Garth Bowles

There's a magical land to the west of Pioneertown peppered with giant granite boulders, caves, and freshwater springs. Garth Bowles, beloved patriarch of Garth's Boulder Gardens Sanctuary, passed from this world on Saturday, July 22, 2023, at dawn. His end was peaceful, and he was attended to by loved ones. He died, as he lived for the last 40 years, in a concrete tepee on 640 acres of an earthly paradise.

Garth was born on October 25, 1943, to Clyde Henry Bowles, a farm equipment salesman and real estate investor, and Verda Roberta Hawker, a nurse, in Riverside, California. He was the third of four children, named Clyde after his father, but always called by his middle name, Garth, meaning "keeper of the garden." He graduated from Ramona High School in 1961, and went on his LDS Mission to Grimsby, England, shortly afterward. Garth did not do well in school due to what was undoubtedly undiagnosed dyslexia; he read with difficulty and struggled with numbers. But he excelled at art and won several local competitions including first place at the Indio Art Festival in 1961.

Garth was an accomplished builder, but he also had a theatrical flair. He revered Jesus Christ and sought to emulate His teachings. He loved birds, peacocks in particular. He adored gems, eventually amassing a gigantic collection and an encyclopedic knowledge of rocks and minerals. And he was gay. The path forward was not abundantly clear, and Garth struggled to find direction.

He had a short-lived gig at his father's business and had a couple of attempts at college, but Garth was ill-suited for office work and academia. Mormon life was not for him, and his mission experience only underscored that realization, but he did feel deeply connected to Christianity in a more esoteric spiritual manner.

When Garth was in his late 30s, and after witnessing a series of miracles, he was persuaded to give away all of his possessions and join the Christ Family. For four years, he traveled the country subsisting on handouts and preaching the Word. He walked much of Mexico as well. His life of simplicity gave him a deep understanding of "the grace of God." He left the Christ Family, but the experience fundamentally changed him.

Around this time, Garth's friend Victor Pahl sent him a newspaper clipping. It would change his life and the course of many, many other lives. It was an advertisement for cheap desert land and offered Garth the chance to start a spiritual off-grid community. This was a dream come true, and with financial assistance from his parents, he was able to make that dream a reality. In 1981, Garth Bowles moved onto the undeveloped land that would become Garth's Boulder Gardens Sanctuary. He lived in a tepee, which remains the hub of the community.

In many ways Garth's Boulder Gardens sanctuary remains a place untouched by time, a throwback '80s hippie commune where UFOs and tie dye are welcome. In other ways, it is a radical experiment in minimal-impact land stewardship. The property is entirely off-grid. People came to the land seeking the profound simplicity he afforded, and a community of truth seekers gathered. It is said that they are called by Spirit. He based his community on one simple tenet: All are welcome.

And all spiritual beliefs are welcome as well. Garth never tried to impose structured religion on any of the community members. Yet when Spirit is everywhere, so is faith. Today, Garth's Boulder Gardens is a hub drawing people from all over the world seeking spiritual awakening.

Garth succumbed to congestive heart failure, but he died comfortably under hospice care in his favorite chair as members of his chosen family expressed their love and gratitude. He was 79.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Verda, his father, Clyde, and his sister Linda Lee Whitehead. He is survived by his sister Sharla Ann Dahlke and brother Greg Bowles, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Garth single-handedly created the Boulder Gardens, and yet he did not do it alone. There are too many others to mention here, who lent their labor, their spirit, their intelligence, their financial support and their love for Garth and his cause. The stewardship of Garth's Boulder Gardens Sanctuary has passed to Robert Peterson, who Garth entrusted with the preservation of the land and the spiritual life of the community. A memorial is scheduled for Saturday, October 28.