The first rule of Kaleidoscope Desert is: If you don\u2019t want an ostrich to come up and say hello to you, don\u2019t come to Kaleidoscope Desert.<\/p>\n
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But if you\u2019d like to walk among high-desert<\/a> art installations while a pair of harlequin Great Danes trot along beside you, climb a tower covered in psychedelic art to look down on a tiny herd of miniature goats, take a sound bath while a sleek Italian greyhound chills out on the mat next to you, soak in a natural spring pool while a zebra strolls by, have a conversation with a verbose parrot or sleep in a vintage trailer where Stevie Nicks once slept \u2014 you should definitely go.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Stevie Nicks part is dubious. The rest is very real, and happening in Morongo Valley<\/a>, just outside Joshua Tree<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe way we think about it, like when we talk to [visitors] about the animals, is treat them as guests or as residents who live here,\u201d co-owner Vanessa Wruble told me on my visit. \u201cIf they want to talk to you, they\u2019ll talk to you. We\u2019re not going to inject ourselves into their world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut obviously,\u201d Wruble added as we both rubbed the hindquarters of a donkey who had wandered into our conversation as though she had something she wanted to add, \u201cthis donkey wants nothing more than to be pet.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cGold Dust\u201d is a vintage 1970s trailer where Stevie Nicks may or may not have stayed, at Kaleidoscope Desert in Morongo Valley, Calif.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE Amazing and Big Bertha, two rescued great danes, at Kaleidoscope Desert in Morongo Valley, Calif.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE<\/p>\n Kaleidoscope Desert<\/a> defies simple definition, which is part of its charm. It\u2019s a 5-acre ranch owned by Wruble and her partner Hunter\u00a0Vurbeff, which houses any manner of animal in need of a safe and loving home. In addition to the donkeys, ostrich, mini goats, dogs and parrots, there are also miniature horses, emus, pigs, chickens, roosters, guinea hens, ducks, peacocks, a turkey and a tortoise. (There\u2019s no partridge in a pear tree, but give it time.) It\u2019s also an immersive art experience and a wellness destination that offers Airbnb-style cottage rentals.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Almost all of the animals have been adopted from shelters, whether from the desert\u2019s notoriously overflowing facilities or through cross-country networks that get animals out of high-risk situations. Rubs the zebra, for example, came from an exotic game hunting park in Texas, and had been sent to an animal auction. The mini horses (there are six, with names like Carol Burnett, Betty White and Stay Golden Pony Boy) were rescued from a similarly grim fate in Oklahoma. The couple takes animals on a case-by-case basis, dictated by what they can afford and responsibly care for.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tower guest room at Kaleidoscope Desert in\u00a0Morongo Valley, Calif., on May 6, 2026.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE An emu crosses the road at Kaleidoscope Desert in Morongo Valley, Calif.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE<\/p>\n \u201cWe never meant to do a sanctuary,\u201d Wruble explained. \u201cIt was just totally organic.\u201d The couple was living in New York City and spending winters in Los Angeles when the pandemic hit, and they headed out to the desert for open space and to figure out their next move. \u201cIt just became very clear that we weren\u2019t going back,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Their original intention was just to buy a house, and rent its guest house for additional income.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe guest house next to my house had been named Kaleidoscope House because this artist actually from the Bay Area had painted completely fractal rainbows everywhere,\u201d Wruble said. \u201cIt has that history of being a place for art and creativity even before we got here. We ended up keeping a lot of that stuff and adopting the name Kaleidoscope because we were like, \u2018Whatever we make here is not going to be uniform.\u2019 It\u2019s going to be because of the landscape, because of what\u2019s here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The couple had always been passionate about dog rescue, but with 5 acres of land, all of a sudden, they could help more and larger animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a slippery slope,\u201d she said. \u201cWe would see one animal that needed a home\u201d and add to the menagerie.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe shelters around here are so full that when people bring in dogs, they turn them away and they’re like, \u2018Just put it back where you found it because we don\u2019t have anything,\u2019\u201d Wruble said.<\/p>\n At Kaleidoscope Desert in Morongo Valley, Calif., you might wake up to a rescued animal outside your bedroom window.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE Ryu the ostrich is known to strut past the windows of the guest houses at Kaleidoscope Desert in Morongo Valley, Calif.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE<\/p>\n She added, \u201cWe realized that we could support rescuing animals by having people come here and donate to either stay or come for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Visitors can take a tour of the property and meet the animals, book a sound bath experience in the meditation center or purchase a day pass, which includes use of the natural spring pool, a hot tub and a couple of twin bathtubs that sit within an art installation. There are old glass bottles and a vintage typewriter on a weather-beaten antique desk, as well as an old piano with sheet music. It gives the effect of a century-old parlor that just happens to have a 360-degree view of the San Bernardino Mountains (a view that sometimes has an emu strolling through it).<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re also both artists, so that was another piece of this,\u201d Wruble explained. \u201cMaking this an immersive installation of art and wonder and magic.\u201d<\/p>\n People can also rent one of the accommodations on the property, which start at about $150 a night. They range from a guest house outfitted with vintage records and a bed that has an eight-track player built into the headboard to that mural-covered tower, which has a patio and outdoor kitchen where overnight guests can sit and watch the animals stroll by.<\/p>\n In addition to being an animal sanctuary, Kaleidoscope Desert in\u00a0Morongo Valley, Calif., is an ever-evolving art space.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE Guests can book a day pass to use the natural spring pool at Kaleidoscope Desert in\u00a0Morongo Valley, Calif.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE<\/p>\n Most of the animals are used to being around people, and are only casually interested in saying hello. On my visit, Ryu the ostrich was very curious and friendly, Charlie Brown the turkey made more than one guest appearance, and Amazing and Big Bertha, the Great Danes, were at our heels for the whole tour. The mini horses and zebra kept largely to themselves. To my dismay, the mini goats \u2014 with names like Goatchella, Skunk, Punk and Brown Sugar \u2014 rebuffed my attempts at affection. But I can\u2019t blame them, it was lunchtime.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Why \u201cit feels so different here is because we don\u2019t have pens,\u201d Wruble said. \u201cSo they\u2019re not caged animals. They have room to get away. They don\u2019t feel threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n A vintage 1970s trailer, totally covered in mirrors and murals of the desert, is where Stevie Nicks comes in. \u201cWe called it the Gold Dust because we heard a rumor that Stevie Nicks once stayed in it, even though I\u2019m pretty sure we made up that rumor,\u201d Wruble said with a laugh. The songstress would often come to the desert while touring \u2014 it\u2019s a common destination for high-profile musicians<\/a>, like Paul McCartney<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for the rumor that Nicks would sometimes stay in that trailer,\u00a0\u201cI alert everyone that we have no idea of its veracity,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Inside the Gamelatron Sound Experience, a meditation space with an innovative sound bath experience created by Burning Man artist Aaron Taylor Kuffner.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE Half Ass, one of the friendly donkeys at Kaleidoscope Ranch\u00a0in Morongo Valley, Calif.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE<\/p>\n In addition to caring for the animals and hosting guests, Wruble and Vurbeff are continuously adding to the art of the place, sometimes sourcing muralists to add more visual interest to the few corners of the ranch that aren\u2019t already covered in art, and sometimes using found objects to create more installations in the open space.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Stay informed, and entertained.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople come here and they\u2019re like, \u2018This is my dream life,\u2019\u201d Wruble said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, it\u2019s my dream life too, but it has its challenges.\u2019 And the challenges are incredibly expensive.\u201d Foremost among them is the cost of feeding and caring for the animals. Wruble estimates the ranch spends up to $5,000 monthly on food alone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Charlie Brown the turkey at Kaleidoscope Desert in Morongo Valley, Calif. on May 6, 2026.<\/p>\n Ed Rudolph\/For SFGATE<\/p>\n They\u2019ve added more accommodations as they can, and Wruble has created a book, \u201cDogs of Kaleidoscope Desert,\u201d as a fundraising effort \u2014 and a way for people to \u201ctake home\u201d the animals they may wish they could adopt. It happens often enough that they sell a tote joking about how the animals sadly didn\u2019t fit inside to take home. (Though Wruble and Vurbeff do sometimes foster, they don\u2019t adopt out any of their animals.)<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThere were times when we weren\u2019t sure how much longer we could do this,\u201d she said. \u201cThe math wasn\u2019t adding up … But we\u2019re finally at a point now where we have enough people wanting to come see and support what we do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first rule of Kaleidoscope Desert is: If you don\u2019t want an ostrich to come up and say…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":700083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[248491,79,245653,244567,201],"class_list":["post-700082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-alertable-losangeles-sfg","tag-science","tag-sfgla","tag-sfgtravel","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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