What's East of 29 Palms?

I wish this story were spookier or more fantastic, but sorry, I didn't see little green men being rounded up by troops in black helicopters...
I just saw some stuff I have never seen before in my area and I'm curious.

I have lived most of my life in the Palm Springs area, South of the Marine base at 29 Palms. At rare intervals, I have seen CH-46s (the ones with two rotors) in the air around here, but I dont remember ever seeing attack helicopters and I have definately never seen fighter aircraft overhead here.
There is little if any reason that they should be over here... although there is an abandoned marine base to the east called Slab City and WWII era army training grounds at Chiraco Summit, the military does not currently control any sort of firing ranges or bases south east of 29 palms for these aircraft to be operating around.

2 days ago, for the first time that I can remember, I did see 3 attack helos (i'm no expert- couldn't tell you if they were apaches or what) over Indio CA and headed South-East. Tonight on the way home, I saw what I assume was a fighter jet. From the speed it was moving I can pretty much rule out anything prop-driven, and from the way it was flying, if it was civilian the pilot is sure to be arrested upon landing. I assume it was just because i was in the car, but this was the first time I've been so close to a jet without hearing it. Those things used to get our attention when they overflew our squadbay at SOI West on Camp Pendleton.

I hate to pad a sane (if boring) story with heresay, but there is a little more.
We have had the occasional sonic-boom around here. It's been a few years since the last one, but we've had them- supposedly from an SR-71 once, although the nearest one of those is at Edwards AFB.
More recently there was supposedly some kind of missile launch witnessed coming from the Mountains around here. My stepdad was a trucker and he raved about it for a while after it happened- apparently at the time that he saw it, the buzz on the CB was that we were launching a nuke at something or somebody... obviously i dont believe that.

Anyway long story short- is anyone aware of some secret or non secret base in the general area of Palm Springs or 29Palms CA which I have not already mentioned in this post?