The Morongo Basin is centrally located in the southern part of California. The basin consists of Joshua Tree National Park, and the communities of Landers, Joshua Tree, Morongo Valley, Pioneertown, Twentynine Palms, Wonder Valley, and Yucca Valley. The basin stretches from Interstate 10 in the south to Interstate 40 in the north. It lies within the High Desert region and the Mojave Desert.

I’ve taken several trips to this part of the southern California desert, catching glimpses of past treasures and observing what has happened to them. Desert Christ Park is one of these treasures and was once know as the Morongo Basin Lure. I’ve twice walked the grounds of this once beautiful garden where the statues continue to struggle to stand against earthquakes, vandalism and neglect. Surrounded by the statues, it’s impossible not to appreciate the passion that drove (Frank) Antone Martin to take on such an incredible artistic challenge. Exhausted and worn by the many hundreds of tons of concrete that he personally prepared and carried, his final project resulted in his illness and death on December 23, 1961, at the age of 74.