Joshua tree Yucca Valley Morongo valley etc. issue with high desert is prices are more volatile.

Inventory is just very high and the economy is volatile in an election year.  

Yes, this is an unsexy option and it doesn't offer the same tax benefits, but you would benefit from reduced volatility (so long as you don't obsess over fluctuating stock prices), greater liquidity, stronger management teams and superior assets.

Seek longevity, sustainable not extreme volatility.

There is exceptional volatility in politics today, making it very difficult to lend any direction of prediction with any level of accuracy.

I have been fortunate to be in a city that has been resistant to the volatility of other markets.

California offers equity building, potential appreciation, and stability, but high entry costs and market volatility are downsides.

Also, the cash flow of the paying notes will provide enough cushion to allow me to survive almost any crash.6 - Finally, I have about 10% of my portfolio allocated for investment in high(er) risk property investments - and while there’s no telling how I’ll do on this, in the past I have been able to purchase some volatile assets at very low prices and end up doing pretty well.  

I've been on the sidelines with real estate investing for about 2 years now given this highly volatile and high interest rate environment (at least relative to recent years).

You just need to know what side of the growth curve the market is in when investing in some of those more volatile areas.