“Can’t be more than 114”
We covered a lot of ground this week. I drove down to Austin on Monday to prepare for a presentation to the Board of Directors on Tuesday, driving back to McKinney when the session finished up. We worked from home on Wednesday, and then caught a flight to Palm Springs for an adventure with the Ogans and two other couples who I’ll introduce you to in due course.
We checked into the gorgeous Korakia (Greek for “crow”) resort on Wednesday night. This resort was restored in 1989 and has a Mediterranean style on one side of the street, and Turkish on the other. This place truly has the feel of an oasis in the desert, and has been featured in many architectural and travel magazines. The San Jacinto mountains provide an awesome backdrop to the views form the resort.
No wonder the New York Times dubbed the Korakia as “one of the sexiest hotels in America”.
We met up with Kenny and Kara (New Orleans friends of Denny and Anne that I met briefly years ago) on arrival at the resort around 9pm. The A/C in our original bungalow wasn’t working well and so we were transferred to a suite on the Mediterranean side of the road. The suite and furnishings, including a turntable and good vinyl selection, were lovely, the only issue coming from a very high stone platform bed. McD needed help in and out to avoid injury. The shower was off a similar rock disposition, giving the suite a bit of Flintstones feel. The neighbors were tired of hearing Diana yelling “Yabba Dabba Doo” as she attempted to jump up into the bed. More about those neighbors, “the arsonists”, later.
“Can you give me a boost?” We had a delightful evening, getting to know Kenny and Kara, and catching up with Denny and Anne.
Breakfast was included, and served on a gorgeous patio in front of the hotel, by some very happy and kind ladies. I really enjoyed the avocado toast with a sunny-side egg and tomatoes. The group managed to rustle up some champagne so that everyone could enjoy mimosas and get the day off to a good start. I should clarify – the rest of the group had already been on a strenuous hike, climbing around 1500 feet in the roasting temperatures, before D and I joined them for breakfast.
Our main adventure activity on Thursday was the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The 10-minute, 2.5-mile ride, begins at the Valley Station (elevation 2,643 feet) and ends at the Mountain Station (elevation 8,516 feet). It was amazing to see that the temperature at the base was over 100 degrees, while a cool 65 degrees at 8,516 feet.
It was First Responders’ month, and as Kenny is a Fire Chief, we enjoyed discounted admission, and he received a nice souvenir. I found the rotating of the tram car (a new feature introduced with a 2000 renovation) and the dips/swing after the towers a bit disconcerting – my Dad would have had a fit.
The tramway was first opened in 1963 after many decades of planning, fundraising, and logistical problem solving. Construction was mostly accomplished with helicopters, flying some 23,000 missions during the 26 months of construction, hauling men and materials needed to erect the four towers and the 35,000 sq. ft. Mountain Station. Over 20 million people have now enjoyed the ride, and the tramway has been designated a historical civil engineering landmark.
The rest of the group enjoyed a hike at the top, while our poorly planned flip flops were an excuse to just relax and enjoy the scenery from the rooftop lounge (world’s 8th best cliff side restaurant).
The descent took less of a toll on my nerves and I was able to enjoy the rotating views as the landscaped changed from high forest to salt desert.
I was amazed at how quickly the temperature rose as we descended back down to the desert floor.
We enjoyed an afternoon snack in downtown Palm Springs, followed by a somewhat refreshing dip in the Mediterranean side pool, and then headed to get ready for dinner. That’s when we first encountered “the arsonists”. A younger couple, clearly very much in love and in the room next to us, had decided to light a wood fire to set a romantic mood. In 114 degree weather? Really? No, REALLY? The flue wasn’t open or some other issue had caused the room to completely fill up with smoke. They ultimately had to transfer to another room later in the evening. You can imagine what our Fire Chief thought about these goings on.
For dinner we chose tacos and margaritas at El Jefe in the funky, retro Saguaro hotel. The shishito peppers, queso fundido, tacos (particularly the shrimp), and margaritas were all very good. Unfortunately “Karaoke Kenny” wasn’t able to perform as that’s only available at El Jefe during high season.
Some excellent banter followed back at the hotel and we all retired at a relatively early time.
After another delicious and leisurely breakfast on Friday morning, we packed up and headed to Desert Hot Springs (DHS), a bit nearer to the venue for the concert series that initially spurred the trip.
Diana and Anne made a visit to Trina Turk’s clothes shop, while the rest of us picked up coffees and a blue balloon dog for Anne. Denny and I were both looking for casual lunch spots en route to our next hotel, and both decided on Dillon’s Burgers and Beers at the same time. This dive bar has been operating for over 70 years and delivered exactly what it advertised – delicious burgers and beer. A highlight of the visit was playing pool, with Anne receiving detailed instructions from Karaoke Kenny – “Slow your roll, and see through the ball”.
From Dillon’s we made the short drive to El Morocco Inn and Spa. We were a bit circumspect as we arrived at the hotel – the neighborhood seemed a bit sketchy and the outside of the establishment was not overly welcoming. However, on embarking on the welcome tour with Debbie, our opinions were changed – this was a very welcoming hotel with lots of great features: a pretty pool, Moroccan features in the rooms, french press coffee on demand, late night port, Casablanca playing on repeat, and a wonderful spa garden featuring a full size Bedouin tent.
Trey and Dana (long first “a”) arrived from Las Vegas shortly after we checked in. Trey went to high school with Denny and Kenny, and now lives in Dallas. Everyone chilled in the pool for a while, enjoying Morocco-tinis, before we made the journey up to Pappy and Harriet’s in Pioneertown for Campout 15. “What’s all that?”, you ask? Well, let’s see, here’s some history from the P&H website:
The legendary Pappy&Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace has been delighting locals and travelers alike since 1982, with its mesquite barbeque, live music, dancing and friendly service. There is also a long history here. In 1946, Pioneertown was founded by a group of Hollywood investors with dreams of creating a living movie set — an 1870’s frontier town with facades for filming and interiors open to the public.
On the outside were stables, saloons, and jails, and on the inside, were ice cream parlors, bowling alleys, and motels. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Russell Hayden, and the Sons of the Pioneers (for whom the town was named) were some of the original investors and personalities who helped build and invent Pioneertown. More than 50 films and several television shows were filmed in Pioneertown throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s.
In 1946, where Pappy&Harriet’s stands today, was a facade used as a “cantina” set for numerous western films well into the 1950s. In 1972, Harriet’s mother, Francis Aleba, and her husband, John, purchased the building and opened “The Cantina”, an outlaw biker burrito bar. The Cantina rollicked for 10 years, and when it closed, Francis and John made sure the building stayed in the family.
In 1982, Harriet and her husband, Claude “Pappy” Allen, opened “Pappy&Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace”. While the bikers still hung around, Pappy&Harriet’s presence created more of a family atmosphere. With family style Tex-Mex cuisine and live music featuring Pappy, Harriet and their granddaughter Kristina, P&H quickly became a local favorite with all walks of life getting along under one roof!
And what’s Campout 15? Two bands formed by David Lowery, Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, have hosted the Campout music festival at this location for the last 15 years. This was to be the final event. Lowery formed Camper Van Beethoven, an experimental indie band, in 1983 in Santa Cruz, CA, and then the more straight ahead, Cracker in the early 90s. I’m a very big Cracker fan – the “Kerosene Hat” album has been one of my favourites for many years.
Jesika Von Rabbit (I know, what kind of name is that?) kicked off the Friday extravaganza. I really enjoy their “Joshua Tree” song:
That was followed by a Cracker set. The theme for the evening was “black”, to recognize the end of the Campout’s 15 year run. Here’s their best known song:
Camper Van Beethoven played the headlining set on Friday. Here’s Diana’s favourite song of theirs:
The sunset behind the band was beautiful:
The founder of the band is David Lowery and one of their most popular songs is a cover of Status Quo’s “Pictures of Matchstick Men”. See if you agree with my theory here: Lowry was an English painter, known for his pictures of matchstick men:
Here’s some info on Lowry: L. S. Lowry (1887-1976) is best known for painting industrial scenes of North West England in the mid 20th century. His characteristic style has a dreamlike quality, populated by stylised figures referred to as ‘matchstick men’. Although Lowry was trained in academic drawing, he chose to develop his own naive style which has brought him widespread recognition. His mysterious, weatherless landscapes express a personal response to the world around him that never fails to bewitch the viewer. Lowry’s paintings tell the true tale behind English city life.
Do you think it’s interesting that Lowery covers a song by Status Quo about paintings by Lowry? Ok, after all that, here’s a clip of that song, interestingly not really representative of the blues rock typical of Status Quo. Trivia about Status Quo: they opened Live Aid at Wembley in 1985 on my first day of work in the oil business.
It was a late arrival back at the El Morocco, but we managed to hang out and tell stories in the Bedouin tent for a while – with a couple of lazy belly dancing characters. Here’s a picture of Denny and Anne in the spa garden pre-concert – don’t they look happy and relaxed?
The adventure for Saturday was a trip to the Joshua Tree National Park. Here’s some info from the park website:
After a dip in the pool at the El Morocco, we headed up for night two of the Campout. The order was reversed with Camper Van Beethoven starting, and Cracker headlining. In between was an interesting experience, The Minus Five performed. Who are they? Well, they were formed by Scott McCaughey in 1993 with Peter Buck of REM. Prior to this band, McCaughey formed The Young Fresh Fellows with Chuck Caroll. What? That Chuck Carroll?
Yes – my neighbour in Los Gatos, Joe Carroll’s brother Chuck. I met him a few times and he can play Anything on the guitar. The Minus Five were much more animated than expected – kind of a cross between Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello in the late 80s. Here they are with a Beatles cover. Can you see Mike Mills and Peter Buck from REM on the right (they are used to much larger stadium audiences):
