The Yucca Man, often described as a large and hairy desert beast, is a Saloon and campfire legend around Joshua Tree National Park. One possible explanation might include the unusual shape of the Joshua trees themselves, which can appear human in an instance of poor light. The following tale is from 1971 and too place at Twenty-Nine Palms, California:
In 1971, the early part of the year, The Marine Base here in Twenty-Nine Palms California had an unusual happening. My Husband was in charge of the armory and the night guard (Marine) was found at the rifle range one morning, almost incoherent, his rifle bent almost in two and he described what was to be called "The Yucca Man." The creature was in the dark and the guard had felt or heard a noise of something in the darkened desert, upon raising his rifle and yelling out to halt, the 'thing' came at him taking the rifle away and bending it almost in two!
Investigation of the area and the guard's description was that of a yeti (ABSM). From what I remember, CIA and FBI were called in; many dark suits were roaming around looking for info. Officials were called in and the neighborhood in 29-Palms near the base was found to have 2 Yucca men seen that same night, one quite large and a smaller one with it. At the corner of Valley Vista Street and Utah Trail the resident dogs were barking and people looked out the window to see these creatures. Johnny and Rae saw these Yucca's and reported them to the officials making the investigation at the time. Johnny has since passed on but his wife, Rae, and daughter are still in the area. Further down the same road later on the creatures were observed near a horse corral where the horses were panicky. Early in 71 another sighting was in the Joshua Tree National Monument (now called a park) and the people sighting them were part of the monument employees.
This is a desert area, not well occupied with people and a lot of the area is not accessible. The incidents were documented and reported by Bobbie Short in February 2001.
Eight years later, in May of 1979, a young couple were leaving their condominium complex in Desert Hot Springs, north of Palm Springs, when a large harry creature emerged from behind a yucca in front of their car. According to the driver the animal, which had "a chest the size of a refrigerator and arms that hung down below its knees", was so large that he could only see it from the mid-section down. The beast that reportedly was covered in long tan colored hair disappeared quickly back into the night leaving no footprint evidence.
Also in 1979 a 12-foot-tall Bigfoot made a visit to Hemet, California some distance to the south of Palm Springs twice in a period of a week. This time, however, the creature left a grand total of 17 tracks in the mud along a rural road during its initial visit. These tracks measured 18 inches in length and were spaced some 6 feet apart.
Noted Bigfoot researchers Douglas Trapp and Danny Perez both conducted a investigation of this sighting, even going as far as to perform a "stakeout" of the location where the tracks were found. But alas, the monster did not return.
In 1988 a couple of service men from Twenty-Nine Palms were returning home from a day of fun in the sun at Big Bear Lake at about 9:00 p.m. when they encountered a creature that the locals call the "Cement Monster", due to the fact that it is said to live near an old cement factory in Lucerne Valley.
As the two men approached the old factory, a large upright running creature moved across the road in front of their car. As was the case 9 years earlier in Desert Hot Springs the animal in question was so large that the men could only see it’s lower half.
In disbelief the two men just looked at each other for a moment before one of them exclaimed "What the Hell was that?" The other replied, "That was the Cement Monster, after him!" The driver hit the brakes while the other reached for a gun that was in the glove box. The two adrenaline filed men searched up and down the road and around the cement factory, but never found any sign of the creature.
The pair came to the conclusion that they had seen some form of prehistoric man and returned to their journey home.
An anonymous source reported the following: I thought I would share this. Over Easter break in in about 1998 or 1999, I was camping and rockclimbing at Joshua Tree with two friends. We stayed in the Hidden Valley Campground. At some point during the trip, I took a picture of our campsite, which backed up against large rocks with a famous climb overhead. Between the rocks was a deep crevice (although not a full cave). You guessed it. When the pictures were returned to me, there was a primate-type face peering out of the darkness of the crevice. It wasn't super clear, but distinct enough that everyone I showed it to noticed it. I showed it to a friend who used to ranger at Joshua Tree and she said "that might be Yucca Man," which was the first I had heard of him. I'm not certain where the photo is now, although I'm certain I didn't throw it away.
True Tales of the Mojave: From Talking Rocks to Yucca Man
