Joshua Tree National Park

by Perette Barella

This travelogue features images from our visit to the Anza-Borrego desert, Coachella Valley, Joshua Tree National Park and the 29 Queer Film Festival in 29 Palms, California.

Contents

1. Unarius Academy

September 18, 2024

Opal and I were invited to 29 Queer Film Festival for a screening of our short film Are You Sure. We flew into San Diego ahead of time to visit relatives, staying in El Cahon—just a block down the street from Unarius Academy.

Perette Barella and Opal Wright
Perette and Opal in front of a mural at the Unarius Academy.
Unarius is a space cult that had its hayday in the 1980s, when they spread their message of peaceful space brothers via bright, colorful costumes on cable-access stations across the country.

Headquartered in El Cahon, CA, my impression is the organization provided a place for isolated or lost souls. The organization's leader, Uriel, proclaimed visions of an optimistic, bright future; and Unarius encouraged their members' creativity with more than words: they invested in sewing machines, recording studios, cameras and video editing equipment and more.

And boy did their members create. Bright, beautiful, and at least a little kooky, they put their creativity to the task of spreading the message of the space brothers, and the peace that would come when humanity reconnected with them.

Opal and I were privileged to see Children of the Stars, a documentary about the group and its history, on the big screen at the Maryland Film Festival earlier this year. It's a fascinating watch.

Perette Barella and Opal Wright
Perette and Opal at another Unarius mural.

2. Anza-Borrego Desert

September 19, 2024

I believe that the choice is not just whether or not to go, but who to travel with, the route to take, and where to stop along the way. In this case, instead of taking the highway, we took the scenic route to 29 Palms. The scenery was fucking astounding.

Mountains line the horizon in Warner Springs, California
Mountains line the horizon in Warner Springs, California.
Mountains and plains of Warner Springs, California
Mountains and plains of Warner Springs, California.
Anza Borrego desert, California
Looking down from high above the Anza Borrego desert— probably a few thousand feet up.
Anza Borrego desert, California
A panorama of the desert.
Wash in Anza Borrego desert
A "wash" in the desert. Although rain is sparse, the lack of plants, soil and wetlands to slow down the water makes for flash floods that cut their way around rock, carrying away the sand. This gully is perhaps 500 feet deep.
Panorama of desert wash
A panorama of the wash.

3. Joshua Tree National Park

September 19, 2024
Smoke wash, Joshua Tree National Park
The desert extends forever near Smoke Wash in Joshua Tree National Park.
Rain clouds in the west at Joshua Tree National Park
Rain clouds in the west at Joshua Tree National Park.
Porcupine Wash, Joshua Tree National Park
The desert near Porcupine Wash.
Rains at Joshua Tree National Park
The clouds in the west bring some rain.
Cholla cactus
Cholla cactus.
Cholla garden, Joshua Tree National Park
Rains have moved on to the east while we visit the Cholla garden.
Perette Barella and Opal Wright
Opal nuzzles Perette at the Cholla Garden.

4. 29QFF Day 1

September 19, 2024

We made it to 29 Palms mid-afternoon, early enough to check in, get settled and visit the Ace Hardware before heading to the 5:30pm opening film, Papi's Pregnant.

Later on was a collection of Queer Horror shorts.

29 Palms Inn
We stayed in the "penthouse" at the 29 Palms Inn, which sits above the office.

5. Joshua Tree National Park

September 20, 2024

Being on east-coast time, Opal and I woke early. With plenty of time before the first Saturday show at 2:30pm, we returned to Joshua Tree National Park and explored some more.

Opal Wright
Opal with a Joshua tree. Joshua trees are multi-stalk palm-like trees; this one is rather tall.
A common side-blotched lizard
A common side-blotched lizard.
Joshua trees at Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua trees as far as the eye can see.
Joshua Tree National Park
A gibbous moon lingers over the morning desert.
Key View, Joshua Tree National Park
From a mile up (5180ft), Key View overlooks Palm Springs (elevation 480ft) in the Coachella Valley, nearly a mile below. The San Andreas fault runs through the valley.
San Jacinto Mountain
San Jacinto Mountain, seen from Keys View in the park.
San Gorgonio Pass
In the distance, obscured somewhat by closer terrain, the San Gorgonio Pass separates the San Jacinto Mountains (left) from the San Bernadino Mountains (right).
Joshua Tree National Park
Millions of years ago, this terrain was fertile. But declining rains (driving by changing weather patterns, themselves due to growing mountains caused by plate tectonics deep in the earth uplifting the ground) meant less plant growth; fewer plants meant fewer roots to anchor soil in place. The ground gradually eroded to just the rocks, which over the millennia have been worn smooth. Sand settled in low-lying areas. Leaving this.
Arch Rock at Joshua Tree National Park
Arch Rock at Joshua Tree National Park.

6. 29QFF Day 2

September 20, 2024

The film festival resumed with The People's Joker, a spectacular film that parodies the 2019 mainstream film Joker. Instead of telling the creation story of a fictional character, though, the story is adapted to tell the coming-of-age/coming out/figuring-self-out story of the transsexual protagonist. It is a full-length film comprised of a mix of live action and animation, and so much better than another schlocky, gritty (because everything has to be gritty these days) backstory film about some comic-book character.

Evening featured a shorts program, including a first-time film Caterpillar, by a local who single-handedly shot the film on her iPhone and edited and scored it. It is beautiful and inspiring. She also does amazing still photography.

The final feature of the day was the premiere of the short film Willa Justice: Drag Queen Private Eye, which was a hoot. There was also a drag show by Lady Chilane, who played the lead role. The filmmakers say they are looking into doing a feature film; if they can keep up the comedic pace that the short has, it would be very fun and I think a very successful film.

7. 29QFF Day 3

September 21, 2024

The final day of the film festival, our short ran in another grouping of shorts at noon. The set included Not Dating, a lighthearted take on the challenges of dating during the pandemic.

Much darker—but amazing—was Blue Square Heart. This film follows someone who, at a young age, is sent to a therapist who uses conversion therapy on them. How's that influence their adult self? For more on this film, check out this interview with the filmmaker.

I've talked about a few of the films, but there were several others. All were great— Jonathan and Graham, who organized the festival, did an amazing job curating. I loved the small-town, community feel of this festival. If you're looking for a friendly, queer-oriented film festival, consider 29QFF. And on the way there, take the scenic route—it's worth it.

Opal Wright
On the way home, we made a pilgrimage to the World Famous Crochet Museum in Joshua Tree, California.
Opal Wright in the World Famous Crochet Museum
Opal Wright in the World Famous Crochet Museum.