The deserts of the American Southwest have long been associated with paranormal activity. Doesn’t the thought of little grey aliens, UFOs and conspiracies make you feel warm and fuzzy all over? Area 51 in Nevada may be the bull’s eye of all of this hoopla, but the 29 Palms Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command / Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center or MAGTFTC/MCAGCC comes in a close second. This area has been a hotbed of supposed UFO sightings and contacts since the early 1950s.
I have to preface this blog by saying that I spend alot of time outside, in the daytime, and especially under the nighttime desert sky, very near the 29 Palms Marine Base. I have never seen anything so unusual that it could not be explained as a military vehicle, military flares, satellites or natural phenomenon. Reports of UFO activity abound in the beautiful Mojave Desert, especially in this area. Where and when did it all begin?
Mr. George Van Tassel, a former test pilot for Howard Hughes, correctly predicted a UFO incident over Washington, DC one week before it occurred in 1952. This notoriety may have boosted his popularity. Later, in August 1953, he lived adjacent to the 29 Palms Marine Base in a hollowed out crevice under what is considered by some to be the largest freestanding boulder in the world, “Giant Rock” in Landers California. Here, he claimed to have been visited by the shadowy figure of a humanoid from Venus. Standing at the foot of his sleeping bag, the alien announced, “I am Solganda, and I would be pleased to show you my craft”. Van Tassel wrote that he was led to a hovering UFO and stepped into what he described as a butter-colored light emanating from the underside of the craft. He claims that he was taken on a tour of the ship and told that he had been chosen to bring a message of peace and interplanetary brotherhood to his fellow earthlings. Giant Rock then grew to become the UFO capital of the world and for a short time hosted huge UFO conventions. In 1959 over 11,000 people attended a UFO convention at Giant Rock.
Mr. Van Tassel also claimed that these aliens instructed him to construct a human rejuvenation machine, a 20th century Fountain of Youth. In Mr. Van Tassel’s mediation sessions under Giant Rock, he believed he received vital information from alien sources on the design of this machine. He developed the building and its location with direct input from his alien designers. Van Tassel believed that this machine would someday rejuvenate human cells using the natural energy found in the atmosphere; he called the device the “Integratron”. He worked on this project almost 20 years until his death. It was never fully completed.
To add to the aura of this area, it has been reported that there are caves on the 29 Palms Marine Base that are the center of alien activity. Some say that the alien bodies from Roswell were brought to 29 Palms for underground storage in the 1950s. There are reports of whole mountains opening up and cameras being lowered into these caves only to have the cables cut. There are even stories of a Desert Bigfoot known as Yucca Man that some believe to be an alien manifestation.
On a side note, on the morning of February 21, 2000 a big chunk of Giant Rock broke off and fell to the ground. Many people thought it was a warning sign of something larger, a supernatural event on the horizon. Today Giant Rock sees an occasional visitor, and sometimes is the spot for teenage parties, but the home that was carved out underneath the rock is gone. You can now visit the Integratron and for a nominal price enjoy a sound bath inside the structure, and occasionally they host a much smaller Retro-UFO Convention. As far as the 29 Palms Marine Base, the Marines are exploring the possibility of growing and expanding the base westward. This is a hotly debated political battle between the U.S. Military and the off-road community.
As for me, I am still looking for my own signs from the heavens, or maybe these aliens have no interest in me? Either way, thirty-six years in the Mojave Desert and I have seen nothing totally unexplainable. I will keep looking and if I ever do have an encounter, this blog will be the first place that I will report the incident and attempt to convert you into a believer.
Take It Easy – Mojave
I remember driving out to 29 Palms marine base with my band from LA to do a gig. When we arrived they said the gig was booked for Saturday the next night. We turned around to make the drive back to LA, but decided to pull over have a beer and share a joint to savour the desert air. As we sat in the back of the van we started talking about our various theories of the universe. I said I was convinced there were parallel universes on microscopic levels. As we talked I said as a matter of fact I see our earth how you would see a chip board with resisters & transistors. At this point I notice my fellow band members are glass eyed and in a kind of trance and I been having some kind of telepathic conversation with an unknown entity. I start feeling frightened wondering what is going on. Suddenly we all rise to get out of the van to relieve ourselves in the desert. As I\’m taking a leak I look up in the sky and see two white lights high up in the stratosphere doing geometric patterns in tandem perfectly spaced from each. When we get back to LA it\’s 3am we\’ve lost 2 unaccounted for hours. As we drop the last member of the band near north Hollywood we notice 2 police pointing in the sky at a low flying UFO I yell at the officers saying \”you see it, I see it\”. The next day the LA Times report UFOs buzz desert towns. I believe the date was spring 1978. This incident I\’ve written about in my book \”Rock n Roll & UFOs\” published 2016 by Gonzo Media
Interesting, Thanks 🙂
Mojave
I was a Marine at MCAGCC
Their is a underground base near the old Gold mine. There is a large grinding stone next to the mine, and about a 1,000 meters, South East of the mine is a rocky mountain, that’s about 800 feet tall, in that mountain is the underground base. The mine is in the Delta Cordor. The mountain is sounded on the ground by fine sand that contains gold dust.
My email address is not real, but the base is very much real.
Hey Jimi, The U2 Joshua Tree is near Death Valley here is a blog I wrote about it you might find interesting: https://www.desertusa.com/dusablog/love-u2-album-joshua-tree-u2-lets-krek-accross-mojave.html
hey Mojave let’s not forget the fact that that day that that giant rock piece broke off happen to be the same day that the Joshua tree that was on the U2 album the Joshua tree that’s right by giant rock fell over and died if that’s a coinkydink oh well just another coinkydink out here Morongo basin.
Peace, Jimi McCartney (Joshua Tere Salsa Company/McCartney Electric)
Yes, Mojavepines@gmail.com Email me anytime 🙂
Hi There…
Was combing through the older comments and your email was given mojavepines@gmail.com… is it still valid? I just moved into the area of 29 Palms last week… Love to ask you some questions, share some things etc. I moved here suddenly, and had no idea about the rich history of the area and surrounding areas. Ufo’s etc etc. So would it be cool to email that gmail? if still valid? thanks
Hey Frank, I have heard many similar stories from friends. I have lived here 42 years. I have things “ODD” but that could be explained as military but I am still watching almost nightly from the comfort of my Jacuzzi ?
Hey Mike, I have heard many similar stories from friends. I have lived here 42 years and have seen nothing but I am still looking 🙂
I am a retired Marine, myself, and about 20 other marines saw huge blue object rise from the valley floor against a mountain, about 2-3 miles from us one night in 1984 while training aboard the Marine corps base in 29 Palms. It floated up and over the mountain in about 10 minutes. It was huge, it looked as large as a big house. The captain in charge, said if we told anyone, he would deny it, because no one would believe us. Over my 21 years in the Corps, i talked to another marine who saw the same thing late one night several years later, while on guard duty at the ammo dump, near that area. That area is in the DELTA CORRIDER deep inside the base. It is a live fire area, and is off limits. I think they probably have some craft in the mountain, and sometimes bring it out late at night to test it. When i was training in Norway, i saw a huge area they carved out of a mountain to park / store aircraft, tanks, etc.
Hello Mojave, totally by coincidence I came across your ‘Blog’…
I’m Dutch, so Desert is just a word for me, although I have been Down Under …
But HOW I found your page is s little strange, but not really after all. I’ll try to explain.
I’m reading the book series from Charles J. Hall and the Tall White Aliens, … quite something …
I studied the locations mentioned via Google Earth and found a lot of strange area’s.
Now reading part 5, about the Grey’s, again I was trying to find the location with no luck.
Although I became very impressed by the Desert down there !
Feeling I was getting quite close with Cadiz in sight.
Looking for an east-west canyon I hit ‘road 62’ and zoomed in. OK Twenty nine Palms showed up, so I zoomed in a little further and suddenly Google Earth started to act Goofy! A large piece of the town was ‘Greyed out’…. Knowing that the US does not really hide it’s Military installations, it seemed a little strange to me.
Something really special must be going on here ! Even the top secret locations on Antarctica are edited more subtle.
Not knowing how or what, I looked 29 Palms up in Google and found your page as first !
Never been superstitious, but straight away I knew this was my answer.
You describe it so well, grey aliens, paranormal activity, the story about the visitor from Mars (I am aware of Dr. Frank Stranges and Val Thor) … now it all falls into place for me.
Thank you for making your Blog !
Thank You for your comment 🙂
I seen the sign of baal over the herizon where the sun comes up there using chem trails & drones to do this!
Thank you for your insight Phil, I can see how the two events could be related. Very Cool 🙂
I encountered Harold Dierdorff (about 92 years old) while waiting at Sams Club in Phoenix, AZ in December, 2015 and listened to him tell the tale of Giant Rock, CA. We are both USAF veterans and I love to hear the tales other vets have. He said he liked to explore the Mohave Desert as a teenager and encountered Frank Critzer, a German immigrant who was living in a room carved out under Giant Rock. He accepted an invitation to see the inside of Mr Critzers residence. He said there was a tunnel from the room to the other side of the rock to provide cross ventilation. The military detected short-wave signals coming from the rock and began investigating it. Dierdorff insists that Mr Critzer was a German spy and when he learned he was being investigated, he blew himself up in the cave in July of 1942, splattering his remains all over the interior of the room under the rock. The military eventually filled in the cavity and all was forgotten. But when Harold Dierdorff learned the rock had split in the year 2000, he knew it was caused by the dynamite explosion. He claims no one has put the two events together but he is convinced they are related. He said he has never told this story to anyone before, so I am passing it on to this blog. -Phil Smith, Sun City, AZ
Thanks for your comment, you can always email me at mojavepines@gmail.com.
Hey Mojave, I currently live in Yucca Valley and I am very interested in local lore, especially indigenous, as well as being a rockhound and a stargazer. I would very much appreciate any feedback or location tips someone with your experience might provide. I would also like to add that I have seen aerial phenomena of a very exotic nature in the High Desert skies recently. I may not get back to this blog but I believe you have my email and I would enjoy hearing from you and relating what I have seen if you ever have the time. Thanks 🙂
Hey Linda, Yes you can its still there but a big chunk did fall off a few years back, it was pretty amazing. The underground house is gone also but the rock is still there to see. It has become a party place for youngsters. Thanks for your comment.
Can people still visit Giant Rock? I’d like to show my kids next time we’re up in Yucca Valley.
Thanks Linda, those were fun times I am sure.
Thanks for posting this – I was at that convention! I was about 5 years old. We had just moved to Yucca.
Hey Stacy,
Giant Rock withstood the Landers and the Hector Mine quakes though they could have weakened it. Some think that the nearby bombing on the Marine Base might have vibrated it to the point of breaking. Once a small crack develops water gets inside and freezes and the process begins. There were campers a few yards away that night that were pretty shaken up. Giant Rock has an interesting history before Mr. Van Tassel. Supposedly this rock was worshipped by Native Americans and legends told of the day that the rock would split and a new era would be upon us. There was also a German Prospector, Mr. Critzer, that lived in the underground house before Van Tassel, he was mistaken for a spy and the government threw tear gas inside which ignited his dynamite killing Mr. Critzer. I am not sure of the exact date but after Van Tassels 1978 death, the government filled in the underground house for safety purposes, I belive it was the early 1980’s. There is alot more to tell about Giant Rock’s history, maybe I will discuss it in a future blog, I only touched on the UFO aspect in this one. Thanks for the interesting question Stacy.
Jeff
Mojave,
I thought the piece that fell away from Giant Rock did so during the Landers quake, not so? And what about the living space? Was it filled in or what? I remember partying down there, when we were soooo not supposed to be….can you say trespassing???
Stacy