honor meant something more than a phrase in a sentence during a campaign speech.

The future never looked better for Pioneertown with the new film by Disney, The Lone Ranger, being released in July starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. Doing a little research with some folks in the 'know' there is speculation that westerns will be returning the the big screen for the next ten years. The romance, the adventure, the story of Americana, and where the good guy always wins will be the shining light for years to come. It's when a man (no unintended political incorrectness) took responsibility for his own actions and never blamed someone else but simply got knocked down, pulled himself  back up by his boot straps and moved on to make a better tomorrow for himself and the rest of society. Hard work. Long hours. And at the end of the day as the sun set in the west knew he had down as best he could on his own or with the help of his close friends.

It was and is what made the United States the envy of the world.

The West is back - don't put your holsters away!

For further information on the above topics:

 

www.manestreetstampede.com

http://johnlinnband.com/index.html

http://www.lawdogproductions.com/

www.pappyandharriets.com

http://disney.go.com/the-lone-ranger