I love the desert. It seems to bring out the crazy in people (which is usually a good thing). Never thought a city girl like me would like it so much. Maybe I’m really a desert girl…

Lots of Angelenos come to Palm Springs to get away from the city, and I love seeing how they dress for the occasion, it’s like LA-eclecticism on steroids. You’d have to go and see for yourself…

This outfit was my interpretation of city girl in the desert. Dark and basic, yet very comfy and casual.

/// tank, Marshalls / denim flares, thrift store / Havaianas flip flops from The Standard Miami / very old hat from H&M / faux leather fringe bag, Lindex / necklace, Brooklyn Charm ///

On our last morning in Palm Springs, we decided to get up early and go to a horse ranch. It’s been at least a decade since I was last on a horse. My Frye boots were perfect for the occasion (wouldn’t want to go riding in flip flops or heels, the only other shoes I had brought). Smiled to myself when thinking about how my Stella McCartney jeans would probably be seriously frowned upon by real cowgirls.

It was 7:45am and there was still a chill in the air.

I love the smell of horses, it reminds me of going to the stables every week for riding school when I was little.

We were going to ride up there, into the canyons, eventually reaching a real desert oasis.

The ranch workers (cowboys?) took the horses out and gave each of us one. Mine was named Jack and liked to walk really close to the horse in front of him (“don’t worry if he trails close, he’s just like that”).

At a leisurely pace we made our way up the mountain. (See mom, I wore a helmet.) Immediately comfortable in the saddle I wondered to myself why I don’t do this more often.

Happy and dusty, we came back to the ranch two hours later. It was warm now, but only 10am—perfect time for brunch. Such a good morning.

On Thursday, I spent all day by the pool at The Ace Palm Springs. It was heated and felt like warm bathwater, in a good way.

I had a breakfast of fruit, yogurt, a bagel and coffee in the semi-shade, overlooking the mountains.

There were some nice yellow shower heads.

Nolifeguardonduty.

Bees buzzing around in these pink desert flowers.

Snow-capped mountains, canyons and palm trees in the distance. Pretty hard to beat that view.

I read a book, soaked up the sun, and cooled off in the pool.

In the afternoon, I had lunch at the poolside bar as well.

I sat there, soaking it all up, until the sun came down behind the mountains. Such a great lazy day.

Wednesday night, after a long flight from NYC and a long drive in the rain from LA, I checked into this lovely room at The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs.

I love the trellises (such a good idea, and easy to DIY), and our room came with a record player and a patio with a fireplace.

I was very excited to be somewhere warm and sunny again. Not having to wear a jacket in the daytime rocks! The desert is really warm during the day, but gets cold as soon as the sun goes down.

Our room, number 215, was right across from the Ace Pool & Swim Club, where I spent quite a bit of time over the past few days…

To be Continued…

After waking up on that Sunday in the desert, we headed to 29 Palms Inn for brunch. The Inn has been around since 1928 and has been known to attract a celebrity or two.

We did not park in the lawn mower parking. But, we did check out the on-site farm, where much of the produce (as much as you can reasonably produce in the desert) for the restaurant is grown.

There was a hammock. I love hammocks!

There were also grapes, most of which had shriveled on the vine and almost turned into raisins because of the heat. These were the pretty ones.

The atmosphere is refreshingly laid-back, and the room (bugalow, really) rates are pretty affordable.

This cute one is called Gold Park, has two queen beds, a sun porch, a hammock and could be yours for a night for between $90-175, depending on the season.

Despite the heat, we decided to enjoy our brunch outside, by the pool.

It was yummy.

We also had mimosas, a weekend-must, before we headed off to Joshua Tree National Park. Great start to a great day.

See my other desert posts here, here, here and here.

Waking up in the desert is amazing.

I step out onto the porch and look out over the vast prairie that lies in front of me. All is silent.

I stretch and yawn and am amazed that it’s actually realtively cool here in the morning hours.

Maybe that’s why pretty desert flowers survive.

It also amazes me that there are power lines out here. Too bad there were no solar panels back when these were installed. It would surely have been easier.

One day, I want my own little house on the prairie. Off the grid.

After the dusty desert drive, we ended up at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace.

My vest matched the backdrop of the stage.

Where a country-western band was playing. Inside, the crowd consisted mostly of locals — with plenty of families and kids.

We had a plate of cheese fries, then ventured outside, to the outdoor concert space.

There was plenty of meats roasting over an open fire.

The crowd was very L.A. We even had a minor celebrity-sighting, Pixie from the reality show L.A. Ink. The evening’s acts were Alain Johannes, Sweethead and Earthlings?, pretty good.

Pioneertown was founded in 1946 by a group of Hollywood investors with dreams of creating a living movie set — an 1870s frontier town with facades for filming and interiors open to the public. It still has the feel…

Driving through the desert as the sun is coming down. The car in front is whipping up dust that starts to cover my lens. I suddenly realize the meaning of the expression “being left in the dust.”

Camera firmly in hand, I try to capture all the amazingness that surrounds.

Desert landscapes swish by. Apparently driving fast makes you feel the bumps in the roads less. People here drive really fast.

The sun is almost down and we have almost reached our destination. Where to? You shall soon find out.

After saying goodbye to our friends at Sky Farm Red, we jumped in the rental car and headed straight for the desert.

The temperature gage showed 112 degrees (that’s 44.5 Celsius for you Euros). We had to stop to put the roof up on the car. It was that hot.

On the way, we passed the biggest wind farm I have ever seen. Pretty cool.

Once we hit 29 Palms Highway, the roof came back down.

My wind-blown hair will take like a week to brush after this.

GPS: “Your destination is on an unpaved road.” Yeah!

GPS: “You have reached your destination.” Where? You will soon find out…