From San Diego, I drove northwest in the desert. Palm Springs is supposed to be an oasis in the desert. It is beautiful there. Well maintained lawns (which is odd in the drought) and thousands of palm trees lining the streets. But aren't oasis' supposed to be, like, refreshing or something? Because it was 106 degrees. That's aggressive. Oh, but, Taylor, it's a dry heat! Yes, I know that, but that doesn't matter to my sweat glands.
I parked on the main street, trying to shade my poor car in the shadow of a palm tree. As I
After what seemed like years of traveling through the desert, I found an actual oasis: a restaurant with a fine mist coming out of the roof. Looking down the road, I noticed that a lot of the restaurant have this. I must have looked insane because a hostess from one restaurant came up to me as I was standing in the mist and asked if I wanted to come in. She asked if I wanted to sit in the dining room or the patio. I looked at her like she was insane until she told me that the patio was covered and was a solid 20 degrees cooler than in the sun. Fine with me.
We got to talking and she asked what I was doing in Palm Springs. I told her about my trip and where I was headed to next. "Oh, you've got to stop in Pioneertown!" She told me about this strange little "town" between Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, which was my next stop of the day. She hyped it up so much, I knew I needed to see what all the commotion was about. But first, I needed nourishment. I chugged the bottle of water they put on the table, had two iced teas, and a chilled orzo and shrimp salad.
I gathered all my strength after lunch, and continued to walk down the main drag. To be honest, the area I walked into was a little too touristy for me. Next time, I go to Palm Springs, it's going to be in winter when the high temperatures are in the mid 70s. That sounds up my alley and then I'll do all of the sightseeing!
Driving to Joshua Tree, I honestly though I had passed Pioneertown. I wasn't driving on a main highway, so there was no exit. The hostess had even told me that I had to look out for a little sign as a marker to turn here. I was just about to give up, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small street sign for Pioneertown. I'm so glad I made the turn because this place is unique as heck. Pappy and Harriet's is the main watering hole and grub hub. There is a stage and dance floor inside the dining room and I can only imagine the kind of hootenannies that happen there!
Like I said, this place is in the middle of nowhere. It's like I was transported back in time because literally as soon as I crossed over the town line, I lost service on my cellphone. I was half expecting my car to turn into a horse.
Past Pappy and Harriet's is the town square. There was a place to feed goats, a place to buy cowboy hats, pottery barns (yes, I did do that), and my new home, the Likker Barn. Best of all, there was a on going roll of skits happening complete with a drunk prospector, Billy the Kid wannabes, blank shots deafening the small children, and fart sound effects. I was in Heaven! Actually, the dry heat made it feel a bit more like Hell, but I was having fun!
The heat started to go to my head and just as I was about to join the prospector in a round of moonshine, I thought better of it and headed on my way to Joshua Tree National Park.
This park is really beautiful. The sky was bright blue against the mountain ranges, and the strange trees where mesmerizing. However, unlike other national parks, everything kind of looks the same. And you know what's not fun? Being in now 112 degree weather looking at the same thing over and over again. The heat had finally gotten to me and I was about to crack. I needed to get out of there!
I know you're wondering why I didn't just turn on my air conditioning. First of all, look at the name of my blog. My Windows Are Rolled Down. I rarely use my air conditioning, even before I went on this trip. Really the only time I would use it would be on the way to work so my makeup wouldn't slide off my face before I got to work. Second reason, my car seems to be going through bouts of emphysema. What I mean by that is when it's really hot, the fan somewhere in the bowels of my car starts to run really fast and really loud. I know it's not a good thing, but I honestly have no idea what the fan actually goes to, or if it even is a fan. And it makes that noise when my car is doing minimal work. Imagine me turning on the air conditioning! Betty would probably explode. So for now, the windows are staying rolled down.
Joshua Tree was actually really beautiful. I did absorb as much as I could before I had to leave. Phoenix was about a four hour drive from there and it was already 4:00pm. With all my windows down, my hair flying every which way, I was so excited when I saw the melting colors of the sun starting to set.
Bizarrely, by the time I got to Phoenix and the sun was completely set, the temperature had gone down from 112 to 98. That 14 degree drop in temperature was not satisfying at all. And to boot, the air conditioning in my hotel room really didn't work that well! Fa la la. I'll get used to it, right? A fun day behind me and another to come. Stay tuned for more hot, hot Phoenix!
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