When I think of desert, what comes to mind is hot, sand, little vegetation, solitude and quiet, and blowing tumbleweeds. Mountains make me think of the aroma of tall stately pine trees, shady mountain paths and vistas for miles. And a tropical paradise is all about lush greenery, palm trees, gentle breezes and the ocean.
Nature, with the aid of man, has created a curious combination of all this in Palm Springs, California. There’s no question that Palm Springs is in the desert. We’re surrounded by sand. It can be very hot (triple digit high temperatures 3 months a year); constant sun (an average of over 350 days of sunshine every year); dry (we hardly see any rain). And yes, when the wind blows you actually can see tumbleweeds blowing across the road in front of you.
But this is not just flat sand for miles and miles with the mirage of an oasis in the distance. The Palm Springs area is surrounded by mountain ranges (including the two highest peaks in Southern California, both above 10,500 feet,) so there are very few places where you don’t have a view of the mountains. Now it’s true you can’t step out your door into a forest wilderness, but with a 10 minute ride up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway you are transported from desert to Alpine forest. It’s great for a cool walk in the summer or a snowball fight in the winter. Or, you can make the quick one hour’s drive to Idyllwild and experience a charming mountain community in the midst of Ponderosa Pines.
Now, as for tropics, that is where man has stepped in. If you look down on the Palm Springs area from an airplane, the first thing you notice is a sea of green surrounded by beige. Man has transformed (sort of) this desert by planting grass, Mexican Fan Palms (not originally indigenous to the Palm Springs area), fruit trees bearing lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit, lots of other lush vegetation, and of course, building over 140 golf course green spaces. Due to the irrigation required for all this greenery, as well as the occasional monsoon breeze coming up from the Gulf of Mexico, we even have a bit of humidity once in a while. And as for ocean, well man couldn’t create that, but we do have the greatest number of swimming pools per capita in the U.S.
While Captain Kirk has been on hiatus (that’s fancy Hollywood talk for vacation) this past month, I moved from the Palm Springs home I lived in for the past 10 years to a new home. During the process I came to appreciate the differing combinations of desert, mountain and tropical environments that exist within this small City of Palm Springs. Although my former and current home are only three miles distant one from another, I now live in a totally different environment.
My former home was located in North Palm Springs, surrounded by untouched protected desert areas (located on Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indian tribal reservation land) and close to the San Gorgonio Pass (one of the windiest places on earth and home to over 4,000 wind turbine generators). So I saw the desert sand, and felt the desert wind every day. The hacienda style home had thick walls with Mexican pavers and tile floors to keep it cool; my outside landscaping was composed of crushed stone and rocks planted with Cactus and other drought tolerant vegetation. Every night from my back patio I watched the sun set behind Mt. San Jacinto (10,800 ft.).
I moved to Central Palm Springs, a bit of the tropics, and into what was once a Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern suite hotel. I no longer see the sunset, but enjoy sunrise behind the palms every morning. I still see the mountains, but now am surrounded by stately palms swaying with gentle breezes rather than desert winds creating swirls in the sand. My yard is lush green grass always somewhat damp from the irrigation (what a joy under the feet), and I look down from my balcony onto fruit trees and other, almost tropical, vegetation.
What hits me is the environmental alternatives available in Palm Springs – desert, tropics, mountains – and in what combination? As either a full time resident, or as a vacation visitor looking for accommodations in this remarkable area, it’s all a matter of choice in Palm Springs, California.
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