EPISODE #269: THE GOLD HILL SANDMAN

Gold Hill Sandman, Nevada

A terrible 10-foot-tall monster was sighted on September 15, 1980, just off Nevada State Route 341, north of Silver City, just past Devil’s Gate and to your left. Part of the old American Flats Comstock mining complex, as you’re coming up on Gold Hill. The witnesses were security guards for the mining company. A busy job because the various ruins of the old mining complex, which closed down by 1927, were the favorite hangout of kids and teenagers and hippies and whole families from the small-town desert hills. In part because there’s a swimmin’ hole in the creek there, down in the trees beneath the old mill. People would come in on dirt bikes and ATVs, driving pickups and hotrods, to escape the summer heat in the cool shade of riparian cottonwoods and willows. The creature watched them, from above . . . .

This is EPISODE #269: THE GOLD HILL SANDMAN. Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Thanks to our beloved patrons for making this show possible. Become a patron tonight and support the radio show you love! Listen to this episode on the radio, KCDZ 107.7 FM, 10 o’clock Friday night.

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EPISODE #268: ISLAND OF THE DEAD

Tonight we are walking across the desert, out of the canyons, over the rivers, to another kind of country. Another place, another time. Trying to trail behind the slow-walking souls of the dearly departed. Even though we are still alive. Desert myths and strange tales for this hottest time of Mojave Summer.

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Thanks to our beloved patrons for making this show possible. Become a patron tonight and support the radio show you love! This is EPISODE #268: ISLAND OF THE DEAD.

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EPISODE #267: PETRIFIED FORESTS AND GHASTLY GOBLINS

Night has fallen on the desert, and that’s a joyous time in the heat of Southwest Summer. Too hot, too dry, and we long for the cool misty tales of primeval forest, of strange creatures, of great mysteries!

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Thanks to our beloved patrons for making this show possible. Become a patron tonight and support the radio show you love! This is EPISODE #267: PETRIFIED FORESTS AND GHASTLY GOBLINS.

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EPISODE #265: HAUNTED HOUSES & MONSOON RAINS

With every passing day, scorcher or not, we are on the march towards Autumn, towards cooler days and longer nights, the time of graveyards and ghost stories. But it’s always time for ghost stories, of course. Especially on Desert Oracle Radio. So tonight, after the exciting Monsoon Season forecast and report, we spend a chilling evening in an old mansion with a writer who just wants some peace and quiet so he can finish his book ….

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Thanks to our too-few patrons for keeping the lights on, for the time being. This is EPISODE #265: HAUNTED HOUSES & MONSOON RAINS.

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EPISODE #264: SUMMER SOLSTICE VERSE & THE DESERT DOCTOR’S WEIRD BIRD

We’re back with Midsummer Tidings from the Mojave, with solstice verse from Sam Clemens & Shakespeare, too. Plus a new campfire story from our recently concluded springtime series in Joshua Tree. With spooky summertime RedBlueBlackSilver soundscapes.

Thank you for supporting this advertising-free program on our Patreon.com/DesertOracle page, where you can find dozens more live & Patreon-only episodes from our 10 years of DOR broadcasts & events. This is EPISODE #264: SUMMER SOLSTICE VERSE & THE DESERT DOCTOR’S WEIRD BIRD.

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EPISODE #263: CAMPFIRE TALES ON A HALF-MOON NIGHT

From our Campfire Stories in Joshua Tree on May 23, 2026, here’s a special one-hour edition of Desert Oracle Radio live from the desert behind the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, with the High Desert’s own Herb Benham IV opening the campfire festivities with a couple of proper cowboy songs. Ravens, rattlesnakes and other characters appear early and often in the stories & fables that follow.

David Poller Photo

Thank you for supporting this advertising-free program on our Patreon.com/DesertOracle page, where you can find a slightly longer version of this episode, plus dozens more live & Patreon-only episodes from our 10 years of DOR broadcasts & events. This is EPISODE #263: CAMPFIRE TALES ON A HALF-MOON NIGHT.

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EPISODE #262: THE NEW UFO FILES

If you love flying saucers, maybe you’ve been following the release of a bunch more government UFO files. Maybe you’re disappointed that E.T. isn’t in there, signing a treaty with F.D.R. But it’s a very interesting window on the American UFO era, which is now 80 years old! 

PLUS: A tale from Death Valley, told at our recent Campfire Stories event in Joshua Tree.

This is EPISODE #262: THE NEW UFO FILES. Listen to the podcast now and on the radio Fridays at 10 p.m. on Z107.7 FM in Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley/29 Palms/Pioneertown/Wonder Valley … from Amboy to Zzyzx! Classic soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver.

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EPISODE #261: PLAGUE OF THE CRANE FLY + CAMPFIRE TALES FROM SKINWALKER RANCH

Tonight’s episode features a previously secret recording of Campfire Stories from years gone by, plus an examination of the so-called “Mosquito Hawk” (or Skeeter Eater), which does not eat mosquitos. It doesn’t really do anything but fly into your mouth while you’re driving, or just walking through your own house. Information regarding our May 2 / May 16 / May 23 “Campfire Stories” in Joshua Tree is also provided, with more details at DesertOracle.com/event-calendar/

This is EPISODE #261: PLAGUE OF THE CRANE FLY + CAMPFIRE TALES FROM SKINWALKER RANCH. Listen to the podcast now and on the radio Fridays at 10 p.m. on Z107.7 FM in Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley/29 Palms/Pioneertown/Wonder Valley … from Amboy to Zzyzx!

Thank you for supporting this advertising-free program on our Patreon.com/DesertOracle page.

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EPISODE #260: ARTEMIS, PYRAMIDS, TATOOINE & DEATH VALLEY

We still live in the Time of Ancient Gods. At this very moment, in memory of a mission named for the god Apollo, astronauts of the Artemis mission are aboard the Orion spaceship, headed for La Luna. The mission is named for Blessed Artemis, goddess of the night, of the hunt, of the Moon. Daughter of Zeus. And just south of Death Valley National Park, one of the world’s three Deep Space Network bases is bringing in the data from Artemis by radio.

This is EPISODE #260: ARTEMIS, PYRAMIDS, TATOOINE & DEATH VALLEY. Listen to the podcast now and on the radio Fridays at 10 p.m. on Z107.7 FM in Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley/29 Palms/Pioneertown/Wonder Valley … from Amboy to Zzyzx!

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EPISODE #259: METEOR NIGHTS ON THE ROAD TO GRACELAND

What’s going on with all these meteors & fireballs in the dark skies above? Where did Elvis Presley see a big UFO hovering over the Mojave Desert? And what drives so many people to the pilgrimage shrine of Graceland?

This is EPISODE #259: METEOR NIGHTS ON THE ROAD TO GRACELAND. Listen to the podcast now and on the radio Fridays at 10 p.m. on Z107.7 FM in Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley/29 Palms/Pioneertown/Wonder Valley … from Amboy to Zzyzx!

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