Joshua Tree to Palm Desert – 29 April 2022
Arriving in Palm Desert was the most difficult transition we have had to make. I was still struggling with a Cold which made it worse. Temperatures were soaring in the high 30’s. This meant we found ourselves confined to the RV all day with air conditioning on and blinds drawn, only venturing out after 6.30pm. Also, because we were on 30amp instead of 50amp, we could only run the air con in one half of the RV and not the other, and we had to switch the air con off when we needed to use power for other appliances, otherwise it would trip. It was miserable. We discussed taking a trip to Carlsbad which we had visited on honeymoon – temperatures were much cooler there. However besides being an expensive trip, the thought of Minnie Min with her litterbox in the confined area of a hotel room with us, was a put off. Also, we couldn’t go right away as we were trying to organize an RV tech to look at our now completely warm fridge.
A couple of days later the Tech arrived and inspected our fridge. Unfortunately no quick resolution as he then had to fill in paperwork and submit it to the manufacturer so we could get a replacement fridge under warranty. So we resigned ourselves to only buying food for 3 days at a time. At least the freezer worked – at fridge temperature, and we had the outside bar fridge. We just couldn’t load the fridge too much and we could not freeze anything.
After a few days we adjusted as best as we could to our new location and got into a routine within our weather limitations. We did shorter hikes early in the morning or early evening. We also downloaded a talking tour map and drove around the city in the comfort of our air conditioned car. We went to the art museum and Derek had a great time visiting the air museum. We went to the shopping malls and walked shady upmarket areas. We also started to swim at the pool in the afternoons. The evenings were especially nice as we cooked dinner outside on the griddle and stayed out late enjoying the cooler weather.
I was really glad we had bought shoes for Jax as the ground would heat up very quickly for our morning hikes. We loved the Palm Desert/Palm Springs area – the hikes were spectacular and each one so different from the next. I never thought I would enjoy desert but it certainly has a beauty of its own.
While here, I was determined to try a Date Shake which I read was a specialty in the area. It seemed “Great Shakes” was the place to get one. Turned out delicious, but waaay toooooo sweet. Great Shakes also serve their Shakes with a mini doughnut over the straw – could not face it!
On May 1 we celebrated our 29th anniversary and decided to go for a hike in the morning and get Jax really tired and then go to dinner later. Our hike took us to a really nice part of downtown so we decided to go for a drink somewhere. We ended up at the Tommy Bahamas Marlin Bar and as they had a large outdoor patio, they were happy to accommodate Jax as well. We ordered a couple of drinks – Derek an IPA and I had a Pineapple Mojito. The server found out it was our anniversary and we were given a pina colada slice of cake on the house. While Jax was allowed on the patio, he was not allowed to eat there, so we ordered his burger to go. After that we walked along the streets taking in all the sights. Needless to say, once we got home we didn’t feel like going out again and ended up eating at home instead. Still, it was an enjoyable day.
A few things I learned about Palm Desert and Palm Springs:
· It wasn’t as littered as other areas of California we had travelled through
· Best to visit in the Winter – Summer temperatures are much too hot
· There are many species of Palm trees – tops look the same but bark is different
· Huge homeless problem
· Palm Springs is over 60% gay
· Palm Springs has been and still is, the home of many actors as it is within 2 hours of studios in Los Angeles
· There are many different styles of architecture from early 40’s to today
· They certainly know how to design and take care of their parks.
We had planned to go up the aerial tramway on Mother’s Day but unfortunately the winds picked up and were between 30-40 mph gusting to 65 mph. It churned up the sand at the RV Park and just blew it everywhere. It was like a proper sandstorm. It was impossible to walk outside as it got into your hair and your eyes and it was hard to walk. So we did a raincheck on the cable car and decided instead to go out for supper. I wanted to try a restaurant that was different from the rest – so we went to Rooster and the Pig. Very popular and well known for its delicious American/Vietnamese fusion food. When we arrived it was packed and we were ushered next door to a bar lounge where there were colorful paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Derek ordered an Old Fashioned and I ordered a Saigon 45 cocktail with mango and gin. Lovely! When a table opened up we moved to the restaurant and were given a small watery rice porridge appetizer with some dates in it. We followed that with some fresh rice paper covered pork and lemongrass rolls which also had dates and herbs and then I ordered chicken and Derek sesame beef. All very good. After a while we struck up a conversation with a nice couple who were sitting at the table next to us – Jane and Dean from Washington DC who were down in Palm Springs for a few days.
Finally the wind died down and we got to take our ride up the aerial tramway to the top of the San Jacinto mountain. We learned that the cable car is the largest rotating car in the world. The ride is about 10 minutes with magnificent views of mountains and the valley below. At the top of the mountain is a restaurant, museum, gift shop and theatre, as well as access to over 30,000 acres of national parkland. We did a shortish hike of 5km called the Desert trail which goes through 5 notches. Each notch has an even better view than the notch before. On returning we took a walk through the museum and watched a movie in the one theatre about the national park, the animals that live there and the flowers. We then went to another theater and watched the making of the cable car. Very interesting. Finally, on to the restaurant and drinks. Derek ordered a beer and I tried the signature “Mountain Gust cocktail” with pomegranate, soda, vodka and seven up. Very refreshing but extremely expensive. We paid about $47CDN for the two drinks. Total ripoff! After that, we rode down again to the sounds of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline which everyone was singing to. Such a great day!
The day before leaving Palm Springs I went and had my hair highlighted, cut and styled at a local hair salon. I had been toying with the idea of going short as my hair was totally unmanageable and I spent all the time with it up in the hot weather. It’s always a risk going to a new hair stylist and I do regret it now. I was not happy with the new style nor the color but I have to say, the short hair felt fantastic! I decided I would let it grow out the next few months and then have my usual hair stylist fix it before David and Kristy’s wedding in August. Hopefully it would have grown sufficiently out by then that she can get it the way I like it.
A couple of days before we left Palm Desert, we started noticing a change in Minnie Min which at first we put down to the hot weather. We did run the AC all day but she was really lethargic and also vomiting quite a bit. She was not eating well and losing weight. I made an appointment with our vet in Canada for the day after we were due to arrive back in Canada. I was hoping she wouldn’t get worse in the meantime (15 days to go)
It took us a while to get ready to leave again. Everything was still coated with sand after the sandstorm. We were pleased to leave the hot weather but felt there was still so much to I would like to return again – but next time during the WINTER!
