When we lived in California, we lived in a small town in what we referred to as the high desert. The high desert is actually in the Mojave Desert and the name of that town is Ridgecrest. And since you have probably never heard of it, I’ve included this nice little map to show you where it is.

Ridgecrest only exists because the government decided to put a Navy base smack dab in the middle of the desert in the 1940’s.  A Navy base in the desert, ponder that! Ridgecrest is fairly isolated. To shop at an actual mall you have to drive 90 minutes south to Lancaster or San Bernadino or over and through the Sierra Nevada mountains to Bakersfield.

The desert is alive with snakes, lizards, scorpions, tarantulas, black widows, sun spiders, which are also called vinegaroons. They are without a doubt the ugliest bug you’ve ever laid eyes on, and just to prove it I’m showing you a picture.

Moving up the food chain, there are jack rabbits, fox, coyotes, bobcats, owls, roadrunners (beep, beep) and various other birds. Oh, and we can’t forget the mustangs. The Navy base is very large and is home to a herd of wild horses, plus wild donkeys. There are also Native American petroglyphs in the rocky hills that lie within the bounds of the base.  These are really amazing and I encourage you to check out this article that was in the Los Angeles Times: “To see these Mojave Desert petroglyphs, you first have to pass a Navy screening“.

And now it’s also home to the cutest little idea… Ridgecrest, CA Rocks!  It all started as a facebook page called… you guessed it:  Ridgecrest, CA Rocks!  A community in the desert of southern California is inspiring creativity, unity and pride with; of all things, rocks! #Ridgecrest #RidgecrestCARocks Click To Tweet

This is there introductory statement:  “Welcome to Ridgecrest, CA. Rocks! This group was created as a community forum for individuals who’d like to participate in painting, hiding and finding rocks in the Ridgecrest area.  The goal is to have fun, inspire creativity, and promote positivity and unity in our community, as well as encouraging people to get out and explore the beautiful area in which we live.

Anyone can participate, and it’s not difficult.  Just find a rock, paint anything you’d like on it, whether that’s a picture, a positive message, or anything else, and then hide it in a public area to be found by someone else.

Some people just paint rocks, some people just hide rocks, and some do both.  Any participation is welcome!  If you find a rock, it’s yours.  You can keep it, leave it, or re-hide it.  Just make sure to take a photo and post it in this group for us all to enjoy!”

Kids and adults alike are having a blast with this!  My daughter and grandchildren have found, painted and hidden rocks.  Their beautiful creations are in the picture above.

So tell me, do you live in a community or neighborhood that might be inspired by doing something like this?

P.S.  One more interesting little tidbit of info:  The highest point in the continental United States is Mt. Whitney.  The lowest point in the continental United States is Death Valley and they are only 85 miles apart as the crow flies.  From Ridgecrest it is 91 miles to Mt. Whitney and 121 miles to Death Valley.  A land of contradiction!

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