Hi-Desert Scrapbook is a community-built, creatively curated venture celebrating the people, stories, and spirit of the Joshua Tree region. Part scrapbook, part family album, part time capsule, it blends short profiles of local artists, musicians, venues, and notables with snapshots, quotes, histories, memories, artifacts, essays, and ephemera — the kind of textured, layered storytelling that reflects the scrappy life out here.
The book is being assembled with help from the community — through submitted photos, memories, artwork, and stories. It’s not and not intended to be a definitive catalog or guidebook, but rather a handmade, human collection: a visual and textual poem for this place of weird beauty we call home.
More soon!
Hi-Desert Scrapbook is a community-built, creatively curated venture celebrating the people, stories, and spirit of the Joshua Tree region. Part scrapbook, part family album, part time capsule, it blends short profiles of local artists, musicians, venues, and notables with snapshots, quotes, histories, memories, artifacts, essays, and ephemera — the kind of textured, layered storytelling that reflects the scrappy life out here.
The book is being assembled with help from the community — through submitted photos, memories, artwork, and stories. It’s not and not intended to be a definitive catalog or guidebook, but rather a handmade, human collection: a visual and textual poem for this place of weird beauty we call home.
More soon!
FAQs
Who’s putting this together?
My name’s Will Amato. I’m a local designer, animator, and independent publisher who’s called Yucca Valley home for the last six years. I’ve been inspired by the people, stories, and strangeness of this high desert community — the artists, the oddballs, the generous spirits, the landscape itself. This book is my way of gathering all that into something lasting. With a little help from you and a few hundred mugs of strong coffee.
So it’s a coffee table book?
Yeah, you could call it a coffee table book — but not the fancy kind that just sits there. I’m aiming for something that’s beautiful but approachable, full of stories and snapshots you can flip through fast or fall into for a while. Some pages rough and sun-bleached, others unexpectedly glamorous — kind of like life up here. Kind of like you folks.
What kind of stuff are you collecting?
Photos: Polished or grainy. Old or just taken. Quotes: Funny, poetic, offhand, overheard. Snapshots of your neighbor’s goat.Stories about the time it rained sideways, or you saw the desert burning, or you witnessed a UFO. Snapshots. Scribbled notes. Found objects. Overheard wisdom. Quips and jokes. Things people said at 2 a.m. Art. Graffiti. Love letters to the landscape.
Anything that captures the strangeness and spirit of life out here.
How can I get involved?
Easy: keep an eye out for the questionnaire forms we’ll be sharing online, where you can submit your own stories, snapshots, and desert memories. Please join the mailing list below to get updates. You can also follow our Facebook page for updates, calls for contributions, and occasional bursts of enthusiastic punctuation. This book is made from what people offer, so if you’ve got something to say or show—speak up.
Do I have to live in the Hi-Desert to contribute?
This is a Hi-Desert love letter — centered on Morongo, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, 29 Palms, Wonder Valley, and their dusty cousins nearby. If you’re from the low desert but have a regular relationship with these parts (weekend pilgrimages count!), or if what you’re sharing is desert-relevant, then by all means — jump in.
Will everything get printed?
Probably not. There’s only so much room in the book. But everything will be read, considered, and appreciated. Think of it like a scrapbook wall — some stuff makes the page, some lives in the drawer, but it all matters.
When’s it coming out?
We’re aiming for sometime in October — but like a good desert bloom, it’ll show up when the time is right.
If you’d like to contribute, or receive updates, please fill out the email form below.