Coyote Time and the Rising Sun

Few of us are lucky enough to watch the world (as we know it) open up each morning and welcome in a brand-new day. A lot of folks seem to be just happy seeing daylight and then pondering what the next twenty-four hours might bring into their lives. I am very lucky. For me, life begins anew here among the cactus, coyote, and early morning walkers.

Dawn in the desert is a very special time of day for a select few; human and animal alike. Not only for the beautiful sunrise that paints finger-thin rays of mustard yellow against the still sleeping mountains or the fleeting glimpses of coyotes on the golf course returning from their nocturnal hunt. The hours just before dawn seem to draw out an interesting assortment of characters intent on enjoying the cool of morning before the heat of the day. Sunrise opens the curtain on another day in the desert. The audience is sparse but appreciative.

Places that cater to the early risers are busy. A tapestry of color dances over the mountain slopes, crevice’s, boulders, scrub brush and gray-layered coat of dust and dirt.

       

The coffee shops are full. Hotel guests edge aside one another for a place in the rising sun on the patio. Estate sale aficionados clammer for a place at the head of the line to see what goodies lie inside the condo for sale. Walkers, bikers, runners, joggers, and dog-walkers move softly down the footpaths and sidewalks of the city.

For many others, it’s a quiet patio for solitary pondering of the day’s upcoming activities and life itself. So goes each early morning in this resort town. Palm Springs is a different kind of animal; always has been. Unlike a lot of other communities, there aren’t as many commuters clogging the highways and by-ways. A lot of folks like to sleep in or have their coffee on the veranda overlooking the rising sun. It’s a resort/retirement community and the residents take that moniker very seriously.

Most resort communities sport the ubiquitous gated enclaves of look-alike signature homes surrounding a golf course where every home has a swimming pool in the backyard. Those enclaves of understated wealth are sprinkled with a flavoring of casinos, fine dining, expensive shops and one-of-a-kind amenities meant to separate the cake from the chaff. Palm Springs is all that but much more. Sometimes the ‘more’ isn’t quite what the Chamber of Commerce would like to promote. Yet that is what separates this desert community from so many others.

Palm Springs is unique not only because of its storied history; real and imagined. It’s been around long enough to have grown old and stale then reborn many times over. Through the decades it has attracted both the rich and the poor, the smart and not so smart, the hip and those decidedly uncool and all manners of life form in-between.

In the past few years, Palm Springs got so dated that it became hip all over again. What was once old like mid-century modern architecture is now all the rage. Tired old motels have been revamped, remodeled, spruced up and now charge ten dollars for a bottle of beer. (But wait, I’m dating myself.) Fifties throw-away furniture fetches a fortune in design stories and replicas fare just as well. Old is new again and thus hip for those born twenty-thirty years ago. A traveler back in time like me can only smile and think about the untold wealth we took to Goodwill way back when.

While most resort communities follow the unwritten rule of retirement; sleep in, coffee on the patio and face the day on the right side of dirt, natives on the north end of the Coachella Valley are different. Early morning in Palm Springs comes to mind as a perfect example of this.

In Palm Springs it takes a lot to turn heads if you’ve been here for more than three deep breaths. For example, there’s something decidedly unremarkable about a hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar Bentley parked in front of McDonalds or the elderly owner inside sipping his cheap cup of coffee-with refills. Or the classic 1964 tan mustang convertible parked in front of True Value hardware. A hipster arriving at our newest hotel in town ‘The Rowen’ wouldn’t turn an eye with his vintage corvette.

The older set is in the Saguaro swimming pool for exercise class before their grandchildren’s generation has returned to bunk down. These women are an accomplished lot who want to spend their time as they please. And frankly, they don’t care what others might think about grandma and grandpa sipping their first cup of Joe at the Casino or country club instead of squirreling their children’s inheritance away.

For me, the routine is always the same. Coffee on the patio, a quick breakfast and then at my desk trying to create words, thoughts and ideas and assemble them on the computer screen. I suppose I could retire and slow down like most seniors my age but habit and hunger keep me working. I personally wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s all part and parcel of life here in the desert for me and a lot of other restless souls like myself.

Dying for Company

Palm Springs as a ghost town was something few of us had ever seen. Yet by early March of this year, downtown was virtually empty of people and cars. It was like some classic B movie scene from the apocalypse.

I knew this season in the desert was going to be different because of the pandemic. It began last March when California gradually began enacting many of their restrictions to contain the virus. By mid-March, for all intensive purposes, Palm Springs had completely shut down. The restrictions continued throughout the summer and now into the fall.

Snowbirds and Canadians, our always reliable winter visitors, have slowed to a mere trickle of what they used to be. Canadian medical rules have made travel to the United States a challenging venture and getting sick here is frightening to our Northern neighbors. For those who did venture south, golfing provided a respite from the many other activities that had been canceled.

Vacation rentals, usually a major part in our real estate activities, have slowed down considerably from years past. Large gatherings are either forbidden or strongly discouraged. The old ideas of coming to the desert from out-of-town to party have taken on a whole new meaning.

Last Spring, restaurant dining had all but disappeared. It’s gotten better but indoor dining is limited and outdoor dining doesn’t fare much better. With outdoor heaters to ward of the desert night chills, they can still squeeze them in, as long as the packing is practicing social distancing.

Hotels were closed for three and four months this summer and only recently have begun the long arduous process of rehiring staff and advertising their presence in the desert. Chains like Marriott and Double Tree and the Ritz have fared better than most Mom and Pop establishments.

Like many restaurants, most coffee shops offer large outdoor patios so their traffic has been redirected but not curtail too much. Indoor dining is very restricted.

Libraries no longer offer any place to sit and browse the racks. Books, movies, CDs, DVDs and magazines are still available for check-out but the long admired ambiance of our libraries as social gathering spots for the locals has gone the way of COVID.

On the flipside, bike shops are doing a booming business. Like most shops around the country, Palm Springs Cyclery has enjoyed increased foot traffic and week long waits for mechanical work. Oldsters who have been on a bicycle for years are rediscovering the joys of two wheel travel. Many of them are opting for E-Bikes (motorized bicycles) to glide over the few hills we have in town.

Another bright spot in a very dismal market is our local real estate. Hard to believe but the pandemic has created ideal conditions for a dramatic spike in home sales throughout the Coachella Valley. With so many people working from home, and realizing that home can be anywhere, the desert is looking more attractive than ever.

Seven months into the pandemic, the number of pending sales of single-family homes and condominiums was up 56 percent and 42 percent, respectively, over the same period last year. It would seem the virus is causing a lot of folks to want to get out of densely populated cities and escape to less crowded areas of the country.

This season is very much about working with what one has.

If the library is limiting its book take-out, I’ve always got ‘Better World Books’ and their cheap books to buy online. Sharon and I aren’t using our social membership at the Saguaro Hotel for swimming and working out, so now we use our favorite walking spot: the berm between Smoke Tree Stables and the wash.

I have my mountain trails to plod along and my elevated hikes taking me to the top. We both have bicycles, the peddling kind, not electric, to tour our local neighbor-hoods. It’s forced exercise of the very best kind. So I guess we’ll just wait it out and enjoy the amenities we have all around us.

Hip Strip

In its heyday, L.A. had its Sunset Strip and Chicago had its miracle mile. Minneapolis still has its Nicollet Mall and Eat Street. Many cities across the country have their own branded tentacles of food, drink, lodging and entertainment. Now Palm Springs has done them one better with its own ‘Hip Strip’ of food, drink, lodging and plenty of skin in the name of entertainment. Throw in a splash party or two and it’s a poor man’s version of ‘Caligula’ for the masses…as long as they’re all under thirty years of age.

Back when Palm Springs was basking in its glory days, the city was a classic example of heighten expectations clashing with the reality of desert star gazing. But in reality it was only the well-heeled or coastal connected that got to hang out with the stars. For the average visitor Palm Canyon Drive was just a welcome respite from the normalcy back home even while it harbored high hopes for seeing one of their favorite stars on the sidewalk instead of in the sky.

 

Over the last several years Palm Springs has slowly regained its panache. The town is now a happening place once again. After years of economic stagnation and entertainment limbo Palm Springs has risen like a Phoenix once again. But it’s no longer your parents or grandparents vacation spot.

Palm Springs is fast becoming just about the hippest hot spot this side of Brooklyn, Silver Lake and West Hollywood. West Coast hipsters, designers, remodelers, artists, musicians and actors are all rediscovering what their forefathers knew all along. That washing the warm sun over blue pools with a healthy shot of alcohol can bring out a hedonistic nature in the best of us.

The city is even carving up areas of the town and giving them distinct labels such as SOPS (South of Palm Springs) and the Uptown Art and Design District. While the hint of change had been in the air for a long time, it took the turnover of an old motel to kick-start the entire process. Most observers would agree that it was the conversion of an old Howard Johnson motel on Palm Canyon Drive into the new hip ACE hotel that became the catalyst for the hipsters to start coming to town. Now there is a whole cache of hotels and motels changing hands and branding themselves as ‘hip.’

The Hacienda Pool and Swim Club claims to be a sun lover’s paradise during the day and a posh Vegas-style lounge act at night. The Curve just changed hands after years as a tired old Ramada Inn. Their new owners are promising big changes.

                                               

The ACE comes replete with its well-earned reputation as a hipster hangout.

The Saguaro is distinguished by its colorful paint schemes throughout the building and its grounds.

The Purple Room is considered by locals to be one of Palm Springs ‘original’ Rat Pack hangouts where Frank Sinatra would bring friends to eat, drink and carry-on.

The Parker covers thirteen lush acres and has become ‘the place’ where Hollywood hangs out during the International Palm Springs Film Festival and the rest of the year.

In the heart of downtown a new Klimpton Hotel will be the central showcase for a brand new downtown Palm Springs. The Palm Springs Art Museum continues to draw large crowds to its special exhibits.

The Uptown Design District continues to draw designers, artisans and other enthusiasts of modern style with shops that reflect this growing interest in Mid-Century Modern furnishings, clothing, art, lighting and accessories.

There is still something magical about the surrounding mountains, desert scape, warm winter months, and hip happenings all over town. Palm Springs is now a virtual cornucopia of cultural, artistic, sexual, musical and intellectual stirrings for just about everyone from the most ballsy art culture-types to the more modest of minds. It all seems to be happening here.

It’s a new era for Palm Springs and I’m lucky enough to be ‘stuck in the middle’ of it.