A trip to the desert

We made a quick getaway to the desert to hike a couple weeks ago.  The trail was nearly deserted - appropriately.  I saw 3 people on a five mile hike.  It was hot - temps near 100 - but the warm sun felt glorious after the tepid temps near the ocean. The coast is in the season of "May gray, June gloom" when morning fog lingers till noon. The best season for beach trips to our area is really February, I think, or late fall. Although the beaches are open again, the air is cool and damp and not really pleasant for sunbathing - even if the lifeguards weren't driving trucks up and down with their megaphones blaring "Keep moving. Beaches are for walking, jogging, and exercising. Please keep moving."

The area we visited is near Palm Springs, which we have never visited.  In my past life, the desert was not a place I had any interest in visiting. My visions of it were formed by Coyote and Road Runner cartoons, and it crossed my mind on this trip that those Warner Brothers executives probably spent some time  in the area where we were hiking.  People go to Palm Springs from the coast to soak up sunshine and sit by pools with cocktails. Mid-Century modern style is synonymous with the vacation homes of Bob Hope, the Presleys, the Gabor sisters, and the Reagans, among other celebrities from LA who spent weekends entertaining out here. I have never really been into celebrity homes - writers' homes, saints' homes, yes - nor am I usually a sit by the pool and drink cocktails in a glamorous bathing suit sort of person (coffee in workout clothes, yes), but I do share the desire to be warm and to enjoy the open spaces and the surprisingly brilliant blooms of the desert landscape.

 The change of scenery and the escape to the "country" was a welcome break, even if brief. It felt like we were a million miles away from the Covid world, although the other hikers did have bandannas and made the quick effort to cover mouths or step aside on the trail.  I like the bandanna option for masking while exercising because it is lightweight and breathable, but seems to cover the face better than the neck gaiters, which I wore and which are thin and roll up. I actually have 2 of the Buff running headband/neck gaiters - I always used them as headbands that double as ear warmers in cool weather rather than a scarf, but I'm sure if we lived in cold weather areas, I would have loved them as a scarf. I have vivid memories of ice forming on my scarves as my breath froze while running when we lived north of Chicago.  We lived near a forest preserve where I would run frequently, and I've always had a prejudice for forests over deserts, but I can see how the wide blue skies, the warmth, the privacy from people, but the company of the resilient plants and animals that persistently bloom and reproduce in seemingly hostile conditions attract the people who live in the desert (Aside from the pink and pastel homes of the celebrity retreat culture of Palm Springs, the desert has a separate subculture of people who dwell in RVs and on remote ranches off the grid and free from the judgement of popular culture).  As we walked, I felt a fondness for this place growing as I snapped photos of the vistas and the rainbow hued blooms. Although I still don't see myself sitting poolside at a Palm Springs resort, I think I could spend a few days exploring the trails and basking in the sun and enjoying the blooms of late spring.

We imitated the lizards - soaking up the sun on rocks.

Best outhouse view ever.

Nicest outhouse ever.

Prickly Pear in yellow

One hour later. By evening its life was over.

Prickly pear in pink

Barrel cactus in yellow.

View of the golf course in the distance. A lot of water must be needed to keep it green.

The bees loved this blooming tree

Palo verde

We saw and heard an abundance of birds. Finally saw the California quail in a tree.

Brittlebush

The cholla cactus. I didn't get a photo of the ocotillo blooming, but the theme of the day was Cactus ID. I knew the names of about five times; we saw several others.