Fun things to do in Palm Desert

This preserve in Thousand Palms is not very well publicized but is well worth a visit. The preserve has a one mile walking trail (fairly easy walk but has some soft sand and some wet areas so wear appropriate shoes). The trail starts at the Thousand Palms Oasis which has hundreds of closely packed large Desert Fan Palms (60 feet high with leaves over 6 feet wide). These palms have been providing food and shelter since before the last ice age. The water from this oasis and those nearby came from the San Andreas Fault which you walk across on the trail. The Fault causes underground dams that bring the water to the desert surface. At the end of the trail is a grove with a small pond surrounded by more palms. Right behind the grove are large sand dunes.

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One unique thing about this boulevard of shopping Mecca is the little hideaways areas. So there is so much more than what is directly on the boulevard. Now you cannot miss The Gardens on El Paseo for its lovely decorative lattice that adorns the entrance, there is more than meets the eye. It is 200, 000 square foot of trendy shopping. So many beautiful gardens with bronze sculptures, flowers, lush trees, and beautiful fountains abound in this area. So wonder around, you find other treasure lurks among the fauna.

MAY 4, 2009 - OCTOBER 31, 2009
Monday - Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm
Sunday: 11 am - 5 pm

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Palm Desert is a great place to appreciate and buy art. There are plenty of paintings and sculptures, and the galleries along El Paseo are more than happy to simply let you look. These galleries are world class too. Most are corporate owned with other galleries in New York, Carmel, Paris, and other places where galleries are known to locate in abundance. Normally, galleries forbid photography, so most of these shots are of the storefront through the window. But, the architecture of downtown Palm Desert is worth the walk. The images below are from Jones & Terwilliger, a Carmel based gallery that was kind enough to invite my lense. On this night, Lau Chun, a landscape painter known for his impressionistic style and use of spot tropical colors, talked to visitors. Smoked salmon, cheezes, and champagne were served for free.

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Clifford Henderson was a visionary who started monumental projects and brought them to fruition. Just as he built the Pasadena Winter Garden, the Pan-Pacific Auditorium and organized the National Air Races - he conceived an idea for a post-war community in the desert...and Palm Desert was born.

Plaque reads:

CLIFFORD W. HENDERSON
Found of the City of Palm Desert
Had the vision in 1946 to acquire
This land and plan for the city
Successful development

This bust presented to
Palm Desert in April 1978 by
His friends and citizens in
Deepest gratitude and appreciation

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Cahuilla Gardian of Hoofed Animal
There once was a deity named Pemtemwhaha. He was powerful and respected deity who protected bighorn sheep, antelope, and deer. In the past, traditional Bird Singers would perform songs and Cahuilla shamans performed ceremonies to respect this deity.

This is a public art program to increase the awareness of the plight of the endangered peninsular Bighorn Sheep of the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains.

If you have not already notices, these wonderful pieces of art are located in many locations of Palms Springs and outside of Palm Springs. Look around, one might be staring you down. They are beautiful pieces of art. www.sccmuseum.org

Located in The Gardens on El Paseo for its lovely decorative lattice that adorns the entrance, there is more than meets the eye. It is 200, 000 square foot of trendy shopping. So many beautiful gardens with bronze sculptures, flowers, lush trees, and beautiful fountains abound in this area. So wonder around, you find other treasure lurks among the fauna.

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One of the easiest activities to enjoy is a walk along El Paseo Drive, which is a divided boulevard with stop signs at every block. Down the middle of the boulevard is a grassy divide with a large number of modern sculptures donated by the local galleries. It's worthwhile strolling here during the day in winter, but in summer is must be impossibly hot. Midway along is The Gardens, a multilevel outdoor shopping center covered by a huge brass canopy of sorts. A multilevel parking lot is in its rear.

The R Welch Gallery, read this tip and wrote an e-mail of request to me:

"We wanted to let you know we appreciate you highlighting our artist’s sculpture, which won the 2007/2008 El Paseo Exhibition. We were hoping you could add our website www.rewelch.com to the review. Please stop by the gallery when you are in the desert again. We would very much like to meet you."

This whole boulevard is art and that is not all of it. You will find it all over Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City, and Palms Springs. It is amazing and I had wished I had much more time to seek it all out. I wish more communities would indulge in this public display of artistry.

This orange sculpture is by Michael Whiting

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The Marriot Desert Springs Resort is an extraordinary complex of huge hotel that includes a golf course, tennis courts (15 hard, 3 clay, and 2 stadium grass courts, and 9 restaurants, but what's really extraordinary are the lakes and swimming pools. The lakes actually extend inside the main hotel building, and motor boats taken hotel patron to landing where their room building or condo is located. Walkway bridges span the lake in places to reach the island-like area where the swimming pools are located. When we were there, a guitarist and congo player were entertaining the crowd at the poolside, while the bar served drinks. I wouldn't bother to stay here myself, but one can't miss check out this opulent setting. We have friends who stayed here and were so entertained that they never took the time to check out El Paseo Drive.