One final hike in the hills above Palm Springs: the South Lykken Trail. It was dry, dusty, and hot (80s), but offered great views and a well-maintained path. We took a Lyft to the trailhead and walked back into town from the finish. A beer at Blackbook never tasted better.
Category: Americas
A moderate dose of Christmas cheer
Tonight, the sold-out A Swingin’ Little Christmas, starring Jane Lynch, famous for her enthusiastic tyranny (Glee, Best in Show, etc.). The show delivered talented performers and reasonable doses of holiday schmaltz. This was a chance to experience the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre, which just reopened this month after a major renovation.
Neither up nor down
Hiked one-way with city transit at each end. We marched (kinda) up a hill, gaining a total of 1,300 feet. Here, we’ve wandered across the high ground and are part-way down the next hill. Palm Springs is spread out below us, as we watched landings and takeoffs at PSP (top-left).
Mid-century modern: serious business, except when it isn’t
Mid-century modern is taken seriously in these parts, except when it isn’t. Walked through neighborhoods of homes, some that once belonged to Hollywood royalty, generally left undecorated for the season, presumably in pursuit of consistent taste.
Hiking an oasis
Granite walls gradually closed in as we hiked a shaded trail up a canyon to this spot. The trail must’ve crossed the stream a dozen times, giving us multiple opportunities to balance on slick rocks. Although we were surrounded by desert, the stream fed one long oasis, a winding line of palms.
What a difference 8,000 feet makes
This morning: hiked a snowy landscape with temperatures in the 50s. This afternoon: desert hiking in the 80s. All thanks to an 8,000-foot elevation difference and an aerial tramway. Both hikes were cut short: the first by ice, the second by dehydration.
“We’re not in Kansas anymore”
Arrived in sunny Palm Springs for a short respite from the Minnesota winter. After a much-anticipated grilled cheese sandwich late lunch at Blackbook, a downtown haunt for, um, friends of Dorothy, we filled a cart with groceries at Albertsons, then checked into our rental. Here, we’re sitting on our balcony in the dusk staring at palm trees and the San Jacinto Mountains.
We like it here*
A cyclist, unperturbed by the chill, overtook me as I walked home after wandering around the university with a friend. (*Slogan once used to promote tourism to Minneapolis. To me, it comes over as defensive, even though I do like it here, provided we can shorten the winter by retreating to warmer climes.)
Palm Springs 2025 #2
More journeys ≫
You’re gonna make it after all!*
Went on a Target run, or rather a walk, to the downtown store. En route, I passed Mary Tyler Moore/Mary Richards eternally throwing her tam in the air in front of the Dayton’s building, oblivious to the traces of yesterday’s snow on her head and shoulders. Back in the 1980s, her thirty-year-old character had moved to Minneapolis and was making a fresh start, as had I. (*Line from the show’s theme song.)