1
00:00:01,999 --> 00:00:05,250
It's tall.

2
00:00:05,250 --> 00:00:07,999
It's distinctive.

3
00:00:07,999 --> 00:00:09,999
.it's like the 
palm of your hand,

4
00:00:09,999 --> 00:00:12,999
radiates out from a 
central point.

5
00:00:12,999 --> 00:00:15,999
It's graceful.

6
00:00:15,999 --> 00:00:22,751
It's popular.

7
00:00:22,751 --> 00:00:24,375
These are vicious spines.

8
00:00:24,375 --> 00:00:29,999
And parts of it 
are delicious.

9
00:00:30,334 --> 00:00:32,209
Funding for 
The Desert Speaks

10
00:00:32,209 --> 00:00:34,751
was provided by 
Desert Program Partners,

11
00:00:34,751 --> 00:00:37,959
representing concerned viewers 
making a financial commitment

12
00:00:37,959 --> 00:00:41,999
to the education about and 
preservation of deserts.

13
00:00:41,999 --> 00:00:47,626
And by the 
Stonewall Foundation.

14
00:00:49,999 --> 00:01:14,999
♪ music ♪

15
00:01:17,999 --> 00:01:20,999
The palm tree has long 
been a symbol of deserts

16
00:01:20,999 --> 00:01:24,459
and the oases that 
made them inhabitable.

17
00:01:24,459 --> 00:01:28,999
For desert dwellers a palm 
tree was an indicator of water,

18
00:01:28,999 --> 00:01:32,334
a source of shade 
and most important a

19
00:01:32,334 --> 00:01:37,042
provider of dates, 
a basic food.

20
00:01:37,042 --> 00:01:40,209
The date palm arrived in 
the southwestern United

21
00:01:40,209 --> 00:01:43,876
States about 100 years 
ago from the Middle East.

22
00:01:43,876 --> 00:01:51,209
The desert fan palm has been 
around for millions of years.

23
00:01:51,209 --> 00:01:53,834
The Coachella Valley at 
the edge of the Sonoran

24
00:01:53,834 --> 00:01:57,751
Desert is the lowest and 
hottest inhabited place

25
00:01:57,751 --> 00:01:59,125
in the western hemisphere.

26
00:01:59,125 --> 00:02:05,083
It is also the place to 
see and learn about palms.

27
00:02:05,083 --> 00:02:08,000
In the southwestern United 
States the desert fan palm

28
00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,375
isthemost planted 
landscaping tree so it's,

29
00:02:12,375 --> 00:02:13,999
it's done rather well.

30
00:02:13,999 --> 00:02:16,999
If you look in the 
Coachella Valley there are

31
00:02:16,999 --> 00:02:19,125
tens of thousands of 'em 
planted and that makes

32
00:02:19,125 --> 00:02:21,834
perfect ecological sense 
because that's where the

33
00:02:21,834 --> 00:02:26,167
desert fan palm originated 
and its in it's home so

34
00:02:26,167 --> 00:02:32,751
Palm Springs is 
appropriately named.

35
00:02:32,751 --> 00:02:35,292
The world's expert on 
desert fan palms is my

36
00:02:35,292 --> 00:02:40,417
friend and Palm Springs 
resident Jim Cornett.

37
00:02:40,417 --> 00:02:44,334
Where did these fan 
palms come from?

38
00:02:44,334 --> 00:02:45,501
Were they looted?

39
00:02:45,501 --> 00:02:48,999
Most of them came from 
some of the original oases

40
00:02:48,999 --> 00:02:52,000
that were here around the 
turn of the last century

41
00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,999
around 1900 and some of 
them were pulled out of the

42
00:02:54,999 --> 00:02:58,834
oases and planted on the 
main boulevard in Palm Springs.

43
00:02:58,834 --> 00:03:01,250
But they put in a lot of 
new young palms now to

44
00:03:01,250 --> 00:03:03,792
replace some of the older 
ones that have died.

45
00:03:03,792 --> 00:03:06,000
But they are really, they, 
they're the authentic

46
00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:07,959
palm for which Palm 
Springs is named.

47
00:03:07,959 --> 00:03:11,209
This is desert fan palms, 
the same palms we've seen

48
00:03:11,209 --> 00:03:13,792
in the wild oases.

49
00:03:13,792 --> 00:03:16,876
So Palm Springs is famous 
for more than just palms?

50
00:03:16,876 --> 00:03:18,959
Yeah, it's famous for all 
the Hollywood celebrities

51
00:03:18,959 --> 00:03:23,125
that either had full time 
homes here or part time homes,

52
00:03:23,125 --> 00:03:26,125
Phyllis Diller, 
Bob Hope.

53
00:03:26,125 --> 00:03:26,999
Bob Hope.

54
00:03:26,999 --> 00:03:29,209
Do your children know 
who Bob Hope was?

55
00:03:29,209 --> 00:03:31,459
My children know 
who Bob Hope was.

56
00:03:31,459 --> 00:03:32,250
They do that.

57
00:03:32,250 --> 00:03:34,918
Your grandchildren 
probably won't.

58
00:03:34,918 --> 00:03:36,626
Ginger Rogers.

59
00:03:36,626 --> 00:03:38,417
I have no idea 
who that is.

60
00:03:38,417 --> 00:03:40,042
Well, that shows 
how you're,

61
00:03:40,042 --> 00:03:42,918
you're just one of the 
younger generation.

62
00:03:42,918 --> 00:03:43,292
I guess.

63
00:03:43,292 --> 00:03:45,792
And she wasn't married 
to Roy Rogers either.

64
00:03:45,792 --> 00:03:46,792
That's good to know.

65
00:03:46,792 --> 00:03:48,292
She was in the theater.

66
00:03:48,292 --> 00:03:49,999
Good to know.

67
00:03:49,999 --> 00:03:52,709
The desert fan palm is 
responsible for a lot of

68
00:03:52,709 --> 00:03:56,042
place names in 
southeastern California.

69
00:03:56,042 --> 00:03:58,417
Of course there's Palm 
Springs but then there's

70
00:03:58,417 --> 00:04:05,334
29 Palms, Thousand Palms, 
Desert Palms, Palm Oasis.

71
00:04:05,334 --> 00:04:09,959
All this is a tribute to 
washingtonia filifera,

72
00:04:09,959 --> 00:04:14,626
the desert fan palm.

73
00:04:14,626 --> 00:04:17,999
The Palm Canyon area, 
which is the largest

74
00:04:17,999 --> 00:04:21,292
undisturbed palm 
oasis on Planet Earth,

75
00:04:21,292 --> 00:04:24,000
is being managed by the 
Agua Caliente band of

76
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,751
Cahuilla Indians and it's 
been land in their tribe

77
00:04:27,751 --> 00:04:31,626
for actually over a couple 
thousand years because

78
00:04:31,626 --> 00:04:33,999
that's how long 
they've been here.

79
00:04:33,999 --> 00:04:36,999
There are 2,511 trees 
here and there's no other

80
00:04:36,999 --> 00:04:40,751
desert with an oasis 
that has as many trees

81
00:04:40,751 --> 00:04:42,999
as does this canyon.

82
00:04:42,999 --> 00:04:46,501
It's shadowy, it's much 
cooler down here than

83
00:04:46,501 --> 00:04:47,999
it was up there.

84
00:04:47,999 --> 00:04:49,167
It really is.

85
00:04:49,167 --> 00:04:51,918
We're surrounded by hot, 
dry desert and now we're

86
00:04:51,918 --> 00:04:53,999
in an environment that's 
25 degrees cooler than the

87
00:04:53,999 --> 00:04:56,250
surrounding desert, 25 
degrees cooler when we're

88
00:04:56,250 --> 00:04:57,999
in them middle 
of the oasis.

89
00:04:57,999 --> 00:04:59,999
So how do you tell the 
difference between a

90
00:04:59,999 --> 00:05:01,999
date palm and a 
desert fan palm?

91
00:05:01,999 --> 00:05:03,999
Well, the easiest way to 
tell is by looking at the

92
00:05:03,999 --> 00:05:06,999
leaf because the desert 
fan palm has what we call

93
00:05:06,999 --> 00:05:08,292
a palmate leaf.

94
00:05:08,292 --> 00:05:10,125
It's like the 
palm of your hand,

95
00:05:10,125 --> 00:05:12,667
radiates out from a 
central point here.

96
00:05:12,667 --> 00:05:14,542
And you could 
use it as a fan.

97
00:05:14,542 --> 00:05:16,209
Yes, a very good fan.

98
00:05:16,209 --> 00:05:17,083
And it's huge.

99
00:05:17,083 --> 00:05:19,209
So the date palms 
they would come out

100
00:05:19,209 --> 00:05:21,167
like a feather, a 
long thing with.

101
00:05:21,167 --> 00:05:23,083
Feather of a bird 
and it's what we

102
00:05:23,083 --> 00:05:24,792
call a penately 
compound leaf.

103
00:05:24,792 --> 00:05:27,667
It has all little leaflets 
coming off of the entire

104
00:05:27,667 --> 00:05:29,584
stem of the leaf.

105
00:05:29,584 --> 00:05:31,584
One of the things that's 
quite distinctive about

106
00:05:31,584 --> 00:05:34,584
the desert fan palm are 
these threads that

107
00:05:34,584 --> 00:05:36,250
peel off on the edges.

108
00:05:36,250 --> 00:05:39,125
The Indians would use 
these threads sometimes

109
00:05:39,125 --> 00:05:40,999
to make baskets.

110
00:05:40,999 --> 00:05:42,125
It makes a great sound.

111
00:05:42,125 --> 00:05:44,999
Hey, listen, can you imagine 
40 Native Americans

112
00:05:44,999 --> 00:05:48,042
all at the same 
time ripping those off.

113
00:05:48,042 --> 00:05:49,834
What music to my ears.

114
00:05:49,834 --> 00:05:51,417
We call that a party.

115
00:05:51,417 --> 00:05:52,959
Is that right?

116
00:05:52,959 --> 00:05:54,999
Great sound.

117
00:05:54,999 --> 00:05:56,042
Nice.

118
00:05:56,042 --> 00:05:57,167
Yeah.

119
00:05:57,167 --> 00:05:59,751
The Cahuilla Indians, 
the native people to this

120
00:05:59,751 --> 00:06:01,876
region, have lived in and 
around the palm oases for

121
00:06:01,876 --> 00:06:05,501
at least 3,000 years and 
they have been managing

122
00:06:05,501 --> 00:06:07,999
these oases since that time.

123
00:06:07,999 --> 00:06:09,626
They have been 
collected fruits,

124
00:06:09,626 --> 00:06:12,999
they've been grinding the 
palm fruits in bedrock mortars.

125
00:06:12,999 --> 00:06:14,501
So you sit like this, huh?

126
00:06:14,501 --> 00:06:16,125
Yeah, just like that.

127
00:06:16,125 --> 00:06:17,667
Straddle it.

128
00:06:17,667 --> 00:06:18,999
Get the pestle.

129
00:06:18,999 --> 00:06:20,999
And when you get tired of 
grinding you look up and

130
00:06:20,999 --> 00:06:22,999
look at the palms out 
there and you think of how

131
00:06:22,999 --> 00:06:25,459
cool it is down there 
and you get back to work.

132
00:06:25,459 --> 00:06:27,999
And they've occupied this 
area right up until

133
00:06:27,999 --> 00:06:29,250
the present time.

134
00:06:29,250 --> 00:06:31,542
Although today of course 
it's quite a tourist

135
00:06:31,542 --> 00:06:33,209
attraction with over 200,000

136
00:06:33,209 --> 00:06:36,542
tourists visiting the 
canyons every single year.

137
00:06:36,542 --> 00:06:39,292
Well, boy, this is 
an impressive grove.

138
00:06:39,292 --> 00:06:40,000
It is.

139
00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,834
The locals call this The 
Cathedral because it's

140
00:06:42,834 --> 00:06:45,999
so elevated and so 
quiet in here.

141
00:06:45,999 --> 00:06:48,167
And it's dark, it has 
a mystical feel to it.

142
00:06:48,167 --> 00:06:50,999
Right in the middle of 
it the sun never hits the

143
00:06:50,999 --> 00:06:53,584
ground even in the summer.

144
00:06:53,584 --> 00:06:56,000
We're in the Colorado 
Desert, the hottest,

145
00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,542
driest subdivision of 
the Sonoran Desert and,

146
00:06:58,542 --> 00:07:02,667
and yet we have over 
2,000 palm trees here.

147
00:07:02,667 --> 00:07:05,125
Now the reason for that is 
there's a fault called the

148
00:07:05,125 --> 00:07:07,751
Palm Canyon Fault, which 
is an offshoot of the

149
00:07:07,751 --> 00:07:10,250
San Andreas Fault, that has 
created the canyon and

150
00:07:10,250 --> 00:07:13,751
then that fault is at 
the base of the steepest

151
00:07:13,751 --> 00:07:15,999
mountains in all 
of North America,

152
00:07:15,999 --> 00:07:19,999
the northern edge of the 
San Jacinto Mountains.

153
00:07:19,999 --> 00:07:22,083
So the mountains collect 
an incredible amount of

154
00:07:22,083 --> 00:07:25,000
water when storms come 
through and a lot of that

155
00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,999
water runs down these 
canyons year round

156
00:07:27,999 --> 00:07:30,999
providing an abundance 
of water in an otherwise

157
00:07:30,999 --> 00:07:33,999
very, very dry environment.

158
00:07:33,999 --> 00:07:35,999
Man, we've got 
water in the desert.

159
00:07:35,999 --> 00:07:37,709
That's a little bit unusual.

160
00:07:37,709 --> 00:07:40,000
To say the least 
it's not expected.

161
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,667
They can go a few months 
without water but in

162
00:07:42,667 --> 00:07:46,042
general for palms to be 
healthy and do well they

163
00:07:46,042 --> 00:07:48,709
require permanently 
moist soil.

164
00:07:48,709 --> 00:07:50,999
That shows you that at 
least recent history this

165
00:07:50,999 --> 00:07:53,000
has been a 
well-watered canyon.

166
00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:54,542
Yes, definitely.

167
00:07:54,542 --> 00:07:56,292
Well, here's a 
weird looking guy.

168
00:07:56,292 --> 00:07:58,751
This is not a tall, 
straight palm.

169
00:07:58,751 --> 00:07:59,918
Not this one.

170
00:07:59,918 --> 00:08:02,792
This one has been 
alternately trying to get

171
00:08:02,792 --> 00:08:05,667
more sunlight by growing 
away from the other palms

172
00:08:05,667 --> 00:08:08,083
and then it's also, 
in decades past,

173
00:08:08,083 --> 00:08:10,999
was undercut by floods 
that came through here and

174
00:08:10,999 --> 00:08:13,999
that resulted in it 
tilting even further.

175
00:08:13,999 --> 00:08:16,417
And so it took away part 
of its support here and

176
00:08:16,417 --> 00:08:17,999
it started to go that way.

177
00:08:17,999 --> 00:08:19,334
Yeah, started to lean.

178
00:08:19,334 --> 00:08:21,999
And now it's trying 
to grow back up again.

179
00:08:21,999 --> 00:08:23,999
So they all want to 
grow toward the sun

180
00:08:23,999 --> 00:08:26,042
to get sun no matter what.

181
00:08:26,042 --> 00:08:26,918
Yep.

182
00:08:26,918 --> 00:08:29,459
The desert fan palm, 
known to botanists as

183
00:08:29,459 --> 00:08:31,000
washingtonia filifera, 
named after our first

184
00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,999
president, is the only 
palm native to the western

185
00:08:34,999 --> 00:08:37,999
United States and it's the 
largest palm in terms of

186
00:08:37,999 --> 00:08:42,501
mass of weight anywhere 
in North America.

187
00:08:42,501 --> 00:08:45,250
Well, this grove's got 
a lot of bare trunks.

188
00:08:45,250 --> 00:08:49,667
It's result of a fire that 
came through here in 1980

189
00:08:49,667 --> 00:08:52,999
and burned all the dead 
leaves off the trunks and

190
00:08:52,999 --> 00:08:57,751
now we can see the, the 
bark or what I should

191
00:08:57,751 --> 00:08:58,999
call the pseudo-bark.

192
00:08:58,999 --> 00:09:00,999
So they don't really have 
a bark then, do they?

193
00:09:00,999 --> 00:09:03,042
No, and we call it a 
pseudo-bark cause it looks

194
00:09:03,042 --> 00:09:05,751
like bark, you touch it 
and it feels like bark but

195
00:09:05,751 --> 00:09:07,209
it's really something else.

196
00:09:07,209 --> 00:09:10,459
It's the, the base of leaf 
stems is what we're seeing

197
00:09:10,459 --> 00:09:14,125
and each ridge is one 
group of leaves that grew

198
00:09:14,125 --> 00:09:16,083
at the crown of the palm.

199
00:09:16,083 --> 00:09:17,959
So they leave that scar.

200
00:09:17,959 --> 00:09:18,999
Yeah.

201
00:09:18,999 --> 00:09:20,999
It's the most tolerant 
palm in terms of cold

202
00:09:20,999 --> 00:09:22,999
weather, it can tolerate 
temperatures well below

203
00:09:22,999 --> 00:09:25,417
freezing for many hours 
and occasionally that

204
00:09:25,417 --> 00:09:27,501
happens, although 
less so these days.

205
00:09:27,501 --> 00:09:30,542
And it's also the only 
palm tree in the world

206
00:09:30,542 --> 00:09:33,918
who's dead leaves adhere 
to the trunk throughout

207
00:09:33,918 --> 00:09:35,167
the life of the palm.

208
00:09:35,167 --> 00:09:38,167
So these palms don't 
propagate through pups or

209
00:09:38,167 --> 00:09:40,959
offshoots or shoots 
or anything like that.

210
00:09:40,959 --> 00:09:44,083
No, they germinate from 
seeds and start from

211
00:09:44,083 --> 00:09:45,999
seeds like, like these here.

212
00:09:45,999 --> 00:09:49,918
This is a coyote scat and 
in the coyote scat there

213
00:09:49,918 --> 00:09:52,876
are all these seeds 
of the, the palm.

214
00:09:52,876 --> 00:09:54,834
So the fruits fall 
from the tree,

215
00:09:54,834 --> 00:09:57,042
coyotes eat the fruits to 
get the sweet flesh that's

216
00:09:57,042 --> 00:09:59,918
around it and then they 
void out the seeds intact

217
00:09:59,918 --> 00:10:02,083
in their droppings and 
then these will germinate

218
00:10:02,083 --> 00:10:04,999
very readily after they've 
gone through the coyote.

219
00:10:04,999 --> 00:10:07,792
They grow very fast.

220
00:10:07,792 --> 00:10:10,999
In certain conditions they 
can put on two feet of

221
00:10:10,999 --> 00:10:14,792
woody trunk each year and 
they grow very rapidly up

222
00:10:14,792 --> 00:10:17,999
until about 20 feet and at 
that height they'll start

223
00:10:17,999 --> 00:10:21,834
producing flowers first 
of course and then fruit.

224
00:10:21,834 --> 00:10:25,000
They can then continue 
living for up to 150 years

225
00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,417
but the average lifespan 
of a desert fan palm is

226
00:10:27,417 --> 00:10:31,542
about 90 to 100 years, so 
about the same as a human.

227
00:10:31,542 --> 00:10:35,083
These may be fan palms 
but these would not make

228
00:10:35,083 --> 00:10:36,542
a very nice handle.

229
00:10:36,542 --> 00:10:38,709
These are vicious 
spines on here.

230
00:10:38,709 --> 00:10:40,125
They're pretty wicked.

231
00:10:40,125 --> 00:10:41,709
If we go back 
10,000 years ago,

232
00:10:41,709 --> 00:10:44,042
mammoths would visit the 
oases and the palms had

233
00:10:44,042 --> 00:10:47,209
these spines on their 
petials which kept the

234
00:10:47,209 --> 00:10:50,375
mammoth from eating the 
growing tip, that's how

235
00:10:50,375 --> 00:10:53,999
they defended themselves 
against hungry herbivores.

236
00:10:53,999 --> 00:10:55,834
They are vicious.

237
00:10:55,834 --> 00:10:57,999
The good news is that 
desert fan palms are

238
00:10:57,999 --> 00:11:00,125
thriving like they 
never have before.

239
00:11:00,125 --> 00:11:04,042
A part of that we believe 
is because of global warming.

240
00:11:04,042 --> 00:11:06,709
It's a little bit warmer 
now and the palms have

241
00:11:06,709 --> 00:11:07,999
tropical affinities.

242
00:11:07,999 --> 00:11:09,792
They love warm weather.

243
00:11:09,792 --> 00:11:12,000
A lot of insects live 
in the palm oases.

244
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,999
In fact one of the most 
common one is the Apache cicada.

245
00:11:15,999 --> 00:11:21,999
This isn't the cicada itself, 
this is it's exoskeleton.

246
00:11:21,999 --> 00:11:25,959
The palms are so bottom 
heavy that a healthy palm

247
00:11:25,959 --> 00:11:28,542
will never be blown over 
by the wind because of

248
00:11:28,542 --> 00:11:31,834
this mass of thousands and 
thousands of roots that

249
00:11:31,834 --> 00:11:34,834
totally occupy the soil 
making the palm heaviest

250
00:11:34,834 --> 00:11:39,459
on the bottom and lightest 
actually on the top.

251
00:11:39,459 --> 00:11:41,167
The other thing that's 
interesting about the

252
00:11:41,167 --> 00:11:43,167
roots is they're so dense 
and there are so many of

253
00:11:43,167 --> 00:11:45,501
them that it crowds out 
the root structure of any

254
00:11:45,501 --> 00:11:48,167
other plant species and 
that's another reason that

255
00:11:48,167 --> 00:11:50,584
the palms are such 
good competitors,

256
00:11:50,584 --> 00:11:53,125
cause no other plant can 
find space to grow around

257
00:11:53,125 --> 00:11:57,626
them because of this 
dense mass of roots.

258
00:11:57,626 --> 00:11:59,999
The desert fan palm 
has survived on its own

259
00:11:59,999 --> 00:12:02,999
through everything that 
changing climates

260
00:12:02,999 --> 00:12:04,125
could throw at it.

261
00:12:04,125 --> 00:12:07,125
The date palms in the 
United States, however,

262
00:12:07,125 --> 00:12:10,626
require constant 
human attention.

263
00:12:10,626 --> 00:12:12,792
A few families have been 
responsible for their

264
00:12:12,792 --> 00:12:17,209
commercial success in 
the Coachella Valley.

265
00:12:17,209 --> 00:12:20,999
All the ladies here would 
earn a little extra money

266
00:12:20,999 --> 00:12:26,292
in the fall when they 
would have the dates to grade.

267
00:12:26,292 --> 00:12:26,999
Uh huh.

268
00:12:26,999 --> 00:12:29,167
So, no matter 
what you did,

269
00:12:29,167 --> 00:12:32,501
you had to go grade 
dates in the fall.

270
00:12:32,501 --> 00:12:33,292
Uh huh.

271
00:12:33,292 --> 00:12:34,999
So it's seasonal work.

272
00:12:34,999 --> 00:12:36,000
Oh, yes, uh huh.

273
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,999
You were married 
to my Uncle Kenny.

274
00:12:37,999 --> 00:12:38,542
Correct.

275
00:12:38,542 --> 00:12:41,792
Who was the grandson 
of William Paul.

276
00:12:41,792 --> 00:12:42,334
Right.

277
00:12:42,334 --> 00:12:43,999
And you're the 
great grandson.

278
00:12:43,999 --> 00:12:45,999
And I'm the great 
grandson, one of them.

279
00:12:45,999 --> 00:12:48,584
When my great grandfather 
showed up on this piece of

280
00:12:48,584 --> 00:12:54,209
land it was all sand dunes 
and mesquite and brush,

281
00:12:54,209 --> 00:12:58,167
just pretty adventurous 
pioneer types imported

282
00:12:58,167 --> 00:13:04,501
dates from Algeria, 
Morocco and Northern Africa.

283
00:13:04,501 --> 00:13:07,459
They had to go through a 
lot to turn this into any

284
00:13:07,459 --> 00:13:10,584
kind of agricultural 
production.

285
00:13:10,584 --> 00:13:14,999
This isn't the fertile 
mid-West we're looking at here.

286
00:13:14,999 --> 00:13:17,999
The U.S. government had done 
some studies in various areas

287
00:13:17,999 --> 00:13:20,999
in Arizona and southern 
California here.

288
00:13:20,999 --> 00:13:23,999
They thought the Coachella 
Valley would be a great

289
00:13:23,999 --> 00:13:25,626
place to grow dates.

290
00:13:25,626 --> 00:13:28,626
It had a very similar 
soil type and climate and

291
00:13:28,626 --> 00:13:32,792
plenty of water 
in its aquifer.

292
00:13:32,792 --> 00:13:34,999
Great grandfather used 
to say that palms need to

293
00:13:34,999 --> 00:13:38,125
have their heads in the 
sun and their feet in the water.

294
00:13:38,125 --> 00:13:41,334
So this was a place that 
palms could do that

295
00:13:41,334 --> 00:13:43,000
and you could grow dates.

296
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,999
In those days everybody 
was a visionary.

297
00:13:45,999 --> 00:13:50,375
Your grandfather I think 
recognized the fact that there

298
00:13:50,375 --> 00:13:57,459
was money to be made but only 
if you got a large planting.

299
00:13:57,459 --> 00:13:59,999
You knew gotta sell it.

300
00:13:59,999 --> 00:14:02,167
He was good at that.

301
00:14:02,167 --> 00:14:04,999
As the fortunes of some 
families declined the

302
00:14:04,999 --> 00:14:12,709
fortunes of other 
families increased.

303
00:14:13,792 --> 00:14:17,667
For years I've passed 
places out here in the hot

304
00:14:17,667 --> 00:14:20,959
desert that said "date 
shakes" and I never

305
00:14:20,959 --> 00:14:22,999
had the guts to try one.

306
00:14:22,999 --> 00:14:28,501
I suppose that an elegant 
person would use a spoon.

307
00:14:28,501 --> 00:14:31,584
Mm.

308
00:14:31,584 --> 00:14:36,417
Thank you dates.

309
00:14:36,999 --> 00:14:39,999
The tastiest kind of date 
I'm told is called the

310
00:14:39,999 --> 00:14:43,083
medjool and this tree has 
some and the only way to do it

311
00:14:43,083 --> 00:14:49,417
here is the old-fashioned 
way, on a ladder.

312
00:14:49,417 --> 00:14:55,250
So it takes awhile to get up but 
I'm told that it's worth it.

313
00:14:55,250 --> 00:14:58,709
The medjools are supposed 
to be very sweet and I

314
00:14:58,709 --> 00:15:02,959
hate to disrupt anybody's 
insect protection but I

315
00:15:02,959 --> 00:15:05,999
gotta move this to 
get to the medjools.

316
00:15:05,999 --> 00:15:07,626
There's one.

317
00:15:07,626 --> 00:15:10,999
Now, oh, it's very sweet.

318
00:15:10,999 --> 00:15:14,375
This is as good a date as 
you'll ever get and you

319
00:15:14,375 --> 00:15:17,000
know it's organic, 
fresh from the tree.

320
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:21,667
It gives you courage, 
strength and if you start

321
00:15:21,667 --> 00:15:27,542
oscillating on the ladder 
you just need another date.

322
00:15:27,542 --> 00:15:32,667
This is the old way.

323
00:15:33,334 --> 00:15:35,167
How much water do your 
trees in here use?

324
00:15:35,167 --> 00:15:39,334
They usually use about 
8 acre feet per year per acre.

325
00:15:39,334 --> 00:15:41,250
Now that's a lot more than.

326
00:15:41,250 --> 00:15:43,459
My dad came here in 1912.

327
00:15:43,459 --> 00:15:49,459
He started the date 
orchard here soon after that.

328
00:15:49,459 --> 00:15:53,542
In those years cotton was 
the big crop and onions

329
00:15:53,542 --> 00:15:56,125
and things like 
that, and vegetables.

330
00:15:56,125 --> 00:15:59,000
But, and gradually 
they got into dates.

331
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,125
Like the medjools, you know, 
they first came in and

332
00:16:02,125 --> 00:16:06,999
farmers would get a small 
number of trees.

333
00:16:06,999 --> 00:16:09,209
As they produced offshoots,

334
00:16:09,209 --> 00:16:14,000
they should plant those and it 
would build up from there.

335
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:15,959
How much rainfall 
do they get here?

336
00:16:15,959 --> 00:16:17,999
I mean, this is a 
very dry place, right?

337
00:16:17,999 --> 00:16:20,459
We get, our average 
rainfall here is about

338
00:16:20,459 --> 00:16:21,834
3 inches per year.

339
00:16:21,834 --> 00:16:25,125
I see, so basically it's all 
coming from, from irrigation.

340
00:16:25,125 --> 00:16:26,876
From irrigation.

341
00:16:26,876 --> 00:16:29,999
Part of it is well water 
and part of it is from

342
00:16:29,999 --> 00:16:32,709
the Colorado River.

343
00:16:32,709 --> 00:16:36,083
That production though 
from that 8 acre feet,

344
00:16:36,083 --> 00:16:37,083
that's all food.

345
00:16:37,083 --> 00:16:41,959
That's all food and there is, 
per acre you should

346
00:16:41,959 --> 00:16:46,584
get well over 10,000 
pounds per, per acre.

347
00:16:46,584 --> 00:16:48,959
10,000 pounds of 
dates per acre?

348
00:16:48,959 --> 00:16:50,417
Of dates per acre.

349
00:16:50,417 --> 00:16:51,792
That's pretty good.

350
00:16:51,792 --> 00:16:53,000
That's pretty 
good production.

351
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,459
That's, that's a lot of, 
that's a lot of food.

352
00:16:55,459 --> 00:16:58,918
We usually start harvest 
right after Labor Day and

353
00:16:58,918 --> 00:17:02,584
then we're just 
finishing right now,

354
00:17:02,584 --> 00:17:06,501
which is the latter 
part of October.

355
00:17:06,501 --> 00:17:07,999
This is normal.

356
00:17:07,999 --> 00:17:15,459
Some varieties it takes 
longer for them to mature.

357
00:17:16,042 --> 00:17:17,999
They go all over 
the country.

358
00:17:17,999 --> 00:17:20,501
Quite a lot of them 
are exported to Europe.

359
00:17:20,501 --> 00:17:24,667
A lot depends on the 
Muslim population because

360
00:17:24,667 --> 00:17:27,999
they are big date eaters.

361
00:17:27,999 --> 00:17:30,792
Most of the Americans 
don't come from a country,

362
00:17:30,792 --> 00:17:38,584
from areas that, where 
they are used to eating dates.

363
00:17:38,584 --> 00:17:41,876
Up on the drying racks 
we see another reason why

364
00:17:41,876 --> 00:17:44,999
dates seem to do 
particularly well here

365
00:17:44,999 --> 00:17:46,792
in the heat of the 
Coachella Valley.

366
00:17:46,792 --> 00:17:50,167
Dates need hot weather 
to grow, they need hot,

367
00:17:50,167 --> 00:17:54,999
dry weather to dry to the 
perfect moisture content.

368
00:17:54,999 --> 00:17:58,667
And these will keep for a 
long time when the sun

369
00:17:58,667 --> 00:18:02,334
has done it's thing.

370
00:18:02,334 --> 00:18:07,083
♪ music ♪

371
00:18:07,083 --> 00:18:09,999
How many dates 
pass through your

372
00:18:09,999 --> 00:18:11,375
operation here a year?

373
00:18:11,375 --> 00:18:13,834
Oh, about a million pounds 
through this operation and

374
00:18:13,834 --> 00:18:16,959
another million pounds 
through our other packing house.

375
00:18:16,959 --> 00:18:17,918
A million pounds.

376
00:18:17,918 --> 00:18:19,999
That, that's a 
lot of tonnage.

377
00:18:19,999 --> 00:18:20,999
That's a lot of tonnage.

378
00:18:20,999 --> 00:18:22,999
Now, where are these 
dates mostly going?

379
00:18:22,999 --> 00:18:24,459
Oh, they'll go 
over the world.

380
00:18:24,459 --> 00:18:25,999
Some will go to New 
Zealand, Australia,

381
00:18:25,999 --> 00:18:28,459
some will go to the various 
different European countries,

382
00:18:28,459 --> 00:18:31,292
a lot here domestically in 
the U.S. as well.

383
00:18:31,292 --> 00:18:32,999
We take pride in making 
sure that we have good

384
00:18:32,999 --> 00:18:35,999
quality dates and in order 
to do that you really have

385
00:18:35,999 --> 00:18:37,250
to grow 'em yourself.

386
00:18:37,250 --> 00:18:39,209
You really have to take care.

387
00:18:39,209 --> 00:18:40,999
To have the control over 'em.

388
00:18:40,999 --> 00:18:42,626
To have the control 
over all your,

389
00:18:42,626 --> 00:18:44,459
your, your quality from 
the growing all the way on

390
00:18:44,459 --> 00:18:46,834
through the packing and 
the boxing up of the fruit.

391
00:18:46,834 --> 00:18:48,876
Well, I, I have to 
confess to you that I,

392
00:18:48,876 --> 00:18:50,292
I stole a couple 
of the dates from,

393
00:18:50,292 --> 00:18:52,459
I climbed up a ladder and 
I was glad I did because

394
00:18:52,459 --> 00:18:55,417
that represents at least 
25% of the dates I've

395
00:18:55,417 --> 00:18:57,250
eaten in my life.

396
00:18:57,250 --> 00:18:58,083
They were very good.

397
00:18:58,083 --> 00:19:00,667
Didn't eat that many 
dates in your life, huh?

398
00:19:00,667 --> 00:19:01,709
That's right.

399
00:19:01,709 --> 00:19:03,751
I'm, I'm gonna 
eat more now.

400
00:19:03,751 --> 00:19:04,876
They were great.

401
00:19:04,876 --> 00:19:06,626
And what are the 
different types of dates.

402
00:19:06,626 --> 00:19:08,792
You've told me 
about the medjools.

403
00:19:08,792 --> 00:19:09,999
What other ones do you have?

404
00:19:09,999 --> 00:19:12,375
Well, another good quality 
one is the deglet noor.

405
00:19:12,375 --> 00:19:13,999
But there's many more.

406
00:19:13,999 --> 00:19:14,999
Hidis, there's barhee dates.

407
00:19:14,999 --> 00:19:17,083
The barhee is a unique one 
in that a lot of people

408
00:19:17,083 --> 00:19:18,999
like to eat it in a 
kind of an unripe state.

409
00:19:18,999 --> 00:19:20,918
But there's 60, 70, 
80 varieties of dates.

410
00:19:20,918 --> 00:19:22,459
There's a lot of dates 
throughout the world.

411
00:19:22,459 --> 00:19:24,542
Why is it that dates don't 
seem to be real big and real

412
00:19:24,542 --> 00:19:26,375
high on the Americans' list 
of favorite foods?

413
00:19:26,375 --> 00:19:29,375
I think it's because we grew up 
not being familiar with them.

414
00:19:29,375 --> 00:19:32,417
A lot of countries like, 
particularly the Middle

415
00:19:32,417 --> 00:19:34,584
East cause that's where 
they originated from,

416
00:19:34,584 --> 00:19:37,334
dates are a common 
everyday diet.

417
00:19:37,334 --> 00:19:38,999
Here it hasn't 
been that way.

418
00:19:38,999 --> 00:19:42,999
It was always, your Aunt 
Nellie's date nut bread or

419
00:19:42,999 --> 00:19:46,000
something like that that 
you had dates in rather than.

420
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,209
And that you had to 
eat it whether you

421
00:19:48,209 --> 00:19:49,751
wanted it or not.

422
00:19:49,751 --> 00:19:50,999
Yeah, oh, yeah.

423
00:19:50,999 --> 00:19:53,042
But when you, when you try 
these, the medjool date,

424
00:19:53,042 --> 00:19:54,999
which is a very, 
like I said,

425
00:19:54,999 --> 00:19:56,999
a very creamy 
premium date,

426
00:19:56,999 --> 00:19:58,999
it tastes a lot different 
than a lot of the other

427
00:19:58,999 --> 00:20:00,999
dates that we've been used 
to and a lot of people

428
00:20:00,999 --> 00:20:02,999
that have not liked dates 
I've convinced to like em

429
00:20:02,999 --> 00:20:04,834
just by trying 
that variety.

430
00:20:04,834 --> 00:20:06,334
Yeah, Jim, it strikes me 
that we've got a natural

431
00:20:06,334 --> 00:20:09,751
cycle here that the dates 
originated in the Middle East,

432
00:20:09,751 --> 00:20:10,999
the plants came here,

433
00:20:10,999 --> 00:20:13,999
the production is here and 
a lot of it goes back to

434
00:20:13,999 --> 00:20:18,042
people who are Middle 
Eastern origin.

435
00:20:18,042 --> 00:20:19,167
Is that correct?

436
00:20:19,167 --> 00:20:20,584
Well, yes, a lot 
of the trees,

437
00:20:20,584 --> 00:20:23,834
all the trees technically 
came from the Middle East

438
00:20:23,834 --> 00:20:24,999
at one point or another.

439
00:20:24,999 --> 00:20:27,999
The medjool is unique in 
that it came from Morocco,

440
00:20:27,999 --> 00:20:30,918
part of the Middle East, 
it was wiped out by a

441
00:20:30,918 --> 00:20:33,834
soil-born disease 
there, came here,

442
00:20:33,834 --> 00:20:35,501
was quarantined 
and grown here,

443
00:20:35,501 --> 00:20:37,626
now all the medjools 
originate from here.

444
00:20:37,626 --> 00:20:40,042
Some have gone back to 
like Israel and some other

445
00:20:40,042 --> 00:20:42,626
sections of the Middle 
East but now the big

446
00:20:42,626 --> 00:20:48,000
medjool production 
is here in the U.S.

447
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,542
Commercial date palms 
require irrigation.

448
00:20:50,542 --> 00:20:53,876
The native desert fan 
palms grow wild only where

449
00:20:53,876 --> 00:20:58,042
water occurs naturally, 
in some cases courtesy

450
00:20:58,042 --> 00:21:01,501
of geological faults.

451
00:21:01,501 --> 00:21:04,667
We can generally classify 
palm oases into two types.

452
00:21:04,667 --> 00:21:08,375
There are canyon oases, 
then there are fault line

453
00:21:08,375 --> 00:21:10,999
oases, well, oases 
associated with the

454
00:21:10,999 --> 00:21:12,209
San Andreas Fault.

455
00:21:12,209 --> 00:21:16,083
Once we get into very deep 
alluvial soils whatever

456
00:21:16,083 --> 00:21:19,792
water is running on the 
surface or even beneath

457
00:21:19,792 --> 00:21:22,999
the surface sinks so far 
down that the palm roots

458
00:21:22,999 --> 00:21:24,292
can't get it anymore.

459
00:21:24,292 --> 00:21:26,834
Whenever you can see the 
palms you know that there

460
00:21:26,834 --> 00:21:29,584
is water you can 
maybe dig to?

461
00:21:29,584 --> 00:21:29,999
Dig to, yeah.

462
00:21:29,999 --> 00:21:32,125
You know there's water 
at or near the surface,

463
00:21:32,125 --> 00:21:35,667
probably so close that you could 
reach it with a shovel.

464
00:21:35,667 --> 00:21:37,584
I'm looking out and 
looking north here across

465
00:21:37,584 --> 00:21:42,083
the Coachella Valley 
and the Fault is where?

466
00:21:42,083 --> 00:21:45,459
Well, we're, we're driving 
north along the Palm

467
00:21:45,459 --> 00:21:48,999
Canyon Fault and 10 miles 
north from here the Palm

468
00:21:48,999 --> 00:21:52,459
Canyon Fault runs smack 
into the San Andreas Fault.

469
00:21:52,459 --> 00:21:54,042
So it's like a "T"?

470
00:21:54,042 --> 00:21:56,584
Yes.

471
00:21:56,584 --> 00:22:01,250
When we were up in the 
Palm Canyon we'd see palms

472
00:22:01,250 --> 00:22:05,918
but they're down in the 
bottom of the canyon in water.

473
00:22:05,918 --> 00:22:06,167
Right.

474
00:22:06,167 --> 00:22:09,125
And here they're on this 
arid, arid hillside.

475
00:22:09,125 --> 00:22:10,083
So what's going on?

476
00:22:10,083 --> 00:22:12,999
Well, we're walking along 
the San Andreas Fault and

477
00:22:12,999 --> 00:22:15,792
in this particular area 
how water reaches the

478
00:22:15,792 --> 00:22:18,999
palms is a little bit 
different than where we were.

479
00:22:18,999 --> 00:22:21,083
Where is the 
water coming from?

480
00:22:21,083 --> 00:22:23,999
I mean, this is 
very dry country.

481
00:22:23,999 --> 00:22:25,834
What happens is, to the 
north of us are some

482
00:22:25,834 --> 00:22:27,999
mountains, the little San 
Bernardino Mountains in

483
00:22:27,999 --> 00:22:30,209
Joshua Tree National Park 
and when it rains and

484
00:22:30,209 --> 00:22:33,667
snows up there the water 
sinks into the soil and

485
00:22:33,667 --> 00:22:36,709
runs underground to the 
lowest point in the area,

486
00:22:36,709 --> 00:22:38,999
which is the bottom of 
the Coachella Valley.

487
00:22:38,999 --> 00:22:42,042
But water never reaches 
there because as it comes

488
00:22:42,042 --> 00:22:44,999
underground it hits the fault.

489
00:22:44,999 --> 00:22:45,918
Boom.

490
00:22:45,918 --> 00:22:48,918
And that Fault is moving 
back and grinding against

491
00:22:48,918 --> 00:22:51,918
each other and it has 
ground up the soil so fine

492
00:22:51,918 --> 00:22:55,250
that the water can't 
get through it.

493
00:22:55,250 --> 00:22:56,042
It can't get by the Fault.

494
00:22:56,042 --> 00:22:58,626
It can't get by the Fault 
and so it's dammed up

495
00:22:58,626 --> 00:23:00,999
underground and eventually 
it rises to the surface,

496
00:23:00,999 --> 00:23:04,042
which provides all the 
water the palms need.

497
00:23:04,042 --> 00:23:06,999
So, we are now crossing 
the San Andreas Fault,

498
00:23:06,999 --> 00:23:08,334
you guarantee me.

499
00:23:08,334 --> 00:23:08,876
Right.

500
00:23:08,876 --> 00:23:10,876
We're standing right now 
on the Pacific Plate and

501
00:23:10,876 --> 00:23:14,417
now we're gonna jump across to 
the North American Plate.

502
00:23:14,417 --> 00:23:15,918
And it's not dangerous?

503
00:23:15,918 --> 00:23:17,792
Unless there's an earthquake.

504
00:23:17,792 --> 00:23:18,999
All right.

505
00:23:18,999 --> 00:23:19,999
On three.

506
00:23:19,999 --> 00:23:21,584
One, two, three.

507
00:23:21,584 --> 00:23:23,584
We made it.

508
00:23:23,584 --> 00:23:24,542
Ahh.

509
00:23:24,542 --> 00:23:26,334
And this is what 
underground blocks the flow

510
00:23:26,334 --> 00:23:29,999
of water from the north to 
the south across the Fault.

511
00:23:29,999 --> 00:23:32,667
It can't get through this when 
it's tightly packed together.

512
00:23:32,667 --> 00:23:35,334
There are no spaces in 
between the soil particles

513
00:23:35,334 --> 00:23:37,334
and so this is the dam.

514
00:23:37,334 --> 00:23:38,751
So water's gotta go somewhere.

515
00:23:38,751 --> 00:23:40,709
Yeah, it wants to go 
downhill but it can't

516
00:23:40,709 --> 00:23:42,792
go any further 
than the Fault.

517
00:23:42,792 --> 00:23:47,667
And so we have palms.

518
00:23:47,667 --> 00:23:50,959
Fire sometimes is thought 
to be a hazard to palm oases

519
00:23:50,959 --> 00:23:51,999
but it's not.

520
00:23:51,999 --> 00:23:53,999
The palms thrive 
in a fire regime.

521
00:23:53,999 --> 00:23:56,125
In fact in our studies 
we found that the more

522
00:23:56,125 --> 00:24:02,999
frequent the fire the more 
rapidly palms colonize and area.

523
00:24:02,999 --> 00:24:05,876
These are the fruits 
of the desert fan palm.

524
00:24:05,876 --> 00:24:08,542
They're pretty tasty and 
I've collected quite a few

525
00:24:08,542 --> 00:24:11,876
of them cause I thought 
you might want to try them.

526
00:24:11,876 --> 00:24:13,999
They've been pasteurized.

527
00:24:13,999 --> 00:24:14,792
Pasteurized.

528
00:24:14,792 --> 00:24:17,999
Well, all right, I 
trust you so much, Jim.

529
00:24:17,999 --> 00:24:19,792
Okay.

530
00:24:19,792 --> 00:24:21,042
Oh, hard seed.

531
00:24:21,042 --> 00:24:22,626
Yeah, don't bite.

532
00:24:22,626 --> 00:24:23,999
I forgot to tell you that.

533
00:24:23,999 --> 00:24:24,999
Thanks.

534
00:24:24,999 --> 00:24:26,709
Don't bite into the seed.

535
00:24:26,709 --> 00:24:27,999
Tastes like a micro-date.

536
00:24:27,999 --> 00:24:30,125
However, I will 
confess, they are sweet.

537
00:24:30,125 --> 00:24:31,250
You're probably right.

538
00:24:31,250 --> 00:24:34,417
They've quite good.

539
00:24:34,417 --> 00:24:36,375
It's easy to be 
pessimistic about the

540
00:24:36,375 --> 00:24:39,042
future of many of the 
world's deserts and the

541
00:24:39,042 --> 00:24:40,999
plants and animals 
that live there.

542
00:24:40,999 --> 00:24:44,918
But the reverse is the 
case with the desert fan palm.

543
00:24:44,918 --> 00:24:47,584
It's populations are healthy, 
it's numbers are

544
00:24:47,584 --> 00:24:51,999
increasing and it's 
distribution is expanding.

545
00:24:51,999 --> 00:24:54,999
And while global climate 
change is placing stress

546
00:24:54,999 --> 00:25:01,999
on many organisms, the 
desert fan palm is happy.

547
00:25:02,167 --> 00:25:04,792
For thousands of years 
the desert in the shadows

548
00:25:04,792 --> 00:25:08,292
of the towering Andes of 
northwestern Peru has been

549
00:25:08,292 --> 00:25:13,042
a strategic crossroads 
for imperial trade.

550
00:25:13,042 --> 00:25:15,834
Advanced pre-Incan 
cultures left behind

551
00:25:15,834 --> 00:25:18,918
hand-carved mountaintop canals.

552
00:25:18,918 --> 00:25:20,209
Well, almost 10,000 years.

553
00:25:20,209 --> 00:25:21,999
In fact, there are caves.

554
00:25:21,999 --> 00:25:23,501
Ancient burial sites and

555
00:25:23,501 --> 00:25:28,209
monuments now overwhelmed 
by encroaching cities.

556
00:25:28,209 --> 00:25:29,626
El Cuarto del Rescate.

557
00:25:29,626 --> 00:25:32,167
Next time onThe Desert Speaks

558
00:25:32,999 --> 00:25:35,501
One of the interesting 
things about the spines is

559
00:25:35,501 --> 00:25:38,792
that we found that if you 
examine the leaf stems of

560
00:25:38,792 --> 00:25:43,000
a palm that's 26 feet 
in height there are no spines.

561
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:44,542
They're completely gone.

562
00:25:44,542 --> 00:25:46,667
And. They don't 
need em up there?

563
00:25:46,667 --> 00:25:47,834
They don't need 
em up there.

564
00:25:47,834 --> 00:25:49,709
We wondered why they 
stopped producing them at

565
00:25:49,709 --> 00:25:52,667
that height and what we 
found out was that the

566
00:25:52,667 --> 00:25:54,751
highest that the Emperial 
mammoth could reach with

567
00:25:54,751 --> 00:26:01,334
its trunk when it was 
on its tippy toes was 24 feet.

568
00:26:02,250 --> 00:26:04,250
Funding for 
The Desert Speaks

569
00:26:04,250 --> 00:26:06,626
was provided by 
Desert Program Partners,

570
00:26:06,626 --> 00:26:09,959
representing concerned viewers 
making a financial commitment

571
00:26:09,959 --> 00:26:13,999
to the education about and 
preservation of deserts.

572
00:26:13,999 --> 00:26:19,584
And by the 
Stonewall Foundation.

573
00:26:20,667 --> 00:26:25,542
Copies of the Desert 
Speaks are available from KUAT.

574
00:26:25,542 --> 00:26:29,375
To order, call 1-800-841-5923

575
00:26:29,375 --> 00:26:34,501
and please be sure to mention 
the episode number.

576
00:26:34,501 --> 00:26:42,000
For more information 
visitThe Desert Speaks 
on-line at this address.