RVentures with Doug and Chris: California's Desert Treasures: Where Wild & Wacky Meets Wonderful

After our "mini" vacation in Minnesota, I convinced Doug to make a return visit to Caliente Springs RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs. This desert area near Palm Springs, California has quickly become one of my favorite late-fall hangouts ... a surprise even to me, considering that when we first started traveling, I didn't think that spending time in the dry, dusty desert landscape would be my idea of a good time.

Then I was introduced to ...

desert super-blooms,

palm tree oases,

spring-fed swimming pools and hot tubs,

amazing rock formations,

sweeping views from the surrounding mountains,

and trees that seem to have come directly from a Dr Suess book.

Yes, with each subsequent visit, I have fallen more in love with this dry, sandy region of the country. Hard to believe ... especially when the thought of someone dragging sand into my tiny house has been known to drive me just a tad bit crazy!!

I suspect that it's because of the wild, wacky, and wonderful treasures that greet us every time we return.

The Wild Desert and Mountain Hikes

While in the area, we were able to experience more wild treasures of the desert and the surrounding mountains. Since the temps were still hovering in the high 80s at the RV park, we decided to take the Palm Springs Tram up one day to cool off and explore San Jacinto State Park.

With the summit located 8500 feet above the desert floor, we found the temps about 30 degrees cooler ... perfect for hiking, but as we sat and admired the views of the valley, I almost wished that I had worn a warmer jacket.

The Wacky Weather

The wackiness set in a few days later when a rare atmospheric river delivered heavy rain which helped quench the current heat wave. While our area received less than an inch of rain, that was enough to quickly bring the normally dormant desert washes roaring back to life.

After a break in the rain, I took a walk over to the clubhouse only to find that a powerful run-off had cut off our side of the park from the other. After the waters receded, crews spent the following few days shoveling up the massive amounts of rock, sand, and debris that got dragged into the roads.

It looks like the park's golf course has

a few new sand traps!

Wacky Desert Explorations

A side trip to the eastern edge of the Salton Sea introduced us to some wacky new desert fun.

As you may or may not know, the Salton Sea was formed in the early 1900s as a result of an irrigation canal that diverted water from the Colorado River into a low-lying salt bed. Long story short, the resulting "sea" became a famous, but short-lived resort area in the 1950s and 1960s until the water source dwindled. The sea, contaminated by the run-off of fertilizers used in the surrounding farming area, became toxic as it slowly evaporated. The resort towns that had so quickly sprung up, just as quickly became ghost towns.

Bombay Beach was one of the most popular resort towns on the banks of the Salton Sea. In the 1950s luxurious homes and hotels were built to accommodate celebrities like Frank Sinatra and The Beach Boys who liked to hang out there. Many referred to it as the California Riviera. With the demise of the Salton Sea, the town was semi-abandoned and fell in disrepair.

We started our walking tour of this ghost town at The Ski Inn, which boasts of being "the lowest bar in the Western Hemisphere". At 223 feet below sea level, it very well could be true.

As we walked around, many of the buildings, although abandoned, seemed to glow with a small amount of artistic flare.

That is because in the past few years, artistic desert dwellers have returned to form an eclectic desert oasis. Every winter, the town comes back to life as artists, musicians, and numerous other people gather to create, display, and celebrate their various forms of art.

As we walked around town, we found ...

creative aircraft,

deserted desert ships,

and playgrounds for the child in all of us.

Thanks to a new wave of desert artists and environmental activists, Bombay Beach has shifted from a forgotten ghost town to a wonderfully wild and wacky spot where every kind of art finds a home.

Wild and Wacky Meets Wonderful

Twenty miles down the road lies a similarly quirky town called Slab City. Here all sorts of creative individuals live off-grid in unique desert dwellings. One of Slab City's most famous residents was Leonard Knight (1931-2014)

... who during his retirement years created the iconic Salvation Mountain.

Knight was described as a visionary American folk artist whose mission was to spread the message of God's unconditional love and forgiveness for all humankind.

While living in this small truck on his property during the last thirty years of his life, Knight raised this "mountain" from the desert floor using adobe, hay bales, and various other materials. On the surface of his man-made structure, he painted Christian prayers, Bible verses, and biblical images using thousands of gallons of bright colored latex paint.

Years after his death, this area continues to be maintained by dedicated volunteers who work to preserve and protect it from the harsh desert conditions ... and keep alive his message of God's love for all.

Salvation Mountain has always been free to visit. Knight only asked that visitors pass on pictures of his message of God's love, so I am happy to follow through with his request.

At the End of the Day, It's All Wonderful!

Besides bringing more comfortable temperatures, the desert's wacky weather also helped raise the water levels of area reservoirs. That extra precipitation will also hopefully support another "super bloom" of desert flowers come next spring. For now, area residents are enjoying the beautiful change of scenery as snow now adorns the surrounding mountaintops.

Palm trees and snow-capped mountains??

I'll take that!

Happily, the treasures of the desert continued to delight us even after the sun made its "earlier-than-we-would-like" departure behind the mountains every evening.