LAX to Desert Hot Springs

[The Iron Chief]

If there is one thing I've learned from CP is that the wealth of knowledge is far better than any TripAdvisor crap or similar site that you would scroll thru on the internet....usually...

While we suffer thru our PM hangover today hoping the Packers win and on the last snap of the game Rogers breaks his pinkie ring finger I would like to pick your all mighty brains.

I live in upstate NY and I've gone North, South even across the pool to my Right but I gotta say I'm a Virgin to the west coast.

My wife has a company meeting in Palm springs but we land in the horror I'm told is LAX.
On top of that we land at noon.
Since we need to get to our resort quickly(if that is possible) in Desert Hot Springs we will not be site seeing.
Grab our rental at LAX and hit the highway.
It looks like a fairly straight shot on google maps..approx 2:30 travel time.

So my first questions are
LAX is truly a nightmare?
The surrounding highways...will I be at a stand still til I've cleared LA?

Google maps shows us I'll be using Highway numbers.. 105/605/10
Anything interesting to see on this ride?
I'm guessing I'll see some scenic views that I'm not used to which is interesting in itself.

Our list to dos are..

Soak up the scenery type(Rocks,cactus, desert terrain wildlife etc. that we've never seen before.
Going on the popular Palm springs Aerial Tramway.
Once were 8500 FT above the sea level..is it worth doing the 2 hour hike to the peak(10,000 FT)? has anyone been here or done this?

We're spending one full day at Joshua state park exploring.
Our plan is to leave there in the evening then go back near midnight and do the star gazing thing...I'm told it IS mind blowing with Zero light pollution.

Those are the typical things on the agenda the others are.

Buy our first Legal weed ever...my wife who rarely smokes anymore says to me... Ok so we land then we hit the highway then we buy a god damn Legal joint and burn that shit up!!.... I think I just stared at her and finally said..is there anyway we can leave tomorrow?!

Swim in the Hot Mineral springs at the hotel.

And of course Good Eats.

There is a Mexican place called South of the Border a walk away from our Hotel seems to have good reviews.
There is also a breakfast place in Palm springs called Cheeky's.

I should say our Hotel is 20 minutes from the Main Joshua Park Entrance at Joshua Village & we are 20 minutes from Palm Springs.

The location despite the Crime warnings seem to be pretty good.

Sorry to clutter the lounge with this but any tips or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

If nobody has any this thread will soon fall under the weight of the Injury reports & how long PM should sit threads.

[Kiimo]

If you posted this before you bought tickets I would have told you to fly in to Burbank and take the 210, both are incredibly superior to LAX/10.

That said LAX won't be as bad as people say.








but the 10 on the other hand...thank your lucky stars you land at noon. Get on the road as fast as humanly possible. If you get caught in rush hour you're turbo****ed.

Going on the popular Palm springs Aerial Tramway.
Once were 8500 FT above the sea level..is it worth doing the 2 hour hike to the peak(10,000 FT)? has anyone been here or done this?

I've done this. It's a completely different temperate zone up there. Bring winter clothes, seriously. Also it will be a whole day thing but it is absolutely worth it.

Palm Springs is really kitschy and super cool in a midcentury antique shopping Marilyn Monroe Wearing White Sunglasses kind of way. Do a house tour or just go shopping. Spend time in the pool.

don't do anything I wouldn't do like do a bunch of molly and then go dancing in a gay bar. Allegedly.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by Coyote

1) Banning Pass is the start of the transition in terrain to the high Desert.

Palm Springs, and most of the Desert in Riverside County is Low Desert actually. Palm Springs proper is only 100 feet in elevation...of course the mountains make the topography incredibly impressive.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by Kiimosabi

If you posted this before you bought tickets I would have told you to fly in to Burbank and take the 210, both are incredibly superior to LAX/10.

That said LAX won't be as bad as people say.








but the 10 on the other hand...thank your lucky stars you land at noon. Get on the road as fast as humanly possible. If you get caught in rush hour you're turbo****ed.

210 is definitely "better" but I wouldn't say it's that much better. I drive that slog frequently as we have a cabin in the San Berdoo's. Regardless, I would rather be on the 210 over the 10, 60, 91 etc. Those freeways, for lack of a better term, suck.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by Kiimosabi

I've done this. It's a completely different temperate zone up there. Bring winter clothes, seriously. Also it will be a whole day thing but it is absolutely worth it.

Heed this advice OP, it's sound. It's a completely different climate.

[Kiimo]

Originally Posted by chinaski

210 is definitely "better" but I wouldn't say it's that much better. I drive that slog frequently as we have a cabin in the San Berdoo's. Regardless, I would rather be on the 210 over the 10, 60, 91 etc. Those freeways, for lack of a better term, suck.

I live in Studio City and work in Century City. The difference in getting to Palm Springs is "less than two hours" compared to "three to four to kill yourself" based on the time of day.

That's all I was trying to say, it's easier to avoid that traffic nightmare.

[suzzer99]

If you're going to do a satellite airport then fly into Ontario, or Palm Springs.

[displacedinMN]

Ontario isn't bad. And the drive to PS is great. PS airport is easy.

Heard Ontario airport was in trouble financially, but that was some time ago.

[The Iron Chief]

The good advice just keeps rolling in THX

I'll be flying out of upstate NY(Binghamton) at 6 A.M to Detroit.
At take off the Temp will most likely be near freezing.
So between that and the AC on the plane we will be dressing in what we would hike to the top of the peek in.

So in a span of 36 hours we will go from 32 to 99 to 32 and it'll be like home.

I've been told the top of the tram its 30-40 cooler than the bottom.
So I'm guessing the final 1500 drops it a bit further(obviously)

I've jotted down all the food suggestions and some good ideas where to go.

The comment about being cautious in Joshua of the Rattlers is some good advice that I probably needed to hear.
Basically keep your spider sense active & don't make a dumb ass mistake that could've been easily avoided.

So I plan to wear my Chiefs hoodie on the flight ..should I make sure to take it off quick in LAX or risk getting stabbed?

[suzzer99]

Sigh. Nobody's going to stab you. No one cares about sports here anyway. You'll probably get a bunch of Chiefs/Mahomes shoutouts before you leave the airport.

I wish you had more time I'd take you all over LA and show you normal people outside having fun, exercising, eating meals - in nice neighborhoods as well as blue collar neighborhoods. The most incredible cheap food from 100s of cultures. Perfect weather. Endless stuff to do in every direction. White hot job market. Best looking women in the world.

It's not quite the wasteland most of the country thinks it is here. The traffic is very real. And there are lots of homeless but they tend to stick to certain areas which are pretty easy to avoid. The rest is mostly propaganda.

[The Iron Chief]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Sigh. Nobody's going to stab you. No one cares about sports here anyway. You'll probably get a bunch of Chiefs/Mahomes shoutouts before you leave the airport.

I wish you had more time I'd take you all over LA and show you normal people outside having fun, exercising, eating meals - in nice neighborhoods as well as blue collar neighborhoods. The most incredible cheap food from 100s of cultures. Perfect weather. Endless stuff to do in every direction. White hot job market. Best looking women in the world.

It's not quite the wasteland most of the country thinks it is here. The traffic is very real. And there are lots of homeless but they tend to stick to certain areas which are pretty easy to avoid. The rest is mostly propaganda.

Thank you and I believe you that the area has a Ton to offer.
I wish I had a lot more time as well.
I am curious your thoughts on the fact were staying in Desert Hot springs then?
Keep in mind we thought the locale was good as far as 20 minutes from Joshua and 20 minutes from Palm Springs.

[Coyote]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Palm Springs, and most of the Desert in Riverside County is Low Desert actually. Palm Springs proper is only 100 feet in elevation...of course the mountains make the topography incredibly impressive.

Roger. Thanks. And the Salton sea is 225’ below. Hence my words: “Banning Pass is the start of the transition...”

You know how the Riverside smegma stops at Banning and clearer air begins eastbound or the reverse, the ceiling East of Banning stops in the pass there and the LA basin smegma begins. Either way Banning is a transition point and usually sanctuary forward if coming out of LA basin.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by The Iron Chief

Thank you and I believe you that the area has a Ton to offer.
I wish I had a lot more time as well.
I am curious your thoughts on the fact were staying in Desert Hot springs then?
Keep in mind we thought the locale was good as far as 20 minutes from Joshua and 20 minutes from Palm Springs.

It's very nice this time of year. You'll love it.

[New World Order]

Wow, Chinaski. What a great guy.

[Kiimo]

If you're going to Joshua Tree and you want to hike around my first suggestion would be Jumbo Rocks. Don't miss it.


Here's saphojunkie walking around it.

[The Iron Chief]

Hey all my wife & I are back safe and sound.

I was given a lot of insight & help on this thread so I'd like to say thx and give an update.
Pictures were mostly taken on our Real camera/not cell so I need to upload them I'll post a few of them down the road.

So one of the biggest conversations on here was the travel.
I was supposed to land in LAX at noon on Wednesday.
Many of you gave suggestions on highway route,how traffic would be etc.
Also a few said you should be landing in Palm Springs.
That said...

We arrive at the airport 5 AM here in Binghamton go thru TSA.
While sitting at the gate the Captain comes out and tells us after an inspection there were metal fragments found in the tires and he has determined this plane is unsafe to use.
This is a small airport.
He says the Delta mechanic and tires are at least 8 hours from being there.
So many of us have been in this position(delayed,Cancelled) but a bell went off in our heads..maybe we can make this work for us.
Get to the closest airport that has a Delta flight going into Palm Springs.
Delta cooperated. And shuttled us to an airport an hour away.
Our car had to stay in Binghamton where the return home flight was landing.
Two pit stops on the way to Detroit and Salt Lake...but hey were now landing in Palm springs And we should arrive in Palm Springs an hour before our original plan.

I mentioned I was going to wear my Chief hoodie for the travel & some said I'll probably hear Chief shout outs PM shout outs even in L.A.
Well I gotta say on the plane to Detroit random people started talking to me about the Chiefs.
We get off the plane in Detroit and I'm barely out of the walkway & people were saying Go Chiefs.
Sit down in gate and people would begin talking Chiefs.
My wife at this point is laughing and I'd joke i told you Mahomes is special & the average fans are drooling over PM taking Brady down.
So we sit to eat, people talking football with me.
On to the next gate.
While waiting people talking to me about the Chiefs.
Sticking my carry on in overhead someone in the back Go Chiefs!

So by now my wife was looking at this as a running joke all day.
We land in Salt Lake.
Walking up the walkway my wife Joked well here we go Chief Ambassador you better get your game on here comes that adoring public.
We barely pass the podium and some guy walks in my way shakes my hand and says you just gotta be proud of your Chiefs!!
If there was a drink in my mouth it would've come out..my wife laughs.
Anyhow you get the picture this went on all travel day til I entered the Heat and my hoodie came off.

If there is any doubt in your minds
We are the nations hope.
If it cant be "Their" team knocking down the Patriots then people are pulling for us in a bad way.
..........

As I mentioned I've never been out west.
Looking at the snow capped mountains around the Salt Lake airport was amazing to us.
Our mountains are much smaller and covered with trees you cant see them in the way you see these.
The short flight from Salt Lake to Palm springs was also amazing.
It was clear enough so we could see the ground.
The endless mountains and barely any sign on life no homes no towns mile after mile was incredible.
Then out the window the green of Palm Springs stands out like a Bullseye.
Nice airport very easy to grab our rental hit the road and an easy drive to resort.

I do get what many were saying when they compared Desert Hot Springs to just down the road Palm Springs.
Upper middle class type crowd connected by a short strip of highway to their lower middle class neighbor.
Someone mentioned Meth..I did see some Meth heads in Desert..none in Palm.
And I do not want to say it was all due to an income difference either.
It was like two different communities with slightly different personalities.
The first morning we got up and had reservations for the Aerial Tramway.
On route we stopped at the Micro Buddery Dispensary .
That was a fun experience to be sure.
Bought a couple of joints and the owner gave us some free chocolates.

I'll try to speed this up

The Tramway... if your in Palm Springs you do the Tramway!
And not just go up and down at the very least do the 1 mile Hike and see the 5 major look out points.
The people taking chances while "high" on the edge of various cliffs taking selfies will get your heart racing.
And at first I didn't think the elevation was bothering me but as you hike you begin to feel like you've hiked 3 times farther than you actually have.
Breathing a little heavy,Heart racing a little.
Besides that we were fine for 53 yr olds I suppose.

...
Its hard to list all the good food we had on the trip.
We didn't have a bad meal.
Buzz on at Cheekys having breakfast and trying their famous Bacon Flight was great.
The jalapeno Bacon ..wow.
...

My wifes newest joke was the fact that we brought the average age of any room we entered down a bit.
At 53 we were younger than most.

...
Joshua park.
I'm not sure what there is to say it is what it is.
Often you would look at a new rock mountain formation or field of Trees/cactus and your mind would be.. Holy crap!
You could take 1000 pics all day so eventually you have to settle down.

Went on a 5 mile intermediate hike.
We did go prepared water food etc.. but about 4 miles in my wife began to get hot & tired...this turned into her saying...should this have been our first hike here.
Probably not no.
Nobody in site no clear markers.
She began drinking more water than normal.. I didn't want to make her more nervous but I had to say honey.. plz go easy on the water...I'm thinking just in case.
We eventually got back to the car but wasted much time.

I wanted to say that the heat to us was strange.
When its 95+ here in the North East you can get heavy humidity along with it.
Its very hard to breathe the airs thick wet hot.
So Dry 95 felt like 80 to us.
I'd notice people around us sweating chugging water running for shade & were saying without the humidity we have at home this doesn't feel so bad.
A Ranger was talking to me he understood what I was saying he was from PA.
But what I didn't take into account was that the sun is still baking us no matter how were able to handle the temp.
Going light on the water of course caused my mouth to be dry..but my lips ouch a few hours later I had some burnt/chapped lips.

After that we did all the normal stuff Skull rock was cool and this is after seeing pictures of it many times beforehand.
Between the cars AC and it getting dark I had put my hoodie on.
Bunch of guys talked Chiefs/PM right in front of skull rock.

Later we stayed past dark to star gaze...you just gotta see it to believe it.
No light pollution at all.

...

Our body clocks never caught up so each day we were up 4:30 AM ish
But wow without our kids with Budds Hot springs 24/7..
My wife would be like lets catch a buzz go in the hot springs ..come back and you might get lucky.
This was every morning...why cant I live like this forever...why..?
And the sky at sunrise & sunset is incredible.

....
So before our final night we went to the Palm Springs street festival.
We had already gotten what we wanted in seeing the land.
Now it was time to mingle see some of the general public.
We parked in a parking ramp got out of our car and walked up to a group of elderly woman joking around laughing having a good time.
As we got closer we noticed their all getting high.
I was thrilled for these elderly woman having a good time in what is Taboo here in NY.
It definitely adds something to that age brackets cocktail hour or early bird dinner.

I also want to say while at the festival everyone behaved, buzzed or drunk everyone getting along laughing zero trouble.
Went to all the booths to see what gets this area off.
They craft some cool shit and they definitely leaned on munchies for the buzzed.
Giant hot off the flat iron chocalate chip cookies..they were so damn good!

...

Then came our early ride to LAX.
We were still flying out from the original plan.
Leaving the resort at 6 AM on a Weekend we figured we'd be ok.
And for the most part we were.
We were early enough so 10 was moderately busy.
It began to get busy on the 105.
Looking around L.A. gave us another perspective of Cali.
Lots of money up in there them houses on the Hills/Cliffs.

Chinaski are you normally in a Helicopter painted half White and Black?

Before entering TSA we had to dump the little bit of weed we still had and my wife suggested lets eat theses chocolates the Bud tender gave us and sleep on route.
Well my wife barely smokes anymore much less does edibles so I warned her there kind of strong and we wont be on the plane yet when they kick in.
She said that is fine.
Well a few walks around to stretch our legs we park again at the gate and I look over at her & shes got the biggest smile on her face and she begins to laugh..and i'm like holy shit Honey your wasted...I laughed what are you gonna do.. amirite?

We only saw a small fraction of LAX but the gate we were in was a tiny Hub with hardly any room to move.
The ladies room line was 20 deep.

Finally it was time to board, my wife slept

Overall it was a Great experience.
We saw the geography we wanted to see and got a taste of the public.
And yes I gather each part of Cali has a different personality.
We truly were amazed at how Palm Springs and Desert hot springs were connected by that short highway strip(which needs some litter clean up) but seemed to have their own feel.

I forgot to mention many times I felt that time warp feeling.
Like is this 1970 or even farther in the past.

Thx again to everyone I probably forgot something I might add later