Palm Springs, California

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April 22

Palm Springs, California

Roadside America

Not long after heading out of Death Valley National Park we came across a truly unique Roadside America attraction in Death Valley Junction.  The Amargosa Opera House (and hotel) looks like an abandoned former theatre that is adjacent to an equally abandoned-looking hotel…in the absolute middle of nothing.  As we pulled into the small compound we noticed two things.  We noticed a Death Valley National Park tour bus had pulled in and the tourists were milling about (so this is obviously a planned tour stop); and we noticed that the hotel was open for business.

Unfortunately the opera house was not open at the moment, but it does still host operas.  You just never know what you’re going to find where when road tripping.

Other things we came across via the Roadside America app:

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

We made it to Palm Springs around 4:00 p.m.  Before getting into Palm Springs proper we stopped to take a ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the world’s largest rotating tram car…meaning the floor rotates, so everybody gets 360 degree views.

The hardest part of the aerial tramway is walking the very long, steady incline from the parking lot to the main building. OMG they should have a tramway from the parking lot to the tramway! Also, nowhere on the website does it mention the $10 to park…only the fare for the tramway.  But, whatever, two and a half miles of tramway above the impressive Chico Canyon cliffs to Mt. San Jacinto State Park is a great take.  There are restaurants, observation decks with fantastic vistas, and short, nicely kept wooded nature trails at the top.

 

After the tram we headed to check in to our retro boutique hotel for the night, the 7 Springs Inn & Suites. This is a nicely maintained hotel just off the main street but very close walking distance to everything chic in downtown Palm Springs. A great find, with nicely retro-art appointed rooms, and two pools, one of which we had to ourselves on the second night.

After checking in we walked the popular N. Palm Canyon Drive to find dinner and take in Palm Springs at night. We ended up eating dinner at the best restaurant of the road trip, Al Dente Trattoria. We ate outside and had fantastic Italian food served by a truly professional waiter…top notch stuff.

April 23

With an excellent grab and go yogurt parfait breakfast from a local eatery we spent the morning doing a walking tour of the main strip of Palm Springs. In addition to the stars on the walk of fame we spent time with statues of local celebrity faves Lucille Ball, Sonny Bono, and a very large Marilyn Monroe.

There is some pretty cool art all over Palm Springs. We loved the randomness of it.  One of our favorites was the building with a race car going up its side, and a baby alien crawling along it.

By 11:30 a.m. we were heading out of Palm Springs. But before actually leaving town, per a friend’s recommendation we stopped for date shakes at Windmill Market on the edge of town…and…they were excellent! Windmill Market is unremarkable, has a very small parking lot, and is easy to miss.  We guess that only locals, and those informed by friends (like us) stop here.

We arrived at Joshua Tree National Park’s Visitor’s Center in the town of Joshua Tree about 1 1/2 hours later.

Next: Joshua Tree National Park