Valerie Morton

“You are one crazy Australian”, David Hirst was informed when he met the locals of Pioneertown for the first time. “When are you gonna move out here?”

Low Life in the High Desert recounts the adventures of an Australian journalist, his girlfriend, and their dog, who moved across the world to make the California High Desert their new home. Moving into Boulder House — a huge, rambling edifice constructed from giant boulders to withstand a Russian invasion — they were hurled into a world that few ever get to experience up close.

The weird and wonderful cast of characters they encountered and befriended in one of the last outposts of America’s Wild West is recounted here with great humour and humanity. This is an unforgettable account of strangers in a kind of paradise.