The hook
An artist spent the last fifteen years of his life turning ten acres of open desert into a walk-through city of sculptures built from junk, and left it unfenced on purpose.
01Why it's worth it
Noah Purifoy helped found the Watts Towers Arts Center in Los Angeles, and after the 1965 Watts riots he made a body of work out of the charred debris. In 1989, at seventy-two, he moved to the high desert outside Joshua Tree and didn't stop until he died in 2004. What he left is a hundred-odd large assemblages spread across the sand, built from whatever came to hand: bowling balls, toilets, bicycle wheels, cafeteria trays, dead televisions, corrugated metal. Most are big enough to walk into. He never fenced the place, because he wanted the work to sit in the landscape and weather with it, and it does, bleaching and rusting and leaning into the wind. It's free, open every day from sunup to sundown, and it's one of the most affecting things in the desert. Bring water and expect to stay longer than you planned.
02How to experience it
It's on Blair Lane outside Joshua Tree, about eight hours from the Bay. Free, no gate, open dawn to dusk, and a donation is the right thing to leave. Go early or late to duck the heat, wear real shoes for the sand and sharp metal, and give it an hour at the least.