The Sky Village Swap Meet features seven acres worth of flea market vendors every Saturday and Sunday. It draws regulars and visitors who rummage together among the clutter for the many hidden treasures, brunch at the Sky Village Cafe, and chat amongst one another. It’s a fun filled weekend community gathering. On the particular weekend of our visit, a bus load of folk singers from Oakland played several consecutive sets. We bought a white cotton sheet from a woman for one dollar to shield ourselves from the pounding sun.

Amid the Sky Village Swap Meet’s maze of hats, racks, vintage electronics, and various knick-knacks lies the Crystal Cave and its smiling creator, Bob Carr. Bob is a generous and wizened man with an extra long stylish beard, grey hair, and a poetic, almost rhyming way of speaking. He admits that one of the keys to happiness is one’s ability to surrender. Bob, along with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Zena, are the Swap Meet’s hosts and organizers, and the Crystal Cave is Bob’s baby. Nestled between some buildings next to HDTS Headquarters, the Crystal Cave’s exterior is a one story wormed-out mound of spray foam insulation. Brightly painted and shaded passageways provide a cozy escape from the desert sun. Small windows or portals as Bob calls them provide glimpses into a brightly colored otherworldly land with a long trickling waterfall, miniature trees, pond of koi fish, and the sparkles of thousands of crystals and geodes embedded in the foam. Bob Carr is often there himself to open the secret door and guide no more than a pair of persons into the Crystal Cave at a time. He awaits the moment the people emerge in anticipation of seeing a giddy smile on their faces.

The Crystal Cave is a work in progress. Bob who has been involved with the Sky Village Swap Meet for 36 years began this creation 11 years ago. He recently removed some miniature houses which he, along with Elizabeth and Zena, agreed did not work. Instead, he began adding tiny animals such as bear and deer. Awaiting entry to this space—-which one spectator referred to as a sort of temple—-is the perfect opportunity to chat with Bob and get a sense of his life philosophy. He might reveal to you how he threw his ego to the ground and stomped on it when he was twenty-eight years old. Or he might regale you with stories of family travel around the country. He had not initially intended to stay at with the Swap Meet for so many years but felt compelled by the people to stay. He feels fortunate to have been able to grow rich without money.

The six or so people we watched emerge from the Crystal Cave all gave Bob a big hug on their way out, and we wondered if they were old friends of his. However when we came out of the crystal cave we felt compelled to hug Bob and thank him for giving us this experience as well. The finely detailed, humid, and distinctly un-desert like environment was filled with the sound of water, glistened with geodes and crystals, and put us in an altered state of mind.