Beginning with Water

 Tyler and I returned last night from our trip to Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs. I am grateful that Tyler found our hotel and spa in Desert Hot Springs. We really are not resort people, and I appreciated that we stayed in a place that was not quite as perfect as Palm Springs appears. In fact, deferred maintenance was quite apparent. However, I really enjoyed the earnestness of the friendly staff. The mineral pools were fun and lively with both travellers and locals, and the cafe offered pretty good food. We certainly did not avoid Palm Springs. We had some lovely meals there, and we visited both the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, and we were glad we did. But it was Desert Hot Springs that touched my heart.   

 When we arrived at DHS, it was after dark and really windy. Once we turned off the main road, there was little to help us feel that we had made the right choice. It felt almost abandoned and we were worried we might find our hotel in the midst of the giant wind turbines and their glowing red lights. However, we continued on, and when we arrived at the hotel we were greeted warmly. Our room was clean, but could have certainly benefited from some refurbishing. It was also on the third floor, and there was no elevator. That had me worried the first night, but my body, yes, even my arthritic knee, adjusted quickly.  

The morning sunrise and the snow capped mountains that we could see from our room calmed our concerns and we began to make some plans. We decided to visit Cabot's Pueblo Museum which was originally homesteaded by Cabot Yerxa in 1913. One of his first essential tasks was to find water, so being a practical man, he began digging. He discovered both hot mineral waters with a cold water aquifer nearby. He then built his fascinating museum and home from various found items, including telephone poles. He had the eye and spirit of an artist, and his home reflected sensitivity and balance. Tyler and I found his watercolors to be beautiful, as were many of the items he collected over the years.

That visit had me thinking about the necessity and sacredness of water. We started that day, and every day thereafter, in a hot mineral pool, which was delightful. Yet, it was the visit to the museum that helped me understand just how unique these pools are. Desert Hot Springs is about 20 miles from Palm Springs. It has several new housing developments with modern homes, but much in this community of approximately 32,000 residents is dilapidated and in need of repair. It is a puzzling dichotomy.   

I have more to share, which I will do over the next few days.