2021 Trip 3 – Palm Springs for Desert X

This was our trip to the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs and surrounding areas) to see Desert X. What is Desert X you ask? It is a sort of art scavenger hunt that is held in the odd years. It started in 2017 and this is the third incarnation of Desert X. Cindy and I experienced it in 2019 and loved it so much, we had to return this year. There will be a link to their official website at the end of this blog. So don’t cheat; read the blog then go to their website.

Day 1

As is the usual, this was our travel day. However, because the travel day was so short (about 2 ½ hours), it was also a bit of a sightseeing day as well. We took our trailer (little pal) and stayed at our Thousand Trails in Palm Desert. It was a great way to get out in our trailer and save a bit of money as well. The campsite was fine, nothing to write home about. Unfortunately, there was a lot of sand, which is problematic in an area known for strong winds. How windy can it be you ask? There are hundreds of wind turbines all around the area used to generate electricity. Now back to the campground. The bathrooms were very clean, which was important. And the location was not too far from the majority of what we wanted to see.

Once we got ourselves settled, we headed off to the main hub of Desert X, located at the Ace Hotel on East Palm Drive, the main drag through the majority of the main Coachella Valley cities. We found the Ace Hotel, and this is the sign that let us know we were in the right place.

We walked to the back of the hotel, and the Desert X area was near the pool, which was packed with 20 somethings in various forms of dress and undress. As my friend Vic would say, this was a “jivey little scene.” We picked up our Desert X program and confusing map, and I took a picture of the changes to the program, shown here. This becomes important on Tuesday as we searched for an art location.

We headed to the downtown area looking for the Desert X souvenir shop, but got there right after it closed. We had a dinner of Mexican food at Las Casuelas Restaurant. The food was good and we would return. After dinner we headed back to our trailer and called it a day.

Day 2

The day started out pretty much wind free, but was going to get hot. Around low 90 degrees hot. We lathered up with sunscreen and started with a mile and a half walk around our campground. We saw a pair of roadrunners, which was unique to us. We have seen them as individuals, but never as a pair. Here they are.

After our walk, we headed off to find the art of Desert X. Our first stop was in the downtown Palm Springs area at the North Face X Gucci Pit Stop. This was basically a domed tent in a vacant lot. Our guess was this was making fun of the fact that someone who shops at North Face probably doesn’t shop and Gucci and vice versa. Make up your own mind.

Our second stop was near the Palm Springs Tram, an exhibit called, “Never Forget.” This was a giant “Indianland” sign in the style of the original “Hollywoodland” sign. It was an obvious statement about our mistreatment of the Native Americans. Here it is.

Our third stop was at “The Wishing Well.” This piece was made from cut up pieces of yellow plastic Kufuor gallons (aka Jerrycans) used to transport water, cooking oil, and other things in Ghana. The artist is from Ghana and wanted to highlight environmental issues, among other things. Or maybe he was trying to highlight the exploitation of SpongeBob in Bikini Bottom.

Our final art stop of the day was a combination of a stop and a drive by. It was called “The Art of Taming Horses.” This was a series of six metallic horse sculptures, each was a unique flag next to it. They were in the center divider of a busy street, making them very difficult to get close to. They were the story of “Two ranchers — one Mexican, one African-American — whose personal adversities and love for raising horses lead them to creating a welcoming commune in the place that would eventually become Palm Springs.” Once we found the first horse, we parked and made our way to the center divider.

We decided to not risk the dangerous street crossing and just got “drive by” pictures of the next two horses.

There were three more horses that we enjoyed driving by, but did not photograph.

We returned to our campground, and as I BBQ’ed dinner, a fire broke in a brushy area across the freeway from where we were camping.

It was exciting to watch all of the drama associated with the fire and it provided some entertainment. So basically, we had dinner and a show.

Day 3

We started the day wind free again, but expected another hot one in the low 90’s. We drove to the downtown area and found the gift shop open this time. We purchased our Desert X paraphernalia and we off to try to find a piece named, “Home in my Own Flesh.” We walked around the building it was supposed to be in several times and couldn’t find it. We went into the building and talked to an employee who told us there was supposed to be some art there, but it never showed up. Turns out it was on the list from the first day as not being there until May. So it was off to see, “Tamanrasset,” another art display in the downtown area. We showed up at that building, which was closed, and again, we couldn’t find the art. After a few trips around the building, we realized it was right in front of us. Or just behind the glass in front of us. Here are a few pictures.

Our next stop was in a desert area in Palm Desert at a piece called, “The Passenger.” This was an arrow shaped maze with the walls made of “Petates,” traditional rugs woven from palm fibers. This was one of my favorite pieces.

Next, we drove by a series of billboards on Gene Autry Trail. This was another art display named, “Because You Know Ultimately We Will Band a Militia.” I was glad we didn’t get any pictures of this one because it was political BS. Moving on.

Our final stop was at a piece named, “Jackrabbit Homestead.” This was a replica of one of the original tiny houses that people built in the area when it was opened up to homesteading.

We returned to our campground and had another BBQ dinner, minus the show this time.

Day 4

This was our last full day in the area and it was a windy one. There were sustained winds of 20-30 MPH, with gusts up to 50 MPH. We battened down our campground hatches and headed off to our first art of the day, “ParaPivot (sempiternal clouds).” This was a metal frame with giant pieces of granite in it on the top of a hill. We had to walk a 1/4 of a mile up a steep driveway to get to the art.

Once we got to the top, we enjoyed the art, crazy wind and all.

And no, Cindy’s hair is not possessed, it was the wind. We made our way back to the truck and headed off to find the next exhibit, “What Lies Behind the Walls.”

We found the site, and it was also about a 1/4 of a mile walk to the art. It was also windy as heck and they obviously secured this piece of art down well, because it wasn’t moving.

From a distance, it looked like a really large slice of layered sandstone. It looked cool, but I wondered what was so special about it. Here are some more pictures of it as you approach and stand next to it.

This turned out to be one of my favorite pieces once I figured out how it was done. It was actually a spongy material that was covered with different types of rock material and stacked to around 40 feet. It was impressive.

The final Desert X piece we were going to see was at the Sunnylands Center & Gardens and was called, “Women’s Qualities.” We visited the Sunnylands Center & Gardens two years ago and it is worth visiting with or without Desert X. Here are a few pictures of the grounds.

This display was words in shaped planters with plants in them. I’m not sure how this rates on the “artsy” scale, but it was interesting to look at.

One of the best parts of our visit to the Sunnylands Center & Gardens was how there was no wind. It was a peaceful oasis in a windy desert. As we walked out, there were numerous hummingbirds feeding on the plants there. Here is one.

Our final stop was at the Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden next to the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert. This is a permanent exhibit that has nothing to do with Desert X and is worth seeing if you are near the area.

This next piece was “untitled,” but I think it is the answer to the homeless problem. The center is the living space, and either side can be used for storing the shopping carts and other items the homeless tend to collect.

These rabbits looked like the rabbits we saw two years ago, only in a new location. And these were not part of the display we were walking through, but was across the street.

And now some more sculptures from our side of the street.

And a few more pictures from the overall display.

We returned to our trailer at the campground and had to stay inside because the wind was creating a sand storm. I couldn’t use the BBQ to make dinner, so we went out to Legends and Icons Bar and Grill, right down the street from where we were staying. The food was average at best, but better than eating BBQ covered in sand.

Day 5

This was our travel day home and all went smoothly. We stopped in Monrovia and had lunch at Le Roy’s. Le Roy’s is a breakfast and lunch restaurant that has been in Monrovia forever. Cindy and I would eat there back when we were dating. We figured out the last time we had eaten there was over 29 years ago. It is basically a greasy spoon place with huge portions, but we will always love it!

Last, but not least, here is the link to the Desert X website.

Our next trip is actually my guys trip to June Lake for five days of fishing with Dan B and several others.

2021 Trip 1 – Yuma, Arizona

Our first trip of the year was more of an escape, then a planned trip. Our inept leaders in California have had us locked down in various phases since March of last year. Our restaurants have gone from take out only, to outdoor only, and now back to take out only. It is very frustrating to live in a place with very few freedoms because of policies that are clearly not working. Isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

Okay, enough of my rant. Back to the “travel” part of my travel blog. We decided to take our trailer to Yuma, Arizona for a quick five day get away. Yuma is a mere five hour drive away and Cindy’s friend Sylvia went with us on this trip.

Day 1

It was a pretty easy drive and at one point, we drove along the west side of the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea looked very blue and inviting as we drove by. A bit of a contrast to when we stood on the shore on the east side and it was less inviting. Either way, it is something everyone should see at least once in their life.

We arrived in Yuma and as we drove through the city streets, we saw some guy riding on a small three wheeled homemade gasoline engine powered type of vehicle. He had his boom box bungee strapped to the top of what looked like either an air filter or the gas tank. We had a small laugh when he hit a bump and the boom box sprung loose and quite literally went “boom” in the street. He somehow managed to turn his contraption around and we lost sight of him as he went in search of his missing music.

We stayed at the Mesa Verde RV Resort, which is located near both the Yuma Airport and a Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS). More on that later. The resort was very clean and mostly quiet. More on that later too. The resort had a no pet policy and was “age qualified,” meaning you had to be at least 55 to check in and the youngest person in your party had to be at least 40 years old. At first I was bummed out because we didn’t qualify to stay there. Then I was even more bummed out when I realized that not only did I qualify to stay there, but I was only two months away from becoming 56!

Now to the two airports. You would think this would be a problem. It was actually fun. The airport had very few large planes flying in and out, and none at night. Not even close to being a bother. And the MCAS, now that was really cool. We got to see and hear numerous F-35B Lightning II fighter jets as they maneuvered across the sky. We quickly learned that if you heard the plane to your right, you needed to look to the left because that is where the plane really was. Plus we got to watch AV-8B Harrier II’s landing. The AV-8B Harrier II is the plane that can take off and land vertically. It was unreal to see a fighter jet basically stop in mid air and slowly drop straight down to a runway.

Even though the fighter jets were loud, they only flew during the day and it was just too much fun watching them to be annoyed by any noise they made. The real noise issue turned out to be the 24 hour business that was literally next door to the resort. The first morning at about 5 am, they ran a forklift, forward and backward, for about an hour. When the forklift went backward, it had a loud “beep-beep-beep.” Kind of like an alarm clock. Did I mention this was at 5 am? Luckily for us, this only happened the first night.

We went out to dinner at the Prison Hill Brewing Company. The food was very good and their beer was very good as well. The evening ended with a cool pinkish hued sunset.

Day 2

After being awakened by the forklift alarm clock, we did our morning routines and headed off to get some lunch. We ate inside at the Dog Haus, a hot dog and hamburger joint. The food was good, but not great. From there, we took off to go sightseeing. Our first stop was at the Peanut Patch.

As the name suggested, this was a peanut farm that had tours and a gift shop. Because of Covid, the tours were few and far between, and we arrived at the far between, not the few. So we did not get a peanut farm tour. Instead, we checked out the gift shop. Sylvia bought a pound of Virginia Peanuts that she and Cindy munched on for the duration of the trip and we bought some native honey. Delicious.

Our next stop was the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park. As the name suggests, this was the location of a Territorial Prison that was in use from 1876 to 1909.

Then from 1910 to 1914, it was the temporary site of Yuma High School while the actual school was being built. In 1913, the Yuma football team traveled to Phoenix to play the “Coyotes.” Yuma High won. The angry “Coyotes” dubbed the Yuma High players the “Criminals.” At first “Criminals” was a fighting word. Before long, students and teachers wore the name with pride, and in 1917, the school board officially adopted the nickname. Yuma High School has been proudly called the home of the “Criminals” ever since.

Now back to the prison tour. Here are some of the cell blocks.

This is D.L. Bailey, one of the prison pharmacists. With that mustache, he could be a relative. He is the man on the far left.

This is the “Dark Cell.” It was the disciple cell. It was a cell about 15 feet by 15 feet with nothing inside it (no toilet, bunk, etc) and when the door was closed, it was pitch black. And more than one inmate was placed in there at a time.

This is the cell that was in the dark cell, only moved outside so you could see it better.

In the background to the upper right of the cell, you can see the top of a bridge. There was a car accident on the bridge right before we arrived, and that was all the staff could talk about. We looked over the wall and could see a SUV that had rolled over and a tow truck was trying to right it so it could tow it away. Exciting stuff. Next to the bridge and out of view was a railroad track. Right before we left, a train came by that lasted for about 10 minutes. It was by and far the longest train I have ever seen. It just kept coming. It was so long, it had locomotives at the front and back, and had one in the center as well.

And now back to our regularly schedule prison tour. Here is the infirmary.

And finally, Cindy in the Library.

We finished the day back at the trailer, with me BBQing a nice steak and lobster dinner. We capped the evening with a game of Yahtzee, that Sylvia won, probably because this was her first time ever playing it. Darn beginners.

Day 3

After a complete night of sleep, we got up and going and had lunch at Las Palapas Taco Grill. The food was outstanding and we highly recommend it. After filling our bellies, we drove about an hour to the Castle Dome Mining Museum, which is a ghost town you can walk through. Sylvia had never been to a ghost town before, and this was a great one to start with. Cindy and I have seen several ghost towns, with Bannack Montana being our favorite so far. Until this trip, Bodie California was our second favorite ghost town, but Castle Dome easily took the second spot away. This is a must visit if you are in either Yuma, or Quartzite, or passing through either with a little extra time.

Here is the view before you enter.

A few general pictures of the town.

The schoolhouse.

Rock crushing building.

Sheriff’s office.

The hotel, complete with bar in the lobby.

The church.

The blacksmith.

And finally, a dress shop.

Like I said before, if you are in the area, this is a must see.

And here is a cool picture of the sky and scenery on our way back to the trailer.

I BBQed some burgers for dinner, and we played a much better game of Yahtzee this time. Did I mention I won this time?

Day 4

Since we were driving home the next day, we stayed local and didn’t do a lot of driving. We had lunch at Kneaders Bakery & Cafe. The food was very good, but it was crowded, so Cindy and Sylvia ate inside at a tiny table and I ate on the patio. This was my choice because it was windy and cold outside, and I enjoy that weather and they do not. We spent most of the day doing some shopping here and there and of course visiting our favorite places, also known as pawn shops. We didn’t really find anything we needed, but we did find a truly amazing place. Yuma Coin and Gun Shop was quite the experience, and not in a good way. The inside looked like the worse hoarder place you have ever seen, with a narrow trail through mounds of stinky crap. We walked in a side door and Cindy and Sylvia immediately tried to get out via the front door, touching as little as possible. I followed them and we were startled by a person seated among a pile of junk. We all thought the person was a mannequin until she moved. Once we got out through the front door, we all felt like we needed a shower and we wanted to wash the soles of our shoes, just as a precaution.

We ended the evening eating inside another restaurant, Texas Roadhouse. This is one of Cindy and Sylvia’s favorite places to eat and I like it as well. After a wonderful meal, we headed back to the trailer, and watched a movie before falling asleep.

Day 5

This was our travel day home. We drove past the Salton Sea once again, and because it was slightly overcast, it looked really dreary. Quite the contrast to when we drove past it on the way to Yuma.

We stopped to eat lunch in Indio, which is in California. What a culture shock after being in Arizona. We pulled into a shopping center, because it would be easy to park the truck and trailer and there would be plenty of food options. We were being smart. NOT. The three fast food restaurants near where we parked were only open for drive thru traffic. I can barely get the truck thru most drive thru lines, forget it with the trailer. And was not going to detach then reattach the trailer for a fast food meal. For steak and lobster, I’ll do the work. Otherwise, no. So we walked over to a row of mostly closed businesses containing a Subway. Not our first choice, but you know the food will at least be good. Once we got close to the Subway, we saw a Waba Grill, and it was open. Yea us. We got our food and ate it in the trailer, since all food places are take out only. Thanks California.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, which is always appreciated.

Our next trip is the biggie. We are going to St. Joseph, Missouri, for the entire month of February. Our daughter, Corrianne, may fly out and stay with us for a week. And Sylvia will fly out at the end of the month and drive back with us as we spend two weeks driving home and sightseeing through Texas, and Arizona.

Until then, fight the power!