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.

Palm Springs: Wet and Wild

Palm Springs can be a comfortable contradiction of terms.  On one hand it’s cultured and refined. In the other palm it can be wild and crazy. Staid old traditions often collide against hot trends germinating from both coasts. It’s a confluence of the old and new, reserved and uninhibited, legacy verses façade. Yet there seems to be something for everyone who comes out here looking for a venue outside of the norm.

Palm Springs is wet.  The Dinah, the White Party, Splash weekends, Coachella and Stagecoach are just a few of the fun-inspired events and festivals.  They can be edgy, outrageous and even scandalous. And those are just some of the tamer ways to describe how some people behave once they get here.

The legendary Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend turned twenty-five this year.  From a small one-night event with 1,500 participants twenty-five years ago to now five days of epic pool parties and world-class entertainment, the Dinah has evolved into one of Palm Springs largest tourism boosters. This year the Dinah attracted over 15,000 attendees and cemented its status as the largest lesbian event of its kind in the world.

The White Party has done the same thing for gay men from around the country.

Coachella is a cultural rock and roll happening in its own rite.  Since its humble beginnings in 1999 as a two-day indie rock festival, Coachella has established itself as one of the largest two-weekend celebrations in the country. In 2015, it attracted well over 500,000 attendees and continued to draw some of rock, hip-hop, and electronic dance music’s biggest names.

Stagecoach is a simpler, more traditional roundup celebrating country, bluegrass, and folk music and culture.  The polo field grounds are dotted with bales of hay, stagecoaches, and mechanical bulls. Since its launch in 2007, the festival has grown exponentially and offers comfortable options including a recreational vehicle camping resort for a fancier experience.

Local hotels add to the flavor with their own hedonistic menu of pool-parties, lounge entertain-ment acts, splash events, and all-night carousing.  Most hotels have their own venue of live music party bashes. Local shops feature Coachella and Stagecoach fashions from hipster cool to Wild West to boho queen to cozy country and desert chic.

Yet even in that crazy colliding quilt of fashion and fun both generations love to cross over occasionally.  For the more mature among us, it can be wild and wet if the climb is hard and honest sweat counts for anything.

For those seeking some respite from city living greater Palm Springs offers up a plateful of scenic escapes by the hour or by the day. Visitors can find quiet and sanctuary on mountain paths, red-walled canyons and the relaxing solitude of the high desert. There’s a plethora of hiking, biking, swimming, mountain climbing, trail running and that’s just in the morning hours.

 

Palm, Murray and Andreas make up the much larger Indian Canyons just south of downtown. Lake Cahuilla Recreation Area features over 710 acres with fishing, camping, hiking, and horseback trails.

Whitewater Preserve is a vital wildlife corridor between the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains and is home to several species of endangered birds and a robust population of deer, bears, and bighorn sheep.

Joshua Tree National Park boasts over 790,000 acres of divergent topography and rapidly changing landscapes.  Two deserts merge among a seemingly-endless swath of boulders to form the national park. The Colorado Desert occupies the eastern half of the part and the higher, slightly cooler Mojave Desert makes up the western half.  Year-round activities include hiking, biking, rock climbing, camping, and stargazing.

Aside from its majestic physical surroundings, Palm Springs can be anything you want it to be.  It’s a state of mind in a land of temptations. For some, ‘hooking up’ means a solid crampon lodged in granite. To others it means something entirely different. A ‘one night stand’ means overnight lodging to one person. An experiment in mutual satisfaction to another.

Welcome to wild and wacky world of the new Palm Springs.  Part fable, part legend, part public relations and media snowstorm and part reality. For most it is a reflection of what they think this place should be…at least in their own minds. For others it is a culmination of self-induced parity of what everyone else their age is doing, acting, and pretending.

Leaving Palm Springs

Whether you chose to be part of the circus or not, it can be a curious and ever mind-expanding place to be…or be from.