Palm Springs Diary

20th November 2023:

Started at 12:30 for Palm Springs in Accord accompanied by Binky, Kiki, Penguin, mini Grogu and Rocky raccoon. Route was straightforward –118-210-10. Encountered moderate traffic but no significant slowdowns.

Had interesting philosophical discussions on God, religion, science and how beliefs are formed after crossing San Bernardino.

Stopped at Starbucks in Upland for coffee on the way.

Reached Best Western Cathedral City at 4 pm. Room 217 on 2nd floor. Large, modern suite with king bed and sofa. Quite nice.

Have Ching’s noodles and lentil soup for dinner while watching Shark Tank. By now we know what the sharks look for – unit cost, unit selling price, margin, year on year revenue, net profit, proprietary advantage/patents, market size, debt, founder background, future growth prospects, at least 10% equity to have skin in the game. Except Mr Wonderful who is always looking for royalties in lieu of equity. They don’t seem to care so much what is actually being sold. They even entertain outrageous products like a beer can holder cum fishing reel.

These two turn in at 8:30, I at 9 after a bit of reading The Master Algorithm book.

21st November 2023:

Joshua Tree National Park

I wake up only at 6:30 since Shonu did “beskeet” (shoved the blanket under her because she was hot) thereby removing it from us, waking us up several times.

I get ready by 7:30. These two just brush and we go down for breakfast which is only till 9.

Standard fare – bagel, muffin, waffle, cereal. There is a fancy coffee machine that makes hot chocolate, mocha, cappuccino etc. Shonu has her trademark fruit loops with milk, a muffin and hot chocolate. We have half bagel, half muffin and half waffle with coffee. I have a 2nd round of cappuccino which is surprisingly good. Lots of Hindi-Cheeni bhai bhai at the hotel. We flick 3 Chobani yogurts for later.

These two get ready and we leave by 10ish for Joshua Tree National Park. Stop at a Subway one exit away to get lunch packed. It is a desolate place with one surly employee and sad looking vegetables.

We take 10 West and 62 North passing through desert wilderness, and a small hippy town called Yucca Valley with new age airs – Yoga, chakra healing, meditation, organic food shops. Bhaktifest happens nearby so it is probably the influence of that.

We overshoot the entrance and circle back to the visitor center. It is chock full of people. Lots of Hindi-cheeni bhai bhai here also. Never seen so many cars and people here. Must be due to Thanksgiving break. Get a map and head out.

We are waved through at the entrance since we have a national parks pass.

The parking lot is packed. Never seen this park so busy.

First stop: Quail springs. No springs visible but lots of rocks and Joshua trees. Here we first have lunch at a picnic table under a Joshua tree – Subway sandwich and sprite while trying to ensure our plates and cups don’t fly away in the breeze. Sandwich is very dry.

After that we go for a walk and some modest rock climbing – there is actually a path with crude steps to climb up.

Next stop: Cap Rock. As the name suggests, it is a big rock with a small cap like rock on top. Another photo op.

Next stop: Keys View. A moderate uphill drive leads to a lookout over a vast valley – probably Palm Springs city – with the light blue Salton Sea in the far distance. It is chilly here.

Next stop: Cholla cactus garden. By now we are so sleepy we park and take a small nap. Coffee is sorely missed. After about what seems like 20 minutes but could have been longer, we’re up and take a small walk through the cactus garden. The thorns have stuck to some people’s clothes, so we have to be very careful. The cacti are framed in golden halos by the setting sun. Very picturesque.

Drive back through Cottonwood Springs takes about 30 minutes followed by another 40 minute drive on I-10. We stop at a Gelson’s market to pick up bread, cheese, coffee, pizza and soup for dinner. Pizza, soup, nachos and yogurt for dinner while watching Shark Tank.

22nd November 2023:

Indian Canyons

I again wake up at 6:30 and get ready by 7:30. These two brush and come down for breakfast, which has a deja vu feel to it. This time though Shonu has waffle since her mom has verified that it is eggless.

These two decide to take a post breakfast nap to my annoyance. By the time we get out the door it is 11.

We are going to the Aerial tramway. A sign near the hilly approach road says 2 hour wait which is ominous. As we near the entrance, a long line of cars forms. We decide to skip it and make a u-turn, not wanting to spend the next 2-3 hours in various queues.

We move on to the next item on the agenda – Indian Canyons. This place is about 20 minutes away in an Indian reservation. The entrance is manned by a Native American who takes absurdly long to give us our parking pass.

The road is unmarked, winding and gets narrower and narrower as we approach the parking, constricting into almost a single lane. There is a gigantic boulder on the road that has been blasted into two to make way for the road. This is apparently an attraction called Split Rock.

The parking lot is an unpaved stretch reached after a hairpin turn on a steep path. We manage to find a spot to our relief.

We set out for the shortest hike available after fashioning three slings for water bottles from shawls, handbag straps and my belt. It is a steep descent into the canyon through a narrow path. I use a tripod as walking stick while these two use actual hiking sticks bought a couple of years ago and finding use for the second time.

It is hot when we start but cools down considerably at the bottom of the canyon which is covered with palm trees thick with what can best be described as long beards (California Fan Palm). There are little huts where the Agua Caliente band of Indians lived till the late 19th century. The shade of the palm trees makes the valley several degrees cooler than the top. A short hike is undertaken and abandoned when me and Shonu get hungry.

Back at the top, a lunch of cheese and chips sandwich, chips and apple with sprite/apple juice cocktail revives flagging spirits.

After this, there is no appetite for further hikes and a demand is made for gelato from a store in Palm Springs downtown. Gelato Granucci is the name. Shonu has 2 scoops – strawberry and lemon basil, Kamu has 1 scoop lemon basil, I have one scoop of mango. All very delicious and refreshing.

This is followed by a walk through downtown with window shopping that turns into the real thing of which Shonu is the chief beneficiary – a sweater and earrings.

Back to hotel for siesta. Then off to Taste of India for dinner. Small unassuming hole in the wall place with limited seating. But food is very good by US standards. We have paneer makhani, chana masala, garlic naan and rice. Shonu tops off with mango lassi. Satisfied feeling and pleasant after taste. Tamil pataalam behind us is from our hotel. TA (Tamilan alert) as Shonu says.

Play Set and Trophy back at hotel. Former won by Shonu, latter by Kamu. I’m only half awake. Ready to hit the sack.

23rd November 2023:

Salton Sea Beach

Same ho hum breakfast today. Left hotel at 10:30 for Salton Sea, a massive lake formed in the early 1900s when a dam on an irrigation canal from the Colorado river broke and water flooded into the Salton Sink, a depression 200 feet below sea level in the Imperial Valley. It has been kept replenished by farm runoff, which also makes the water toxic. It has been shrinking for years. It was once a popular recreational destination with resorts dotting the coast that are now largely abandoned due to rising toxicity levels.

The route is flanked by inhospitable desert on both sides with railway tracks to the left. Goods trains pass intermittently. There are some fields from time to time and we wonder how any agriculture is possible in this terrain and soil. Apparently the soil is highly fertile, being alluvial silt deposited by rivers flowing into the basin. The water comes from the Colorado via canals and other smaller rivers.

At first sight, the sea looks massive. Apparently it took them two years to fix the dam during which time the river water continued to flow.

We pull into Salton Sea State Recreation Area first. It is an unplanned stop. We have to pay $7 at an unmanned entrance. It’s a good thing we do because a ranger shows up and directs us to the beach area.

We pull into an enormous parking lot with several widely spaced cabanas with picnic tables and fire pits towards the beach end. It is well laid out. Past the cabanas is the beach. It is all very clean. The sand is white with scattered bushes. On closer inspection, the sand turns out to be made of crushed sea shells. This was a sea bed once as a dried coral confirms.

The water appears beautiful with no indication that it is toxic. There are mountains in the distance. There are old tires near the water’s edge arranged in some kind of art formation. Surprisingly there are lots of birds in and around the water. Ducks, seagulls and sanderlings. We walk till the shore. There is a whiff of dead fish smell from time to time but it is mild compared to the Salt Lake in Utah. It is very quiet, much quieter than Joshua Tree National Park which was like a beehive. There are 2 other people besides us here. It is like having our own private beach. The only sounds are coming from the birds.

We return to the car and are about to exit when we spot another area near the docks with picnic tables and a higher view of the sea and beach. We stop here for a while. The view is even better from here. The same meditative calm permeates the air. Just sitting on the table and watching the birds is hypnotic. We have binoculars which transform the view into a widescreen nature movie.

After a few minutes we leave only to return immediately for lunch after realizing we won’t find a better lunch spot. The same trademark chips sandwich with Canada Dry this time and Diwali sweets for dessert. It’s been a long time since we experienced such blissful calm. This is the highlight of our trip. These two are singing some silly 90’s film song.

Bombay Beach

Next stop is Bombay Beach, an abandoned resort town a few minutes away. We find houses, trailers and buses covered in art and graffiti, bizarre sculptures and exhibits amidst a dystopian landscape. Most of the houses seem abandoned, but some are inhabited. There is a levee running along the coastal edge of the town with steps going up to the beach. We spot kids on skateboards out of nowhere and three dogs running wild – little chihuahuas – they are not stray since they have collars.

Salvation Mountain

After this odd excursion, we head for Salvation Mountain in Niland, suggested by Kamini. It is a kind of Christian themed art exhibit. To get there we have to pass through some rough road and cross two railroad tracks and a small town in the middle of nowhere.

The mountain is more of a molehill. But nevertheless, it is impressive as a work of art, its central theme notwithstanding. It was all made by one man with whatever supplies he could scrounge from waste and dumpsters and donations. There are lots of barking dogs but thankfully they are all leashed. I find a key in the parking area which I hand over to the docent, a lady with two little dogs. A few photos later we depart for the hotel.

On the way, Kamini spots a gorgeous sunset over the lake and we make an impromptu stop at the same Salton Sea State Recreation Area park for some sunset photos.

Back at the hotel, we have a dinner of leftover Indian food and Mac and cheese topped with chips and accompanied by Canada Dry. Diwali sweets and chocolate bark for dessert. As usual while watching Shark Tank.

I write the travelogue for the day and call it a night.

24th November 2023:

Checked out from hotel at 10:15. We split a cappuccino from hotel while Shonu demanded and got a peppermint mocha from Starbucks.

Reached home in 2:30 hours at 12:50.

Had pizza and soup for lunch. Took a long nap, had chai. Then dinner at Woodlands. It was very busy. Had to wait nearly half an hour. I had mysore masala dosa, Kamu had masala dosa, Shonu had idli Vada and palak paneer. Everything was delicious despite the human traffic.

Rounded the day by visiting Sprouts and doing laundry while watching an old, forgettable movie – Bachna Ae Haseeno.