Hesperia had a few houses, but the rest was still pristine desert. We'd play and make forts in the desert across from our housing development. Dad tried to import a Joshua tree to our yard, one that his developer friend was removing. The heat could always be relieved by ice-cube-tray popsicles and playing in the sprinklers, or the ice cream truck. The Mojave River was a few inches deep, and we loved wading in it.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 21, 2017 13:30 UTC