Mar 125 min read

Landers, Space Rock and Sign of The Scorpion-Desert stories

Updated: Sep 14

by Katarzyna Nowocin-Kowalczyk (Catherine)

December 28th, 2023

text from the book Secrets of California Deserts

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The desert is a place where heaven meets earth and different worlds and space-times intertwine. The Universe becomes a desert, and the desert is the entire Universe. As in many other ancient cultures, there are also many references to contacts with extraterrestrial civilizations that came to Earth in their space vehicles. Some of the visitors 'from heaven' were friendly, helping people, and teaching them many useful skills. Others fought the former, and the victim was the human. The ancient gods always have two faces, like Day and Night, Good and Evil, Joy and Sorrow. However, unlike many modern cultures, the world of Indians is inextricably linked to nature. The Universe is One. It creates a circle in which everything connects to everything and everything is everything.

One of the desert legends tells of a great rock that fell from the sky in a streak of bright light. Before it touched the ground, it seemed to be as light as a bubble. The incident was observed by Chemehuevi and Serrano. Because it was the largest single boulder they had ever seen, they named it the Giant Rock, which symbolized the Great Spirit.

The 'landing' site of the Giant Rock came to be regarded as a place of power. It was the Sacred Land of the Indians. They believed that the magic contained in the rock represented the heart of Mother Earth. Various tribes gathered here to celebrate the coming seasons and perform spiritual ceremonies. But only chiefs and shamans were allowed to touch it and be near it. The remaining members of the tribe had to set up camp about a mile from the meeting point. It was the Shaman who drew spiritual strength for his people from this rock.

Giant Rock is located in a place called Landers, in the southeastern Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County. It is built of white quartz granite, covers an area of 5800 ft² (540 m²) and has the height of a 7-story building. It is considered to be the largest free-standing boulder in the world. It attracts attention not only with its size and majesty, but also with the extraordinary stories associated with it.

In the 1930s, a German named Frank Critzer made a mining claim to the Giant Rock area. Then he dug a large hole under the north side of the Giant Rock, in which he made a dwelling for himself. There was one large room of about 400 ft² (about 45 m²) and a second, smaller one for storage. It was a well-thought-out design that ensured low temperatures in the summer and relatively high temperatures in the winter, so that Critzer used less wood to heat his home. The maximum temperature under the rock was 80°F (27°C) in the summer and at least 55°F (13°C) in the winter without heating.

Frank lived under the rock for 10 years. Most people avoided his company and thought he was a freak. His excavations were viewed with suspicion. However, the biggest controversy was caused by his interest in shortwave radio and the fact that he attached a radio antenna to the top of the mountain for better signal strength. There was a rumor that Frank was using the radio for espionage purposes. It was only a matter of time before the authorities became interested in Critzer.

And so, during World War II, when the United States was at war with Germany, Frank Critzer was accused of espionage, stealing dynamite, and a few other things. The allegations weren't necessarily true, but they did lead to three sheriff's deputies arriving at Giant Rock on July 24, 1942, ostensibly to take Frank in for questioning. The visit ended with an explosion of dynamite, which the German kept in a chest under the table. The explosion killed Frank and wounded the deputies. Newspapers wrote about the suicide, and unofficial sources spoke of a grenade thrown into Critzer's dwelling by his deputies. There were and still are many versions of that event, but it is difficult to say with certainty what really happened then.

Frank's friend was George W. Van Tassel. They met in Santa Monica in 1930. George was a test pilot and flight inspector. He has worked for companies such as Douglas Aircraft, Hughes Aviation, and Lockheed. He visited Frank many times in his dwelling under the rock. He described him as a very intelligent thinker with a brilliant mind. In 1945, George applied to the Bureau of Land Management to purchase the property at the Great Rock. He wanted to make an airport there. It turned out that Frank Critzer had cleared the area for the runway and that planes had landed there before, but the airport was not included on the aeronautical charts. Finally, in 1947, George moved with his family to the area around Big Rock. He improved the airport and built a restaurant under the Great Rock.

A few years later, in 1953, in Frank's former dwelling under the rock, Van Tassel began weekly meditation meetings. He soon announced that he had made contact with the Venusians during one of these sessions. According to him, he received instructions from them to build a rejuvenation chamber in the energy vortex. And so, George Van Tassel began to build an Integraton of his own design, also known as the rejuvenation and time machine, near the rock.

As a consequence of Georg's encounters with extraterrestrial civilizations, he organized the Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention at Giant Rock. The first such meeting took place in 1954. Visitors arrived in the desert by cars or planes landing on the small Van Tassel runway, called Giant Rock Airport. The conventions were very popular and attracted thousands of people. It was believed that in the place where the Great Rock lies, the "power lines" of the Earth intersect, thus directing mystical and psychic energy. Scientists, ufologists, journalists, sensationalists and ordinary tourists also came here. The meetings were organized for the next 23 years, until Georg's death in 1978.

There is a story by George W. Van Tassel that an Indian chief placed a sign on the north side of the rock called the 'Sign of the Scorpion,' which meant 'good place' to the Indians. In the Indian tradition, if a chief has placed a sign somewhere, no other Indian is allowed to place other signs in that place. Tassel is said to have heard this story from the chief's son, who was 10 years old when his father made the hieroglyph.

Another old legend says that the Hopi Shaman prophesied the Rebirth of the New 21st Century. According to this prophecy, if the Great Rock splits in half, Mother Earth, disillusioned with man, will not accept his prayers. Humanity will be doomed. However, if it splits into either side, humans have a chance to survive in the New World. And lo and behold, on the morning of February 21, 2000, at 8:20 a.m., under mysterious circumstances, the huge boulder fractured and a large piece separated from it. The Great Rock cracked on the side.

CatherineNK

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