Like an Angel Standing in a Shaft of Light, Rising up to Paradise; I Know I’m Gonna Shine…
Ok, I am back from my business trip to California. All in all it was a very positive experience. So positive in fact, I can't wait to go back and spend a little longer time there to enjoy it (especially on days like today when it is cold and snowy outside). Anyway, here's the rundown of my trip:
I had a 6:00am flight, so I had to get up at like 3 in the morning since I had to shower, get ready, make the hour or so drive to the airport and still get there in time to check-in, go through security, etc. I made it on time, albeit in a zombie-like state. It was strange, though, because literally as I was approaching the airport Going to California by Led Zeppelin came on the radio. Very strange.
I made it through security and boarded the plane without a hitch. However, once boarded we had to sit on the tarmac for another 30-40 minutes because maintenance had to come out and tighten a loose panel. That would usually be ok, since I am generally patient and would rather wait and make sure the plane was safe before watching a piece of paneling rip off the plane mid-flight, but I was changing planes in Phoenix and only had 30 minutes to do so.
Once we finally took off things were ok (take-off was a bit bumpy) and I made it to Phoenix with about 5-10 minutes to catch my plane. Luckily I had not missed my connection, unlike many of my other fellow passengers who flooded the ticketing desk with their complaints. I literally ran down the concourse only to find the jetway doors were closed. "Are you John?" the flight attendant asked. "Yes, I am" I replied. "We've been expecting you. We knew you were coming." Ok, that was weird in a creepy, horror movie kind of way. Anyway, they held the plane as I ran aboard. I asked about my luggage, but sure enough they were loading it as I spoke. I found my seat and soon enough I was back in the air. I had never been to Phoenix before, but from the 5-10 minutes that I ran through it, it seemed very lovely.
I found flying into Palm Springs to be a very odd visual experience. From Phoenix until just before we landed, brown land was all you could see out the window. There were a lot of mountains, but they were all brown as well, like little mounds of dirt rising from the ground. There was little or no vegetation to be seen anywhere. Then, all of a sudden you see a huge swatch of bright, vibrant green. Palm trees and golf courses everywhere. I mean a TON of golf courses. I think there must be a city ordinance that mandates one hole for every resident.
I didn't spend much time in Palm Springs, but I really liked what little I saw. The airport is like 2/3 outside. Of course, when it is super sunny and in the 70s (F) in the middle of December why wouldn't you want to be outside? The first site you see coming out of the airport is the very impressive Mt. San Jacinto complimented by the many tall palm trees reaching for the sky. It must cost a fortune to keep this oasis in the desert lush, but the visual result was spectacular. No wonder this is such a winter haven for wealthy snowbirds and celebrities. Even I'm starting to think about getting a January time share there myself...
It doesn't take long after driving out of Palm Springs that you find yourself in the desert. This isn't a giant sand dunes and camel desert that probably first comes to mind, but more like a really dry dirt and sage brush kind of desert that you see in the old cowboy movies. However, the land wasn't flat. There were mountains on either side and I was headed right towards the eastern ones.
The town of Twentynine Palms, CA, is about an hour away from Palm Springs. I couldn't think of two more contrasting locales. As lush as Palm Springs was, Twentynine Palms was dry. It was a small desert town that reminded me a lot of Alamosa, CO. The best thing about Alamosa is its close proximity to Great Sand Dunes National Park. Unless you are counting the marine base in Twentynine Palms, the best thing that I encountered in Twentynine Palms by far was Joshua Tree National Park.
But I'm getting ahead of myself since I had to do my customer visit first. You know, since this was a business trip and all. I actually picked probably the best day to go out. The marine base held a big pot luck in one of the hangars for all of the vendors and contractors that work on the base, so I got to meet a lot of people and get some good grub on in the meantime. Even Santa came to visit. I'm telling you, xmas in the desert was a weird experience for me. Here it was all sunny and warm and people are walking around in snowflake sweaters and Santa hats. In Palm Springs, houses with green grass and palm trees had wreaths hanging on the door. A big inflatable snowman advertised real xmas trees for sale. I was rolling up my sleeves as people were talking about how cold it was getting (down to 40 F in the desert at night... brrrr... ;-). After that I took a tour of the base, met our staff and checked out our facilities, and counted all 29 palms. I learned that each palm represents an action that the Marines took place in. Very interesting.
Later that evening I went to a dinner hosted by one of the big contractors in the area. I guess this guy has a huge expense account with his company and buys dinner and drinks for all of the other vendors once a month. It just so happened that I was there for one of those free dinners. Fine dining is in short supply in Twentynine Palms, so we ended up at a little hole-in-the-wall kind of place that I guess is the usual monthly destination for this kind of thing. While ordering something to drink another vendor recommended a new micro beer that the place just got in called Fat Tire Beer. Fat Tire Beer? You mean the same Fat Tire brewed right down the road from my house in beautiful and lovely Fort Collins, CO??? Sure, I'll have one! I guess it just goes to show that no matter how far you travel, you can always find a bit of home.
I didn't have much business on base the next day so I took some extra time before my flight to visit Joshua Tree National Park. No, I did not see Bono or any other members of U2 there. I have wanted to visit this place for years and I honestly don't even remember when it started or why, just that I had strong desire to check it out. I was not disappointed. I LOVED this place. I spent a few hours in the park and I could have easily spent a few days there. It was beyond super cool. It was mind-blowingly amazing. I can't even explain it in words. The only thing that dampened this awesome experience was that I was all alone and could not share it with anyone. I didn't have my good camera with me, but I tried to snap some shots with my cell phone. They turned out terribly. I am going to post them here anyway, but I would recommend visiting this guy’s site to see some much better images.
I had a 6:00am flight, so I had to get up at like 3 in the morning since I had to shower, get ready, make the hour or so drive to the airport and still get there in time to check-in, go through security, etc. I made it on time, albeit in a zombie-like state. It was strange, though, because literally as I was approaching the airport Going to California by Led Zeppelin came on the radio. Very strange.
I made it through security and boarded the plane without a hitch. However, once boarded we had to sit on the tarmac for another 30-40 minutes because maintenance had to come out and tighten a loose panel. That would usually be ok, since I am generally patient and would rather wait and make sure the plane was safe before watching a piece of paneling rip off the plane mid-flight, but I was changing planes in Phoenix and only had 30 minutes to do so.
Once we finally took off things were ok (take-off was a bit bumpy) and I made it to Phoenix with about 5-10 minutes to catch my plane. Luckily I had not missed my connection, unlike many of my other fellow passengers who flooded the ticketing desk with their complaints. I literally ran down the concourse only to find the jetway doors were closed. "Are you John?" the flight attendant asked. "Yes, I am" I replied. "We've been expecting you. We knew you were coming." Ok, that was weird in a creepy, horror movie kind of way. Anyway, they held the plane as I ran aboard. I asked about my luggage, but sure enough they were loading it as I spoke. I found my seat and soon enough I was back in the air. I had never been to Phoenix before, but from the 5-10 minutes that I ran through it, it seemed very lovely.
I found flying into Palm Springs to be a very odd visual experience. From Phoenix until just before we landed, brown land was all you could see out the window. There were a lot of mountains, but they were all brown as well, like little mounds of dirt rising from the ground. There was little or no vegetation to be seen anywhere. Then, all of a sudden you see a huge swatch of bright, vibrant green. Palm trees and golf courses everywhere. I mean a TON of golf courses. I think there must be a city ordinance that mandates one hole for every resident.
I didn't spend much time in Palm Springs, but I really liked what little I saw. The airport is like 2/3 outside. Of course, when it is super sunny and in the 70s (F) in the middle of December why wouldn't you want to be outside? The first site you see coming out of the airport is the very impressive Mt. San Jacinto complimented by the many tall palm trees reaching for the sky. It must cost a fortune to keep this oasis in the desert lush, but the visual result was spectacular. No wonder this is such a winter haven for wealthy snowbirds and celebrities. Even I'm starting to think about getting a January time share there myself...
It doesn't take long after driving out of Palm Springs that you find yourself in the desert. This isn't a giant sand dunes and camel desert that probably first comes to mind, but more like a really dry dirt and sage brush kind of desert that you see in the old cowboy movies. However, the land wasn't flat. There were mountains on either side and I was headed right towards the eastern ones.
The town of Twentynine Palms, CA, is about an hour away from Palm Springs. I couldn't think of two more contrasting locales. As lush as Palm Springs was, Twentynine Palms was dry. It was a small desert town that reminded me a lot of Alamosa, CO. The best thing about Alamosa is its close proximity to Great Sand Dunes National Park. Unless you are counting the marine base in Twentynine Palms, the best thing that I encountered in Twentynine Palms by far was Joshua Tree National Park.
But I'm getting ahead of myself since I had to do my customer visit first. You know, since this was a business trip and all. I actually picked probably the best day to go out. The marine base held a big pot luck in one of the hangars for all of the vendors and contractors that work on the base, so I got to meet a lot of people and get some good grub on in the meantime. Even Santa came to visit. I'm telling you, xmas in the desert was a weird experience for me. Here it was all sunny and warm and people are walking around in snowflake sweaters and Santa hats. In Palm Springs, houses with green grass and palm trees had wreaths hanging on the door. A big inflatable snowman advertised real xmas trees for sale. I was rolling up my sleeves as people were talking about how cold it was getting (down to 40 F in the desert at night... brrrr... ;-). After that I took a tour of the base, met our staff and checked out our facilities, and counted all 29 palms. I learned that each palm represents an action that the Marines took place in. Very interesting.
Later that evening I went to a dinner hosted by one of the big contractors in the area. I guess this guy has a huge expense account with his company and buys dinner and drinks for all of the other vendors once a month. It just so happened that I was there for one of those free dinners. Fine dining is in short supply in Twentynine Palms, so we ended up at a little hole-in-the-wall kind of place that I guess is the usual monthly destination for this kind of thing. While ordering something to drink another vendor recommended a new micro beer that the place just got in called Fat Tire Beer. Fat Tire Beer? You mean the same Fat Tire brewed right down the road from my house in beautiful and lovely Fort Collins, CO??? Sure, I'll have one! I guess it just goes to show that no matter how far you travel, you can always find a bit of home.
I didn't have much business on base the next day so I took some extra time before my flight to visit Joshua Tree National Park. No, I did not see Bono or any other members of U2 there. I have wanted to visit this place for years and I honestly don't even remember when it started or why, just that I had strong desire to check it out. I was not disappointed. I LOVED this place. I spent a few hours in the park and I could have easily spent a few days there. It was beyond super cool. It was mind-blowingly amazing. I can't even explain it in words. The only thing that dampened this awesome experience was that I was all alone and could not share it with anyone. I didn't have my good camera with me, but I tried to snap some shots with my cell phone. They turned out terribly. I am going to post them here anyway, but I would recommend visiting this guy’s site to see some much better images.
Ladies and Gentlemen, a Joshua tree.
The Cholla Cactus Garden in the Colorado Desert
A downshot of a rock arch in White Tank. There are huge rock piles scattered throughout the park just waiting to be ascended. A rock climber's dream...
Those are just a few shots that turned out (barely). I need to go back with my good camera, for sure. I didn't get near enough time in the park. I had to force myself to leave or I would have missed my plane. I was pushing it on time as it was, so I reluctantly turned to go. I made it back to Palm Springs with just enough time to gas up the rental, return it and check into my flight. Before I knew it, I was back in the air leaving sunny California and returning to Denver. The flight went well and I made it through the airport unscathed. I found my car in the economy lot, sank down in my seat and turned on the ignition. The radio popped on and it was Where the Streets Have No Name by U2. You might recognize it. It was on The Joshua Tree album. Very strange...
posted by john at 10:20 AM
2 Comments:
Yup, J. Tree is one of the holy mecca's of North American Climbing. I'm very jealous that you went. And without a crash pad no less. Its almost a sin.
As for weird music playing, I've noticed some strange things lately as well. The other day I was driving along and NPR was doing this little music review of childrens music albums. There was this soulful rendition of a song I had never heard before.
It went something like,
Ms. Sarah Jack,
All dressed in Black
With silver buttons
Running down her back.
Repeat.
It got stuck in my head. Later that night I rented this movie titled Summersault. I liked it and its worth a gander btw. But the main character breaks out in an Scottish version of this rhyme right in the middle of the movie. It was just a little to much like tuning into the unseen tabistry of the Simulacrum. Whoops, there is a pattern at play and I stumbled upon part of it.
I'm telling ya, I loved Joshua Tree. I'm merely an amateur boulderer and I was having crazy fun scaling piles and jumping from rock to rock. I would highly recommend making a pilgrimage.
Those lyrics you mentioned sound an awful lot like Walking the Dog by Rufus Thomas. It's been covered a number of times as well, including a decent version by Aerosmith if you'd believe it. I get that weird song coincidence thingy going on all of the time. Like when an obscure song is in my head and then I hear it on the radio as soon as I turn on the car. Or when I offhandedly asked a co-worker if she thought I was crazy just seconds before Gnarls Barkley came on the radio. It can be very unsettling.
Post a Comment
<< Home