Gram Parsons'Hickory Wind'

[becca da bakkah]

8. I Live About Six Miles From......

....Giant Rock. In Landers, the armpit of the high desert! Even though it's now a National Park, old locals, like myself, still call Joshua Tree, "The Monument". About 1/4 of the front of Giant Rock fell off, mostly due to graffiti & vandalism, about 15 years ago.

Original owner/resident, Frank Critzer, actually build a home underneath the rock back in the early '50's. Unfortunately, that's all gone now, with the front of the rock fallen off. I remember seeing Critzer's living quarters under the rock several times as a kid. Giant Rock measured at 7 stories tall, and 6000 square feet.

There used to be tours where you walked down a couple flights of stairs into what looked like a cozy study; books, a few comfortable chairs, kerosene lamps, etc. During the UFO conventions held on the same site, there was a small store and cafe, also now long gone

Too bad I missed Gram and Emmylou dancing by the rock!