We flew in at night and could not see the mountains. Or the desert. Just vast ragged stretches of absolute darkness surrounding the town with its brave rows of street lights and liberal scattering of swimming pools and hot tubs, aqua jewels in the night, rimmed by tall palm trees reflecting the glow of underwater lights.
Road signs proclaimed that the towns sandwiched between the unwatered desert and the mountains were resort towns. And such they are. Golf and tennis. Spas and healing hot springs. Designer stores. It seems the majority of homeowners are only here during the winter months. Summer is just too hot.
It is March. Temperatures have plummeted in other parts of the country. Snow mounts. But here in Palm Springs, a record has been set for this time of year. 93 degrees on Thursday. However, every day, from almost everywhere we can see at least one high mountain topped in snow. Surreal.
Much about the place seems surreal to me.
Perfectly manicured ultra-green lawns and golf courses in this desert landscape.
Low-slung designer houses with matching designer-landscaped gardens.
A towering statue of high-skirted, high-spirited Marilyn.
Dry rocky canyons with palm tree oases.
Dr. Seuss trees in the Mojave desert.
Bizarre rock formations being scaled by ant-sized rock climbers.
A dusty deserted movie-set cowboy town in a remote mountain setting.
A hot spring hide-out spa, casino and brothel built by Al Capone
Citrus trees laden with unpicked fruit - I wanted to ship bushels to vitamin-C deprived children.
Row upon row of soaring white machines, wind in their blades, dust at their feet,
mountains as backdrops.
mountains as backdrops.
Palm Springs. Let me begin with Palms and Springs. These photos were taken while Graham and I were hiking in a couple of the Indian Canyons at the edge of town, not far from where we were staying with our friend Roseanne.
Mad dogs and Englishmen ... The hike through dust and among rocks was hot and glaring and thirst-making. But then suddenly there was water and palm trees. Instant relief.
Imagine coming upon this shade and water after days in the desert!
The palms are surprisingly tall. There is something majestic, timeless and secretive about them. I felt called to lie down flat on my back and look up. (I made Graham do the same). We stayed this way for some time, humbled by the scale and reach of the sentinel trees.
And now to the Mountains. We rode the aerial tramway. From the desert floor we rose 8500 feet into snow and the forested peaks of San Jacinto state park.
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| and this little piggy went ... brrrr |
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| what goes up, must...... |
A day at Joshua Tree National Park.
About an hour from Palm Springs across the Coachella valley, in the far
hills shown in the photo above. A dramatic geography, vast spaces,
weird trees, amazing rocks. I wanted to stay for days, sleep in the
open on a rock ledge with the stars bright and clear above.
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| where is the Lorax? |
A mecca for rock climbers. Easy to spot in this first photo. Find the climber in the next two.
Looking back across the valley, over the San Andreas Fault
towards Palm Springs at the base of the far mountains.
and then, of course, there was all that drinking of grapefruit juice
and the cooling off in pools
and the Wind Farms.
We took a fascinating guided tour and learned about the technology, the history,
the output of energy, the environmental issues.....
Not only did wind skirt around the mountains and
funnel through the valley to power the machines,
it was also captured .........
Everything seemed larger than life.
Fun and dramatic!
Cut from a different cloth.
Surreal Palm Springs
3 comments:
I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that even sasquatch goes south for the winter, as indicated in those first photos.
I agree: some of the best views are enjoyed flat of my back! . . . . Loved the contrasts in your visual and written images!
Seriously, Bridget, you are amazing with a camera. I had no idea what Palm Springs is like.
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