booking rooms

hey all, when you are booking your accommodations don't forget to mention they are for the Neubacher-Caligure wedding party! some of you have been turned away from places we have blocked out but they are blocked out for YOU :-) those places include: spin & margie's, pioneertown lodge & stables, green acres ranch, and rattler ranch (see lodging low-down post below for all the deets).

camping is also available at the wedding site for $25 per night. there is a communal bathroom with a shower on site and we'll be renting one or two lovely portapotties as well. bring your gear and find your special spot on 10 gorgeous desert acres. contact Jim Austin at ranchjack@gmail.com or 760.228.1297 for reservations. pony on up, october is coming soon!

amazing adventures in desertland

why all the way out in the dusty desert you ask?! our chosen wedding location fulfills the following deep desires to:

1. bring together all the people we love most in the world
2. bring those same people to a place we love most in the world
3. provide you all an opportunity for new connections and re-connections
4. offer everyone an escape and a much-deserved vacation
5. maximize quality time together & create new memories

here are just a few of the activities available to you during your visit. stay as long as you can!

• explore joshua tree national park. it would be a sin to come to the high desert and not spend some time here. hopefully a lot of time. $15 buys you a week long pass of hiking, bouldering, exploring, photographing, marveling. pure magic.
  
• take the key's ranch tour. "the ranger-guided tour of the ranch includes the colorful story of the 60 years Bill & Frances Keys spent working together to make a life and raise their five children in the remote Mojave desert. The ranch house, school house, store, & workshop still stand; the orchard has been replanted; & the grounds are full of the cars, trucks, mining equipment, & spare parts that are a part of the Desert Queen Ranch story."
• take a sound bath at the integratron. this structure is "a machine that was the creation of George Van Tassel, and is based on the design of Moses' Tabernacle, and the science of Nikola Tesla. this one-of-a-kind building is a 38-foot high, 55-foot diameter, non-metallic structure originally designed as a rejuvenation and time machine. today, it is the only all-wood, acoustically perfect sound chamber in the U.S." ...and it sits on a powerful geomagnetic vortex. TRIP.OUT.
• get some grub & suds at pappy & harriet's pioneertown palace. music venue, biker bar, family restaurant, real deal road house and the cornerstone of pioneertown. BBQ and veggie food, pool tables, all ages and the place EVERYONE ends up at the end of the day!
• visit the Noah Purifoy sculpture garden. he was one of the leading assemblage artists in the country and left behind acres of striking found-object protest art with race-conscious overtones. free, unstaffed, & a little eerie but in a good way.
• catch a gun fight by Pioneertown's "premier old-west re-enactors, perform FREE comedy skits, old-west historical re-enactments and the best durn wild-west shoot-outs on Mane Street in Pioneertown." word has it, they are often wasted drunk.
• go horseback riding through the national park or around pioneertown. seems like a pretty cool way to experience this place, just don't try to get all cowboy and indian on them!
  

kids & the desert: a loving warning

as much as we love kiddos, and yours especially, we feel it our duty to warn you of the desert dangers that unfortunately lurk for children out here. the high desert may look peaceful but when it comes to flora and fauna, it can be harsh and is teeming with risky adventure for the walking and crawling wee ones: snakes, scorpions, and the most common of all, jumping cholla cactus are in abundance. we adults can more successfully avoid these dangers (or at least drink enough to withstand the pain) and we would much rather see you relaxing than removing cactus spines and fretting while here. please consider our loving warning and do what ever you feel will make this the blissful getaway you all deserve.

CHOICE DEALS ON TRAVEL

It's not too early to book your flights, in fact there are some really sweet deals popping up with the airlines right now...might want to grab them while you can. Even the crowd favorite, Virgin, is offering crazy good fares. If you are traveling from New York, Boston, or SF, click here. Your J-Tree vacation adventure just keeps getting better & better!

LODGING LOW DOWN

Scoot & I just returned from a very productive visit to Joshua Tree where we gathered copious amounts of info for your planning delight.

Luckily, there is an abundance of very cool places to stay within a fair range of pricing. Not to worry, this photo is not a part of any places listed! Here is the detailed low down:

The wedding site, Rim Rock Ranch, is 10 minutes off Highway 62 (a.k.a. 29 Palms Hwy), at about 4500' elevation and just past Pioneertown. The closest town after Pioneertown is Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, then 29 Palms (all off Hwy 62...super easy layout). In closest order to wedding site:

Pioneertown Lodge and Stables
http://www.pioneertownmotel.com
PROS: This is going to be your closest and 2nd most affordable option, unless you go for a big group housing deal somewhere. Most cabins have kitchenettes. Extra bonus: directly behind Pappy & Harriet's so you can safely stumble right home to bed. Owners Rachel & Bingo are very nice young rockers defected from LA. Oh and if you happen to bring your horse, you can lodge him for free.
CONS: Not exactly the lap of luxury but high marks on character!

Joshua Tree Inn
http://www.joshuatreeinn.com
Really basic but fun & charming, in its own run-down but Graham Parsons-took-his-last-breath-here cool-factor-goes-a-long-way-here kind of way.
PRO: Cheapest option with a shockingly big pool (pools are strangely hard to come by in the desert?). Super cool owner. Room 8 is haunted by Graham's ghost. Trust us, we speak from experience!
CON: A little busted but way Rock-n-Roll. We didn't block anything out so if you want it, book now.

Joshua Tree Highlands Houses
http://www.joshuatreehighlandshouse.com
PROS: Private Desert Vacation Rentals each on 5 acres with panoramic mountain views AND their own outdoor hot tubs. These are all GORGEOUS, all are visible to each other and within 20 walking or 3 driving minutes, complete with mod furnishings, adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park for easy park access, did we mention they are GORGEOUS? Oh and the owners are super. Lots of group options. Pet Friendly. We especially heart Villa Rocosa. Swank!
CONS: not many. About 20 minutes from the wedding site. Maybe a tad spendy but you get what you pay for here...style AND quality. They ask for full payment up front when you book but our family has been able to talk them down to 50% so make sure to request that if helpful to you. We couldn't block these out so get them while you can!

Rattler Ranch (Joshua Tree)
http://www.rattlerjoshuatree.com
PROS: Very cute with a little bit of an arty vibe. Owner Diane is great. The Casita sleeps up to 4 people and the Mustang up to 3, with a discount for booking both ($275). Resident Tortoise on site. Pet Friendly. Both held aside for the Neubacher-Caligure party.
CONS: another 5 minutes up highway 62, making it about 25 min from Rim Rock Ranch.

Spin & Margie's Desert Hideaway (Joshua Tree)
http://www.deserthideaway.com
PROS: To stay at Spin & Margie's is to love Spin & Margie's. Just ask us! These folks do it right and are as nice as could possibly be (kind of a running theme in the high desert it seems). 5 cute-as-heck cabins on a GREAT piece of property. We toured each cabin and they are ALL fab. Kitchens, personality, private & shared patios, communal grill, bocce ball court, desert found-object art, even a resident barn owl. This property would be PERFECT for a bunch of friends. We were able to block out all 5 cabins, yay! But Mindy asks that you book asap before attendees of the Roots Festival being held that same weekend start banging down their door. Saved under Neubacher-Caligure wedding.
CONS: about 27 minutes from the wedding site but conveniently right off Highway 62.

Green Acres Ranch (Joshua Tree)
http://www.thegreenacresranch.com
PROS: A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. Walking distance from Spin & Margie's so a group booking would extend over here very well (discount for booking both). I fell in love with this place. It has so much warm vintage charm and every detail is thought of. Two very homey cabins on fantastic property. Sits on a large, totally private parcel and both cabins have awesome patios (the Road Runner cabin even has its own giant koi pond!). Can walk right onto Park grounds from property. Pet Friendly but only outdoors (cute dog houses with their own protected mini yards).
CONS: Heated by wood-burning stoves (this could be a PRO, too, depending on your taste for the rustic). Maybe a tad more $ than other places considering they are only double occupancies but wow, what a sweet treat to yourselves! Website does not do this place justice. Both are held under Neubacher-Caligure.

Desert Lily Bed & Breakfast (Joshua Tree)
http://www.thedesertlily.com
We ran out of time and didn't make it here but spoke with owner Carrie and she was very nice and very proud of her place.
PRO: Bed & Breakfast usually means cozy and yummy. $155 a night seems reasonable.
CON: No first hand accounts to go by.

Hope this is enough to wet your whistles!

P.S. BIG UP to Ms. Jamie Street for our lovely Save the Dates and for ALL of her amazing help. A great inspiration she is!

Wedding Info & Other Shameless Self Promotion of Our Love

Welcome loved ones! This blog was put together to keep you all in the loop and provide a one stop shop for all things regarding our wedding. We hope you find it easy to navigate, and fun to look at too. Feel free to contact us if anything is overlooked or unclear. We like the convenience that technology can afford, but we prefer 'real' human contact so this blog is not meant to replace that. We'd love and hope to hear from you! Can't wait to share our magical weekend with you, and thanks for all your amazing love and support!!