[music] -Here it is.

-What did you guys do when you were out here?

-What a lot of teenagers did when they're out in the middle of the desert.

Sometimes we had generators.

You heard of like the generator parties?

-There was no graffiti when you were younger?

-If there was, I don't remember it.

I don't remember it being like this.

I don't remember us doing it.

I feel bad that we treated this place the way we did when we were young, just with being reckless and treating it like it's just a toy It gets cleaned all the time.

There's a group that comes out here, and they sandblast it and they clean it, and then literally the very next week or so, it gets sprayed again.

If it was up to me, we'd close it off, we'd give it back to the tribe.

-Stop touching it.

-Yes, give it back to them.

The excuse is, it's been like that for 40 years.

It's been like that for 50 years.

It's been like that.

They're right.

Every generation that comes here and hurts this place doesn't take responsibility for it because they blame it on the generation before them for them doing it.

At some point, it has to stop, and then we have to start anew while there's still something to do.

[music] -My name is Gerard Noonan.

I'm known through here as Little Jerry back in the day, planning commissioner for the town of Yucca Valley.

I was actually the mayor of Pioneertown as a little kid.

[chuckles] Somehow they elected me for a year.

The best part of my political career.

My mom was Peggy June Ellsworth, Miss Michigan.

Somewhere along the way, she had met Roy Rogers, and Roy told her all about this little place called Pioneertown that he'd been building.

Gene Autry was involved as well.

He and the Sons of the Pioneer were filming out here.

This was one of their favorite places to be.

He raved about Pioneertown, about The Red Dog particularly.

As she made her way west up to Palm Springs, and then the opportunity came up, she bought The Red Dog as soon as she could.

-This is my home for back in the day, Pioneertown Motel.

We were hotel operators.

-Cool.

Wow.

-This is home for me.

-Did you ever ride your horse up and down this area?

-I rode a bunch of horses, yes.

I actually got thrown off a horse right over here and cracked my noggin.

Couldn't walk for like three days.

Here's the jail, girls.

Marshall's office, which was my dad, and then here's the jail.

Get used to this.

No, I'm just kidding.

This is Roy Rogers' room.

You know who Roy Rogers is, right?

-Yes.

-The one that was in the picture -with your grandma.

-That's really cool.

-That's where she learned about Pioneertown.

-Do you know who the Duke is?

-Who's the Duke?

-John Wayne.

-John Wayne?

-John Wayne, the guy, yes.

-So they actually stayed here?

-Oh, yes.

Everyone stayed here.

This was their place.

This is us.

Come on in.

-I like it.

It's nice.

-Thank you.

Yes, it's cool.

This is exactly like where your dad lived when he was like five, six, seven.

I was the only kid around, so, again, the whole area was my yard.

It's like the best life.

It really was.

I don't know if I could replicate it again.

I don't know if I'd wish it for somebody else, but for me it was perfect.

[music] -The '70s, they were cool, but it just epitomized what was going on: easy rider vibe, that whole kind of thing.

I really think that a lot of people came out here because they weren't able to do or build what they wanted to build.

They had this idea in their head that they could be free and do what they want to do.

Some of what they wanted to do wasn't in line with the ecosystem.

There's a newfound respect and reverence for the wildlife, and I feel like it's because it's endangered.

There's a lot more awareness to it.

However, there's a lot more people coming out to enjoy it.

I don't know if they're able to find or strike the balance between the attraction of an ecosystem, and the harmony and the peace that exists here.

I do know that there's something here that is attractive to people.

There's an energy here.

There's a rawness here, and I did find that.

I did find that as a kid.

[music]