If you like short road trips and meerkats, Fellow Earthlings` Wildlife Center is the place for you. Located a mere 45 minutes from Palm Springs in Morongo Valley, the preserve specializes in caring for meerkats, which are small mongooses found in southern Africa. Meerkats are placed at Fellow Earthlings for a variety of reasons: The animals may be orphaned, injured, sick, old, or the previous facility may simply be out of room and can no longer care for them. Guests can visit the Center and hand-feed the meerkats through their "Adopt" program.  One of the Center`s most notable achievements occurred in 1992 when Pam Bennett-Wallberg was chosen by Disney Studios to be their consultant for the meerkat character of Timon in the movie The Lion King. Pam worked side by side with the Disney animators as they drew the sassy, cheeky character that became the much-loved Timon.  

Also located in Morongo Valley is the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve.  This desert oasis is one of the largest cottonwood and willow riparian habitats in California.  The lush vegetation of Big Morongo stands in sharp contrast to the surrounding desert.  A high water table in the canyon has made the growth of tall trees possible, despite being in a desert.  The area is of botanical interest because it includes two desert vegetation zones:  the Mojave and the Sonoran.  Mule deer, bighorn sheep, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes and kangaroo rats all call the preserve home.       

 

The creative mind behind brands such as SalonTea, Tracy Stern Shoes, Tea & Co. and a whole lot more, Tracy Turco - formerly Tracy Stern - is an artist, interior designer, author, hotelier, entrepreneur and style icon residing in the city of Palm Springs.  She's all about mid century modern , tiki and everything else Palm Springs.  She recently purchased, and did the interiors, of three boutique hotels.  Each has it's own unique mid century theme.  Now, she's working on an interactive Modernism Museum that will include a roller rink, bowling alley and disco pizza spot.  In terms of interactivity, visitors will be able to enter and interact within a house set-up from the era, while also being able to enter RV's, boats and cars from the period.  Lastly, the museum will be a place of preservation and appreciation, allowing the opportunity for both current and future generations to engage, be inspired and educated around the history and unique value of mid-century design and culture which was an integral part of Palm Springs. 

 

Goldenvoice, the Los Angeles-based concert promoter behind the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals, has signed a long-term agreement with the Empire Polo Club through 2050 for full operational control of the venue, opening the door for music events year round in the Palm Springs area.

The agreement also provides Goldenvoice and parent company AEG Presents with oversight of Empire Grand Oasis, a special event property in Thermal.  This event space features a 4,800 sq ft estate house, a lagoon with beach, a grass polo field, open air tiki structures and more.  

The expanded lease agreement comes as former President and CEO of AEG Tim Leiweke and former Executive Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment Irving Azoff broke ground on a $250 million, 300,000-square-foot arena in June on unincorporated land near Palm Desert that will be home to an AHL team, and host other entertainment events.  

As more and more people are visiting the California desert for events, vacations, extended living stays, eco tourism and more, the more things there are to do out here.  

The plaza Theatre is a historic theater located at 128 South Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs.  It's an anchor of La Plaza, a street side collection of shops, one of the first planned shopping centers in SoCal, that opened in 1936.  When I moved here in 2004, the 800 seat theatre was home to The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, a dance and musical review show in which all performers were over the age of 55. It was very popular and a fixture in the city until it ended in 2014.  The Plaza Theatre has been unused for the most part ever since.  Bringing it back to life has been discussed since it's closing and a fundraising effort to do so gained steam awhile back.  Well, that restoration effort just got a $5 million shot in the arm by an Emmy award winning TV producer, director and writer named David C. lee.  To learn more, click here...

 The Andreas Hills Luxury Estate was already one of Dry Heat Resorts' most amenity-rich rentals with its lagoon-shaped pool, bubbling spa, covered outdoor dining area, fire pit, outdoor kitchen, basketball hoop and guest house with full kitchen.  The homeowner recently added a five-hole putting green to take it to an even higher level.  

 

One of my favorite alternative rock bands in the 90's was Third Eye blind.  They're best known songs are "Semi-Charmed Life", "Jumper", and "How's It Going to Be".  You may also remember the song, "Never Let You Go".  They had a very unique sound and catchy lyrics.  I had no idea they were still together and just learned that they'll be headlining this year's "Greater Palm Springs Gay Pride" festival in November.  The festival, which takes place from November 1 - 7 also features two hit wonder 80's new wave band "A Flock of Seagulls" as well as pop and R & B singer Jodi Watley.  I still have a great 3 bedroom Palm Springs vacation home that's available for the entire event if you're looking to come to town for a little break.  To learn more about the event, click here. 

 

My last blog was about an old western town located up the hill from Palm Springs called Pioneertown.  Up the hill is the high desert.  As opposed to the low desert which is where Palm Springs is located.  It's roughly a 40 minute scenic drive and transports you to a very different desert.  While Palm Springs is chic, hip, trendy, upscale and all about midcentury modern pool culture, the high desert is more sparse, laid back and bohemian.  Art is a big deal in the high desert, and if you are visiting Palm Springs in October, the high desert offers you a change of scenery in a very artsy way.  During three October weekends, high desert artists will open their studios and give guests a chance to see them at work during the Highway 62 Open Studio Art Tours.  I went to this event a few years ago and it's a unique experience.  You drive around the various high desert towns such as Joshua Tree, Twenty Nine Palms and Morongo Valley and view artwork at the artists home studios.  It's like an adventure as you follow the map from one place to another, often driving along deserted desert highways into seemingly endless vistas.  The event will feature 165 artists this year over the weekends of Oct 9, Oct 16 and Oct 23.  An opening night party is slated at 6 p.m. on Oct 2 at the Joshua Tree Art Gallery.  

 

Pioneertown is an old western town located about 40 minutes from Palm Springs.  It's up the hill in the high desert above the city of Desert Hot Springs to be exact.  I've been there many times to dine at the famous Pappy and Harriet's where menu items like Chili, pulled pork sandwich, flat iron steak and baby back ribs can all be enjoyed with a Sioux City Sasparilla or cream soda.  It's home made American food that you enjoyed as a kid.  They're also know for live music.  Paul McCartney, Lizzo, Lorde and many others have actually played there.  

Pioneertown was built in the 1940's to be a movie set for Hollywood westerns.  Today, the facades are store fronts for numerous mom and pop craft shops.  The Pioneertown Film Museum allows visitors to see the movie and television history and is free to visitors.  

Authentic old west gun fight shows occur on Saturdays and there are other shows available as well.  What's new in Pioneertown you ask?  Well, the reason I'm writing this story is because the first ever Pioneertown Film Festival is taking place from August 27 - 29.  To learn more about Pioneer town and why its creator decided to start it, click here: https://www.palmspringslife.com/pioneertown-film-festival/

One of the most famous and iconic Palm Springs homes is the mid-century modern Kaufmann House.  The home was photographed a number of times by Slim Arons and Julius Shulman.  A number of Dry Heat Resorts vacation homes actually have the Arons/Shulman pictures adorning their walls.  The home is on the market again and can be yours for only $20 million.  The current issue of Palm Springs life features an interesting article about the property I wanted to share.  

"In 1962, Joe and Nelda Linsk, newly arrived in Palm Springs and living temporarily at actress Claudette Colbert's half-acre compound on Monte Vista, decided to put down winter roots in the clubby little resort town.  Colbert's house was convenient to a social lift that revolved around the nonstop revelry of The Racquet Club.

They made an offer on Colbert's house and while they were waiting for her answer, a real estate agent stopped by with a book of listings.  One modern house featured a second-story loggia that intrigued Nelda.  At that time, all houses in town were required to be single story.  "I showed it to my husband", she recalls.  "I said, Let's go see it for fun."  Click here to view the rest of the article:  https://www.palmspringslife.com/kaufmann-house/

This Bird Doesn't Belong In the Desert

Over the last week I've seen this bird, that looks like it belongs in the Everglades and not in the California desert, hanging out in front of this house I walk by on my daily walk.  I have no idea what it is, but it was hanging out in front of the same house on two separate days.  I wonder if the homeowner is feeding it or providing it with water?  The house it is at is a quintessential Palm Springs mid-mod house.  The contrast between this Desert house and this wetlands bird, struck me so I took pictures;  

How does blue crab and lobster beer cheese, dill pickles & pickled cabbage on grilled Texas toast sound to you?  How about chilled mesquite tri tip, aged cheddar, pickled red onions & horseradish aioli on focaccia bread?  Both sound delicious to me and are two of the creative sandwiches available at the new uptown Palm Springs gastropub, coincidentally called, 1501 Uptown Gastropub. By the way, I was using coincidentally sarcastically if you didn't catch that.  I wonder where this great new place could be located?  Hmmmmm.  OMG, its located at 1501 N Palm Canyon Drive in Uptown Palm Springs.  It appears the owners of this great new eatery used all of their creative energy in the menu creation and had nothing left for the naming of the place. I think I've become jaded.  Joking aside, the other menu items all look really tasty, the wine list is extensive and the craft beer options are plentiful.  The interior is beautifully designed and smoothly flows into multiple outdoor dining areas for al fresco dining.  While I haven't eaten there yet, a friend of mine has and highly recommends it.  

I was recently looking for a place to vacation and came across a high quality travel website geared towards gay men.  I thought the website content and design was extraordinary.  I also noticed that they didn't mention vacation rentals anywhere on their Palm Springs page.  I had to contact them to see if they'd consider listing some of Dry Heat Resorts properties on their website (Being the capitalist that i am).  What they offered me, instead, was even better: an article on their website.  I accepted their generous offer, answered their well thought out questions, and am proud to have a feature article about Dry Heat Resorts on their website.  Click here to check it out:   https://mrhudsonexplores.com/mr-hudson-on/dry-heat-resorts-feeling-like-at-home-away-from-home-in-palm-springs/

I've lived in Palm Springs since 2004, the same year I started Dry Heat Resorts.  I'm a fan of road trips, especially ones that take me down parts of Route 66 or into towns and cities that feature diners, gas stations, motels and other googie architectural structures.  In case you didn't know, googie architecture is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the atomic age. Think the Jetsons.  It originated in Southern California with the streamline modern architecture of the 1930s, and was popular nationwide from roughly 1945 to the early 1970s.  I'm a SoCal native so was surrounded by it while growing up in the 70s and 80s.  

Since moving here, I've heard stories about a squatter city that exists a little more than an hour away.  I've never gone, but finally decided to check it out.  It's called slab city.  I went there this past weekend, and it exceeded my expectations.  It was certainly larger than I expected.  It was also more populated.  The constant driving from both residents and onlookers alike, have actually compressed the dirt into discernable roads.  Neighborhoods exist within the "city".  I even saw parts of the city occupied by expensive RVs that seemed to create rich neighborhoods in a community made up of people that mostly moved there to escape the grind that would create wealth.  On the other end of the economic spectrum, the poorest of Slab City's residents lived in tents attached to lifeless desert shrubs.  In the middle class sections were archaic burned out RVs surrounded by abandoned cars which formed their property lines.  A hostel, Internet cafe, library and other small businesses occupy resident's "homes" as well.  It's a community of outcasts, nomads and rebels who chose to leave civilization behind and accidentally created their own, a civilization designed by people who don't give a Fuck.  How ironic.

Following are a few pictures I took on my trip to Slab city.  I encourage my guests to journey there to see something different, interesting and fascinating.  The drive out there will take you past the Salton Sea and its abandoned communities made up of googie architectural treasures.