I’m Back

Just got back from a few weeks in California. We were there for a family wedding, some visiting, and a little R&R.

Our trip coincided with the mid-term elections there. Now it's tempting for a Canadian (especially one as wise and all-knowing as I) to comment on the state of American politics, but I'm going to (mostly) refrain. America's problems are deeply enmeshed in its social conditions, history, and political traditions: any solutions have to come out of that context, not from the glib prescriptions of outsiders. The issues confronting Americans, and Californians specifically, are so complex, that, frankly, I rarely could think of anything useful to say. And besides, I'm not sure our own politics could withstand close scrutiny any better.

Another thing my brief visit taught me is that Americans are far more diverse than Canadians generally assume. So, mostly, I listened. And while I heard partisans and politicians on both sides purport to have all the answers (well, the victorious Republicans anyway. The Democrats looked liked the dazed survivors of a car wreck), ordinary folk were more ambivalent. While I didn't detect a consensus on any issues, most people I spoke to expressed a simple desire that all sides could work together to find common ground to address the challenges facing their state and nation.

So enough of the serious stuff. What did I do that was fun?

We concluded our trip with a five-day visit to Palm Springs, a part of California we hadn't been to before. It's in the desert about a two hour drive southeast of Los Angeles, nestled in the Coachella Valley, surrounded by mountains, the highest of which reaches nearly 3,300 metres. They block out clouds that would bring rain, making the climate dry, hot, and sunny. While we were there, temperatures ranged from 28C-38C, with humidity of about 25% and plenty of sunshine. In fact, the area boasts 354 days of sun a year. Since temperatures average over 40C for several months in the summer, winter is the peak tourist season.

That makes it popular with retirees, and golf courses and snowbirds abound. Much of the surrounding, and actually interspersed, land belongs to the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Native Americans. They operate various enterprises, including casinos and resorts, but also have preserved ancestral areas for hiking and archaeological investigation.

Palm Springs itself has about 45,000 permanent residents and there are several other contiguous towns and cities, each with its own character. Palm Springs seems the most diverse, with a large artistic and gay/lesbian population. Palm Desert is more upscale, with a shopping street, the Paseo, reminiscent of a mini-Rodeo Drive. Cathedral City seems like the poorer cousin, while we stayed in a hotel and golf/spa resort that was actually in Rancho Mirage, which seemed to be composed largely of golf courses and gated communities.

Gated communities appear to be the dominant residential pattern and that was a bit disconcerting to us. Driving past kilometre after kilometre of wall with only the occasional entrance and gatehouse created a sense that there was no "there" there in some places.

We liked the Palm Springs area: the spectacular mountain scenery, the warmth and sunshine. But if we return we'd probably choose to stay in Palm Springs proper, as there's more to see and do within walking or short-driving distance.