Trip to Palm Springs
~A Very Wet Christmas~
On the road
The Palm Springs motto goes something like… “sunny for 364 days of the year!” If this statement is true, then we had very unluckily arrived on one of the two unsunny days of the year. From the moment we left Los Angeles and all the way to Palm Springs, it rained and rained and rained. We passed at least three road accidents; and some stretches of freeway were barely visible through all the spray and fog.
Photo taken from the aerial tram going up. That’s the other tram going down.
Our first touristy activity was the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. it was still raining (and freezing) – and the sign at the ticket counter said: “No Visibility”. In spite of this, we joined the big happy group of tourists anyway, and travelled up the mountain, taking in as much scenery as we could … our faces pressed against the foggy glass. Had it not been so wet, the views of the valley must have been even more spectacular.
Brave tourists in the snow.
Arriving at the top of the mountain, Eddie said to me: “It’s your first WHITE Christmas!” True, for up at the station we were surrounded by snow. Some brave tourists took to the hiking trails even though it was still raining (and frrrreeeezing). There wasn’t really anything to do up the top.We had hot dogs and rode the aerial tram back down the mountain….
The rain continued all through the night even after we arrived in Palm Springs. Seeing that it was too miserable to go anywhere/do anything and all the shops were closed anyway, I had a “hot stone” massage… then we had dinner at Lyons Grill, a very tacky ”English Grille” with red booths and dangling teapots that served dishes like Steak and Kidney Pie & Chicken Livers ( we played it safe and stuck with the steaks). There was a dude with a black eyepatch sitting at the bar ahead of us and we couldn’t stop staring. (Discreetly, of course). As Eddie says – not everyday do you see a guy with an eyepatch. “I need a pencil and sketchpad…”
~ Boxing Day~
(for the benefit of Americans – this is the day after Xmas)
Sunshine!YAY!
Front of our hotel
The Caliente Tropics Hotel has the most awesome TIKI-licious lobby ever. (Through the door underneath the arch) The lobby smelled like coconut oil, and has a rock waterfall, flowers, giant tiki sculptures, thatched ceiling & walls…I think that was Martin Denny playing in the background while we were served by staff wearing short-sleeved Polynesian shirts. (Amusingly, even when it was wet and freezing cold).
The highlight had to be the swimming pool area which was surrounded by woodcarved Tikis, flowers, lanai… Of course.
At around 10.30am we headed out to the Joshua Tree National Park (2 hours north east of Palm Springs)We weren’t quite sure what to expect – assuming the “park” to be some type of forest …. It was actually a vast earthy-toned DESERT - and a total feast for the senses.
Even the drive to Joshua Tree was awesome. When we first drove out of Palm Springs along Indian Avenue, we found ourselves surrounded by THOUSANDS of windmills all spinning in a frenzy. The No. 62 freeway passes through a few desert towns … one of which was picturesque (almost ‘Wild West..’) Yucca Valley where Eddie fell in love with these giant cactii.
Cactii outside a barber shop in Yucca Valley
When we think of the American desert, the Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons immediately come to mind. We imagine a place where all the cactii look like the ones above and rock formations take on strange shapes. We weren’t disappointed…
Eddie @ ‘Jumbo Rocks’
Cholla Cactus Garden
I have to say I was dying to see a Roadrunner even though I was disappointed to learn that the real bird looks NOTHING like the Chuck Jones creation. ( Eddie: “… they look more like chicken”). We did however see a real live coyote! It was walking across the road, then sat by the roadside next to our car, looking at me with an expression that made me want to take it home. Needless to say, the coyote looked absolutely nothing like Wile E. Coyote.
Almost camouflaged… a Coyote!
Another attraction: the ”Keys View” lookout
5,000 feet elevation
~Last Day~
On Saturday morning we checked out of the wonderful Caliente Tropics ( a little sorry that we hadn’t used the pool or hot spa as it had been too cold) and started off on a driving tour of Palm Spring’s Modernist homes.
Swanky chandelier @ the Desert Museum
Palm Springs is renowned for its 50′s-60′s architecture. To quote from Scrubble.net’s Palm Springs pages (great photos!) it’s a city “frozen in the Kennedy era”. There are beautiful buildings with luscious interiors everywhere. For instance, the Desert Museum , a stunning art gallery which besides Native American/Desert dioramas and modern art pieces, also houses William Holden’s very exotic collection of masks, ceramics and figurines.(which once belonged to his 60′s hipster pad)
One of our stops was Elvis’ Honeymoon Hideway which was located in a neighbourhood where every single house made a statement.
- See also this link on the Elvis house (Barracuda Magazine)
- About the architect – Bob Alexander
- Desert Modernism - a blog about Palm Springs modernism
….And so ended our mini Palm Springs vacation.
We left the city at noon, passing through Cabazon for the dinosaur attraction (tackier than our Big Merino!), arriving back in Los Feliz at about 3.30pm.
That’s me beneath the diplodocus
The verdict: For the quick trip that it was, we liked Palm Springs! It’s a picture-perfect resort and we can understand why Christopher loves it here. I think we’ll be back for a longer stay when the weather is warmer. Still want to use the Caliente Tropics pool and have a Mai Tai at their Reef Bar…
(more photos later, when I’m not using a dial-up internet connection)
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Palm Springs Xmas 2003 photo album! (which includes all the photos above)
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