Palm Springs

A few weeks ago Granny Jenni decided to fly over to join us for spring break, so instead of our usual snowy spring break adventures we took her south this last week to the warmer climes of Palm Springs and the San Jacinto Mountains. We stayed in Desert Hot Springs 20 minutes to the north of central Palm Springs, it was a community somewhat “on the other side of the tracks” but the house we rented with its pool and spa suited us all well for the week. It was Lilia’s birthday whilst we were in town, we all celebrated with a surprise visit from Cheryl – the first time we’d seen her two years – as well as a rendezvous with the Stuarts – who were touring the southwest after a week skiing in Colorado. So fun to have everyone together!

In addition to the surprise arrival from Cheryl and a visit from the Stuarts we also had Steve fly in to meet us with his son Toby for a wonderful afternoon and dinner in Palm Springs. Steve’s son Rupert and his husband David have a home in central Palm Springs, where they were nice enough to host us all for the day at their villa. It was a great afternoon, with some excellent food and great company. I think the kids spent most of the day in the pool. So nice to have the two families together with the Stuarts in tow. If I ever hear about David grilling up a filet strip again I’ll be there with bells on!

We took our bikes down to Palm Springs to explore some of the desert trails in Cathedral City. The climbs – even up the fire roads – were incredibly grueling, with at least 500 feet of vertical per mile in the sapping desert sun. The most famous of the trails like the Hahn Trail were too high up in the mountains for us, but we had a great time tackling some of the singletrack in the lower portions of the San Jactino Mountains. The vid below of me chasing Wild Man down Wildhorse was a fun downhill, and as tempting as it was to get on the gas, the penalty for a misstep was quite steep on the decomposed granite trails with cactus all over the place. Some super steep and rutted sections though, I don’t think the girls were too pumped…

The girls enjoyed the shops in central Palm Springs, and we found ourselves at the Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar a couple of times during our stay. The live music every afternoon coupled with happy hour drinks – Granny Jenni was a big fan of their margaritas – were hard to pass up. We had some good meals whilst in town but I think a standout for all of us were the burgers at The Heyday, without a doubt the best smashburger I’ve ever had. Date shakes at Lappert’s were also a highlight.

Palm Springs and surrounds have no shortage of impressive desert hiking trails. The trails on the Agua Caliente reservation south of Palm Springs were quite incredible, some of the most impressive desert landscapes I’d ever seen. The trail through Palm Canyon was quite striking, with its towering palms and charging river coming out of the mountains. Tahquitz Canyon was also worth the hike, was a fun sojourn quite close to own-town Palm Springs. Big props to Granny Jenni for tackling the Tahquitz loop! I’d love to explore some more of the trails in the Indian Canyon area of the reservation, we’ll have to go back sometime when there’s a little less water around… When we visited, the Murray Canyon trail had 13 water crossings along it and I didn’t think Cheryl and Lisa would want to hop on their planes home with soaking wet shoes!

Joshua Tree National Park was a short drive northeast of our abode in Desert Hot Springs. The weather was decidedly against us when we ventured into the national park: it probably rained more than an inch during our time cruising though the striking desert rocks and Joshua trees, which is about 20% of the annual rainfall received in the park. Regardless, it was great to take in the landscapes from the car and fortunately the rain subsided for a short while when we were in the Indian Canyon section of the park, enabling us to take a bit of a walk through the red rocks and cacti.

A fun week exploring the desert around Palm Springs, and a lot of fun to have visitors and family from all over the world rendezvousing together in one place. Thanks again to Chezza for flying in to say hello and to David and Rupert for such a nice afternoon and meal at their villa!