Crazy desert genius

I grew up in the desert. So I can speak from experience about the crazy genius that can only come from too much exposure to sun and cactus.

A prime example of this is Cabot's Adobe Pueblo.

Check out the Web site. Read the history of the place. I think you will agree with me.

In the meantime, pictures...


On the I-10 freeway, just before the turnoff to State Highway 62.

From here on the photos are from Cabot's Adobe Pueblo in Desert Hot Springs, Calif.

Click on the link above to find out more.

It is an odd place. Sort of the dream of Hearst Castle meets a shack in the desert.

Cabot Yerxa was a genius. Cabot Yerxa maybe was a little crazy.

But Cabot Yerxa had a dream and a vision. And he saw both to fruition.

For that, he is a man to be admired.

I remember coming to this place as a child, my father bringing me here.

I did not appreciate it then the way I appreciate it now.

Just like I did not appreciate my father then the way I appreciate him now. Now that he is gone.

From him I learned that sometimes it is OK to be different. From him I learned to appreciate Monty Python. And from him I learned a little piece of desert history that many people probably drive by everyday without even seeing.


And that those are not bad lessons to learn.

Here's to embracing the crazy genius in us all.

Desert sojourn

I am trying to plan my (gasp!!) 20-year high school reunion and figured a good way to get inspired and to get information on possible venues was to take a quick trip out to Twentynine Palms.
I left Sunday morning, planning on returning Monday afternoon.
There were a few places I had in mind for my stay. At the top of the list was Roughley Manor.
My 10-year reunion was here, and while I did not stay here then (all booked up!), I figured I could give it a try now. And see if they still did parties like that.
Turns out they don't.
But I was still very happy to be staying here.
The original part of the house is to the side of this. It was a small homestead that was added onto to create the beautiful stone house.


There is a separate entrance to the office area, which is in the old part of the house. This is the main entry. There are a few bedrooms upstairs.



There is a nice great room where breakfast is served. They also put out cookies or dessert and tea service in the afternoons. There is a sitting area, piano and fireplace. For a rather large room, it is very cozy.


A pair of great horned owls lives in the big tree out front. I wish the eyes had not gone screwy here. But he was high up in the tree, so I was just glad to see him at all. The other one was in a darker, higher spot.

Once I was checked in, I headed to my room to drop off my stuff before heading out for a little walk.


It was a good size room, with a big, fluffy bed. The bed was rather high, even for someone tall like me. But it was the kind of bed you sink into easily. Everything about the room was immaculate.


There was a little dining area and kitchenette with mini-fridge and microwave. There also was coffee and tea service provided if you wanted to make your own in the room.
The TV had satellite hookup and a VCR. They had a tape library in the main house.
There also was wireless Internet access.


I was in what they call the Pool Room. So there were French doors from my room right out onto the pool area. No one else used the pool the one day I was there. I don't think the pool was heated. But the hot tub was. Since no one else was interested, it was like having my own private retreat under the stars. Later that night I enjoyed a soak, watching the stars and having a beer.


That little building at the end of the pool was my room. I was a little worried about noise from the pool, but there was none. Now, if I was staying there in the summer, I may want a room farther from the pool since more people would be likely to use it then.

After I got settled in my room, I took my camera and wandered around the grounds. The property is several acres. There are a lot of little outdoor sitting areas all around the grounds. It was a perfect clear day, about 65-70 degrees.


This is the tower of an old windmill. The engine and windmill were damaged in a storm, so they were removed at some point.


There also is an old water tower on the grounds. Behind that you can see a couple of the out buildings. These buildings are all guest rooms.


These are more of the guest rooms. The one above is a building of three rooms.
The buildings look rustic from the outside, but the rooms are all done up very nicely.
There is one on the far end of that building that had all the drapes open. Being nosy I of course peeked in since no one was staying there. It was quite nice, all done in a pretty black and white color scheme. If I stay here again, I may request that room.


The three pictures above are of what is called the Museum Building. Apparently the original owners built is as part art gallery, part art studio. It now is divided into a couple guest rooms.
I did not get a look at those. But the inn's Web site has a lot of good photos of all the rooms.



Next to the Museum Building is an old pool/reservoir. This has not been used in quite a while as a swimming pool. But I guess they do still use it to hold water for irrigation around the grounds.


I find this thing fascinating. It is solid. The steps lead up to the edge, which is about a foot thick. I was not sure what I would find when I climbed the steps and looked inside.


Ha! More steps. I guess that was how you got in and out if you were using your reservoir as a swimming pool back in the day.

Of course, being nosy, I had to go all the way in. The angles in here where even more interesting. I also loved the colors and the dilapidated look of it.

By the way, the pool is about 6 feet deep. The top of my head just reached the top of the wall.

Just a couple more shots, below of the lovely steps inside the pool. These rank right up there with some of my favorite photos that I have ever taken.

I know it is not always at the top of everyone's list of vacation destinations, but if you happen to be going to Twentynine Palms and need a place to stay, this is a great place to try.

The owners, Jan and Gary Peters, are great hosts. And they run a top-rate place.

Oh yeah... and there was breakfast. Pecan-praline French toast with fresh berries. And it was divine.

Stay tuned for ... A funky stop on the way to Twentynine Palms, plus a drive through Joshua Tree National Park.

more desert scenes

I was going through some more photos from last weekend's drive to the desert.

Here are a few more that I like.

The first two are of a big, burned Joshua tree.

As we drove from the Twentynine Palms side of the national park to the Joshua Tree side, we came across a big swath of land in the park that had burned.

It was closer to the JT side of the park.

I like this tree because it was big and offered a lot of nice contrast.

The third shot is of the center of a yucca bush.

I like the patterns yucca bushes make with their spines and the curly white pulp that spirals out from the spines.
The desert has a nice variety of unusual plant life.

This last shot is just some metal rings in the dirt.

I don't know exactly what the rings are, but I liked the contrast of the organic and non-organic elements.

And again, the pattern caught my eye.

Sometimes you can't go home again

Part of going out to the desert Sunday involved going by the house where I lived for most of my childhood.

The first picture is the street (road) where we lived.

Now, the place never was anything fancy and it has been deteriorating for years since my parents left the place to take care of my grandmother after my grandfather died more than 10 years ago.

But it was still a bit shocking to see it reduced to studs.

At the time we lived in the house, there was a little more to it. There is still a slab where the back bedroom used to be.

That was the room that I shared with my sister for pretty much my entire childhood. That room is gone now, with just the old bath tub and some new metal awning thing sitting on the slab.

There are stacks of slate sitting under covers behind the house, so it looks like someone has something planned for it. But it doesn't look like any work has been done recently.

Another change is a new post-and-rail fence with some heavy iron gates at each end of the circular driveway.

The giant Joshua tree that was at the side of the house is still there, but the pavers that my dad

put in to make a patio are pulled up and stacked near the tree.

The funniest thing was seeing some old orange folding chairs were still there.

They reminded me of the day my sister thought it would be fun to jump from chair to chair. It was all great until one of the folding chairs folded up with her on it and she fell and broke her collar bone.

It's weird to think about growing up here.

We definitely were not rich or even well-off. But I never really felt poor as a little kid. Of course, as I got older I realized we didn't have as much money as some of my friends' families.

But we never went hungry or anything like that.

Looking back, there were sacrifices my parents made so my sister and I could have things like new basketball shoes or a new dress for a dance. But those things usually were bought on sale.

My mom also was a great seamstress and made a lot of clothes for us. She also was and is a great cook and knew how to turn mundane ground beef into some tasty concoctions.

I can see now that we did struggle, but I have to give my parents a lot of credit for giving my sister and me a good, happy childhood.

They did a great job raising us in circumstances that had to be difficult at times.

My dad died about six years ago at age 52, and my mom moved down to the L.A. area to be closer to my sister and me after my paternal grandmother died last year.

It is good to have her nearby and, now that she is here and my sister is here with her family and various aunts and uncles and cousins and my maternal grandmother are here, the South Bay really feels like home.

But there will always be something about the desert that makes me want to go back for a visit.

Just maybe not in August next time.