February 18 – 21, 2011

I took a mini trip to Palm Springs this past President’s Day weekend – not to golf or go shopping but to take a break from ‘The Grey’ (weather), sightsee, and take pictures (naturally).

What did I do while I was there? I visited…

Salton Sea – the extent of my knowledge of this place was from the movie starring Val Kilmer – although I honestly don’t remember much about the storyline. What sticks out most for me was that he was playing a trumpet in the midst of a burning room at the beginning and end of the movie…
All I can say is wow –  what a bizarre and interesting place! I’ve never seen so many trashed, deserted buildings and trailers in my life – it looked like a hurricane had hit a portion of each of the cities around the lake – accompanied by a strong smell of salt and dead fish. It’s a great place for birders though – there was lots of birdwatching to be had.

Moored boat; south shore of the Sea

Leonard Knight’s Salvation Mountain – another interesting place. Basically, the mountain is painted stacks of hay bales, adobe clay, and other materials, conveying the message that God is

The picture on the right was in one of the trailers – doesn’t he look like Chuck?! Freaky…

Slab City – lots of characters lurking about this place…

A Slab City welcome; I could have spent all day exploring this ‘City’

Anza Borrego Desert State Park – the drive through this park was fun. It had rained a considerable amount the day and night prior so there was a lot of flooding on the roads as well as warnings of flash floods. I crossed my fingers numerous times while driving my rental Hyundai through ‘water over roadway’.  It was also fun spinning out and speeding through unpaved, sandy roads – if I would have slowed down, I would have gotten stuck for sure.

Greeted by metal elephants; the long straight road

Sinking sand – not the most ideal driving conditions for the Hyundai…

Joshua Tree National Park – this was my 2nd visit; my initial visit was a hot (100+ degrees) camping trip several years ago with Sarah. I sure do love those Joshua Trees – reminds me of Dr Seuss books.

Sunflare

To prove that I was really there – my self-timer shot for the trip. Don’t you love my ‘pose’?

Dusk in the Park

Just some floral photos –

I love tropical flowers – bird of paradise

Tropical green

Where I stayed:

Livin’ it up at the Hotel California – yes, the Hotel California that the Eagles sang about. Just kidding. I think that there are several hotels with that name, none of which are what the lyrics are referring to.

It was a great place and I highly recommend it – tropical-like setting, relaxing atmosphere, incredibly friendly staff, and affordable – such a lovely place.

Where I ate/drank:

Koffi – I was a frequent guest – they had the best sugarfree soy mochas EVER.

In-N-Out Burger – yes, I know that it’s hard to believe but this was my 1st visit to an In-N-Out Burger. I’m not a fast foodie but I had to try it while I was in CA – as they say, ‘when in Rome’… After waiting in the longest fast food drive-up line ever, I misinterpreted the cheap prices to mean smaller portions (like Dick’s Drive-In) so I ordered 2 cheeseburgers “Animal Style” (from their ‘secret menu‘ online – where would I be without my iPhone?), an order of fries, and a neapolitan milkshake (another secret menu option). It was very tasty but I ate way too much and it will be some time before I eat fast food again.

Las Casuelas Terraza – FANTASTIC pork carnitas – and a large enough portion for lunch (and dinner) the following day.

Some images available for purchase here.

Palm Springs on Dwellable