Daydreaming about the Desert

I found myself with a week off between my housesit in Flagstaff and San Francisco. With rental cars ringing in at $1600 and a UHaul clocking in at $350, I decided to organize another van-venture. My friend Lori had just moved from LA to La Quinta and my aunt and uncle live in nearby Palm Desert. I decided to start heading west with stops in the land of mountains, palm trees, stunning sunsets and delightful doors.

I flipped a u-turn to head to Lake Havasu when I saw signs for the London Bridge. I knew it had been relocated to Arizona, but I didn’t realize I’d get to roll right by it. It’s just a couple miles off course, but the water was such a beautiful color, and the drive was easy and relatively interesting. If it’s not terribly out of the way for you, a field trip to the bridge and Parker Dam are absolutely worth the time.

I was thrilled to see Lori and her adorable pup, Mabel. La Quinta was lovely, and I’d happily come back and spend plenty of time exploring the beautiful foothills. I was greeted by a spectacular sunset, a hometown favorite meal, the most adorable marquee sign and my family. It was an amazing start to a week of wonderful memories.

Day two was my Aunt Dorie’s birthday. I told her I was happy to tag along for anything she had in mind or planned, the only thing I wanted to do before I left town was to check out some awesome architecture and the pretty portals of Palm Springs. She was fully on board, so my uncle kindly chauffeured us around to some iconic Palm Springs spots.

The Parker Palm Springs is a desert icon. Renovated by Jonathan Adler about 5 years ago, it is a mecca of mid-century whimsy, and I loved every second that I spent in the bougie boutique hotel. Gray Malin is one of my favorite travel photographers, and he just announced a follow up collection to his fantastic shoot at the Parker. If you only have an hour in Palm Springs, I would think you were insane if you didn’t spend it here. I loved it so much, I popped back over on my way out of town.

The Parker isn’t the only hotel to visit off Palm Canyon Drive. You’ll want to make a quick stop at the Hotel California (which also shares a parking lot with some beautiful Balinese carved doors. Palm Springs has a long history as an LGBQ vacation hot spot. Rainbows abound, and the Saguaro Hotel really plays it up. Be sure to check out the hilarious diorama of provocatively posed barbies in the lobby. I only feel marginally cool enough for the Ace Hotel in NYC, I don’t even come close for the Palm Springs location, but it was a fun walkabout if you can make the time. There’s no shortage of fancy and bougie hotels, beautiful air b&bs, and pretty pools to hang out in here.

Unless you’re new here, it shouldn’t be surprising that I’m a huge fan of murals and street art. Palm Springs has plenty to peruse. You can’t really walk around downtown Palm Springs without running into something fun and fabulous. The Forever Marilyn Statue, Amanda Gorman Mural, Sephora Desert Glow art, Love Letters from Palm Springs sculpture, and Lucille Ball statue were all within a couple blocks of each other and a lot of fun to visit.

Palm Springs is famous for their delightful doors. It’s like a midcentury time capsule in the desert, and there are some very iconic brightly painted portals that have become so popular there are walking and bicycle tours of the most recognizable doors. We started by looking up “That Pink Door.” Located at 1100 East Sierra Way in the classic Indian Canyon subdivision. There are signs requesting no photography, but we happened upon their next door neighbor doing a photoshoot for her sunglass line. She asked me to pose for a few photos for her, so we didn’t feel that bad snagging a couple of our own before we moved on down the road.

I found a photo of stunning carved pink doors using the #palmspringsdoors hashtag that made my jaw drop and my heart skip a beat. I was bummed that I couldn’t find an address. I don’t even think I waited for the car to come to a complete stop to hop out and start running for it when we turned the corner on South Pequeno Drive and that spectacular hot pink door came into view. I had so much fun, I spent a little time on my last day tracking down a couple more iconic doors. There are a couple of e-books you can buy, tours to take, and plenty of blogs with tips. But honestly, if you just take a meander around the subdivision, you’ll run into all of the most famous doors. I never could find this beauty in Canyon View Estates, but if you do, be sure to report back :)

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever felt like a trip to California was long enough. I’ve visited my aunt and uncle in the desert several times over their twenty year tenure there, but I’ve never adored or appreciated it as much as I did this time around. As a kid I couldn’t get enough of the Aerial Tramway or the boat ride at the JW Marriott. A few years ago, I was itching to attend Coachella or Stagecoach, but this time the preparations for the desert invasion were inflammatory in a totally different kind of way. These days, I’m more inclined to make memories with family and friends in simple, low-key ways that don’t require a lot of preparation or production. I’d only planned to stay one night before heading to Joshua Tree, but I wound up staying three. As much as I love my life of adventure, I love the people in it so much more. I’ll treasure those days in the desert for the rest of mine.