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February 2025 - Las Vegas NV

Weekly Recap Jan 4 - Jan 10 Best Coffee

Weekly Recap Jan 11 - Jan 17 Cafe Lucille

Weekly Recap Jan 18 - 24 2025 Daybreakers Cafe

Weekly Recap Jan 25 - Jan 31 2025 Cafe Mon Amour

Weekly Recap Feb 1 - Feb 7 2025 Palm Springs CA/Las Vegas NV

Palm Springs CA

Another long, photo heavy post of our personal diary of our trip.

Saturday 

I was up at 7:10 John at 7:45.

We headed out around 9:30 to Desert Hot Springs about 20 minutes straight up Gene Audry.

A Hopi inspired Pueblo that is a unique treasure to the Coachella Valley, located in the heart of Desert Hot Springs. 

Animal Hospital

Amusing sign and what are they up to?

We found the Cabot Museum.

The site also contains one of a series of 78 giant Native American head carvings by Peter Wolf Toth. The one here, Waokiye, was sculpted from a giant sequoia tree log and unveiled in 1978. 

We loved how this tour was organized. They only allow a couple of people in at a time so we waited fifteen minutes. Then she set us up with a QR code and password and we listened to the tour on our own.

Hopi Kachina designs portrayed on the outside wall

Built by Cabot Yerxa (b. 1883) on property he homesteaded in 1913, he worked on the property until his death in 1965. Cabot journeyed through the desert; gathering reclaimed materials for 10 years; from as far east as the Salton Sea, north to Morongo Valley, south to Palm Springs and west to White Water. 

He homesteaded his property in 1913 and discovered or rediscovered two aquifers apparently using a divining rod, one of the reasons he named his property Miracle Hill. The aquifers were in all probability discovered and used by the Indians who lived in the area for over 5,000 years. One of the aquifers was a natural hot spring which has given rise to the many spas and resorts in the area and helped develop the city of DHS. The other was a cold aquifer, which to this day provides quality fresh water to DHS of which Yerxa was one of three co-founders.

I tried the triangle!

The structure is hand made, created from reclaimed and found objects. The Pueblo is four-stories, 5,000 square feet and includes 35 rooms, 150 windows and 65 doors. Visitors will notice many unique features: including windows and doors collected and reassembled from abandoned homesteads, old telephone poles, buck board wagon parts, and many other materials used creatively.

Around the grounds

This piece of art was in the Cabot Museum. It is called 2 Face White Man and I thought it bore an uncanny resemblance especially with the snake!

Heading back to Palm Springs.

Vendors by the road. I've said before, I feel like I am in Mexico, even some billboards are in Spanish. As a friend said back home when I sent her a photo of one, that I should keep it in the archives as they are likely to be outlawed.

Downtown Palm Springs for lunch. We went back to the Blue Coyote, because, because we like their outdoor patio.

Sangria for me.

Tampico

Carne Asada style steak topped with mild red sauce and Ortega chile, a cheese enchilada with pico de gallo. Served with rice and beans.

Seafood Salad 

Fresh mahi-mahi, sea scallops, and shrimp marinated and grilled. Served over a bed of mixed lettuce with grilled pineapple, tomatoes, jícama, and cojita cheese.

Then we walked over to the Art Museum was hosting the Soul Springs Festival and Frey House II Tour on Saturday, February 1, 2025. The Soul Springs Festival was a free, community-oriented event that celebrated jazz and soul music. 

We had some fun with Marilyn.

The plot of land the museum is on was originally the location of The Desert Inn, a popular motel especially around the ’30s and ’40s. By the ’60s and early ’70s it had fallen into disrepair, so it was decided that the whole area was going to be taken down. The section that the museum is in, which is the further western area of the complex, was owned by a bank and was then given to the museum as a permanent location for the museum to be built.

On this site in 1909, Dr. Harry and Nellie N. Coffman opened the Desert Inn in a single-family house as a small sanitarium for patients suffering from tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments. It established Palm Springs as a desert health resort - and Nellie's boardinghouse was born.

The Desert Inn grew in popularity and size, adding simple cabins and rusting tents. its focus gradually shifted from treating the sick to catering to the famous and affluent. By 1919 Nellie began building her vision of a world-class resort.

In 1924, with a loan from oil tycoon Thomas O'Donnell (see plaque below), Nellie selected William Charles Tanner to design a Spanish Mediterranean Revival style hotel with over 110 rooms that set a new standard for luxury and comfort. Guests arrived from around the world: presidents, senators, governors, and royalty, artists, composers, and the creme de la creme of Hollywood - establishing an international reputation for Palm Springs. The inn offered find dining, fashionable retail shops, and sports activities including tennis, golf swimming all amidst 35 acres of carefully manicured lawns and gardens.

Nellie Coffman was a tireless supporter of Palm Springs. Her innumerable charitable works earned here the affectionate title of "Mother Coffman."

On June 10, 1950 Nellie died at the age of 82. Her sons continued to operate the famous inn, but in 1955 it was sold to former actress Marion Davies who, in 1960, sold the Desert Inn to Samuel Firks and noted Palm Springs builder George Alexander, whose vision was to replaced the inn with an eight story hotel and convention hall. By September 1967 the entire Desert Inn was demolished, replaced by an indoor shopping mall that was in turn demolished in 2009.

We made a couple of stops on our way back.

Hotel California built in 1942.

This is not the "Hotel California" made famous by the Eagles singing group in 1976; that "hotel" was imaginary a metaphor for the songwriter's perception of an American culture sinking into materialism and decadence.

The Saguaro Palm Springs hotel in Palm Springs, California was originally built in 1977 as The International. It was later a Ramada and Holiday Inn before reopening in 2012 as The Saguaro Palm Springs. 

Their Drag Brunch was taking place. We considered going to one but tickets are $50 US and you have to pay for your meal on top of that.

From there we went into T J Maxx and John got 3 t-shirts at $10 each, seriously at that price it is not about "needing them"!

I also got some stamps for postcards I send to a couple of collectors at home and in England. Now to figure out how many stamps they require and find a mailbox!

Sunday 

American Punxsutawney Phil - a "weather-predicting" groundhog - has forecast six more weeks of winter in the US. According to folklore, If Phil looks at his own shadow then there will be another six weeks of the North American winter, and if not, then an early spring is on the horizon.

"There's a shadow up here, get ready for six more weeks of winter this year," a man from the club behind the event proclaimed.

Meanwhile in Canada Wiarton Willie has predicted an early spring after he did not see his shadow on Sunday morning on Groundhog Day.

WIllie made the prediction to chants of "wake up, Willie" at 8:09 a.m. on Sunday morning in Bluewater Park in Wiarton, Ont., located 220 kilometres northwest of Toronto. 

But his prediction doesn't match those of other weather-prognosticating animals:

Shubenacadie Sam who lives at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in Nova Scotia saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.

Lucy the Lobster in Barrington, N.S., saw her shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

Fred la marmotte in Quebec predicted six more weeks of winter.

My rant against Trump's tariffs!! I woke up on the war path. 

I was up at 7 and John had a good sleep in until 9 AM! Then he made us a nice breakfast.

We decided we were hanging around today, some pool time and start packing items not needed until home (bathing suits, head phones, John's camera, kitchen stuff etc).

We spent a couple of hours at the pool and even got into the water. It was the warmest day we've had so far, gorgeous. I even came back and got us a beer.

When we came back, we did a load of laundry and started packing. We laid out the clothes we need until Thursday when we leave and packed the rest.

I finished our Drive South Recap. I also finished our 2024 recap.

Monday 

Monday Mural is from Texarkana.

John left at 11 to golf. John golfed with a guy from Orange County and apologized when he heard John was from Canada.

So he's given us a 30 day reprieve? More like he was told he was being stupid. But we won't stop being diligent about buying Canadian. In 30 days we will have had good practice.

I sorted and packed up some food items. 

I made our dinner reservation for Thursday in Las Vegas.

I sat by the pool and it was hot, I had to take a dip. John came in from golf and said he had actually sweated today.

Some pictures from the golf course, including a roadrunner.

Tuesday  

I was up at 7 and John around 8. We headed out around  10:30 for Cathedral City.

Murals commissioned by the Agnes Pelton Society are an iconic landmark in Cathedral City and covers vibrant illustrations full of life and energy, often depicting tributes to actual figures of the city or events of mundane town activities that show the city’s past. 

Among these murals are the Lalo and Five Mariachis by Luiz Castro, a tribute to Lalo Guerrero, who is known as the father of Chicano Music. Another iconic mural is Our Lady of Chuparrosa, which Peter Palladin made of broken pottery. Additionally, there’s the 8-Bit Frida by Marnie Navarro, a ceramic tile mosaic that tributes Surrealist painter and political activist Frida Kahlo. You can find these murals on Chuparrsoa Lane and F Street within Cathedral City Cove. 

Then we decided to go to Old Town La Quinta. We hadn't been here before, it is a pretty little area, made up of mostly restaurants.

Interesting

Roadrunner

Roadrunner

Stuft Pizza, but in reality, they served almost anything from fish to steak to pasta, noodles, tacos. I don't like that kind of menu, it means you keep a lot of frozen goods.

This is better, focus on one item and do it well.

John decided we should stop for a beer.

I had the whiskey barrel heatwave.

John had the Tan Line.

From there we went to another location of Bill's Pizza in Palm Desert.

Just in case you didn't believe me about Mexican Coke being a thing, we had had one in Lordsburg on our way down.
We first discovered that Mexican coke is the best on our first trip together to Mexico.

Is it just my imagination?

Wednesday 

We were up around 7 and puttered away. We started packing more stuff, I made hardboiled eggs. 

We got things cleaned up as we have dinner out tonight.

John golfed.

I spent 90 minutes by the pool, reading.

We made sure to empty the safe! 

We tidied up more bits and pieces and got ready for dinner. We took our winter coats down to the car, I can't believe we were wearing them a few weeks ago!

Dinner Purple Room 8PM

Darci Daniels, Charles Herrera & Michael Holmes (owner) were the announced performers, however, Charles Herrera was not there.

We were seated shorted after 8 PM but many of the earlier seating diners were still in the room.

The tables are cramped together but the feeling with the stage and performers is intimate.

The special was prime rib, which we both had and it was delicious.

Thursday 

I didn't get up until 7:30 John at 8.  We had yogurt for breakfast and loaded the dishwasher.

We finished packing up and loaded the car, checked out and hit the road by 10;30.

Meanwhile back home - Freezing Drizzle Advisory!

Old Woman Springs Highway 247 graffiti rocks.

See me?

We lost our GPS signal when we pulled away so we carried on until we had to make a decision of direction and there happened to be a place promising the best burgers on earth??? So we stopped for lunch. It was an entertaining stop.

Best? NOT!! It was awful. Frozen patty barely grilled, it was more steamed. AWFUL.

Oh well, we had a laugh and a break and got back on the road headed towards Barstow CA where we got on I-15.

We made a gas/bathroom stop in Baker CA. We should have waited until Nevada as gas is $1 - $1.50 cheaper. 

The world's biggest thermometer and it is accurate. We also took a photo in 2017, link below. 

We passed by Seven Magic Mountains that we visited in 2017.

Primm NV

We had gone to Goodsprings in 2015.

Las Vegas

We had stayed here in 2015.

Frank Sinatra and Tropicana are closed for construction so traffic is worse than usual.

I did get a shot of the football stadium. Opened in 2020, it is the home field of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels college football team.

I had a slight sinus headache from the differing elevations from Palm Springs 487 feet above sea level to 4,000 feet on the drive to Las Vegas at 2.000 feet.

We checked in (easy), unpacked and relaxed until it was time to head out to dinner - Hole in the Wall. We dressed warmly as it was 23C when we arrived but the winds were strong and cold.

We had eaten here in 2015 and the service was vastly improved!

This isn't gourmet dining but it is fun.

They were very knowledgeable about their gluten free items. John had chicken parmigiana and I had eggplant parmigiana. Wine is included.

We had an excellent server.

The problem is that there portions are just too large! 

We haven't stayed in this timeshare before, we normally stay up the street at Grand Desert. Tight security. 

And daily housekeeping with full cleaning weekly!

Friday we didn't get up until 9 and lazed around until we went out for groceries.

Despite having the Do Not Disturb sign up Housekeeping still knocked. I just told her we didn't need her today.

We finally went out at 2:30 it was warm but the wind was crazy, it was rocking the car!

We went to a Von's since we already had a membership. We bought what we needed for the next few days and we used a luggage cart to being it up to our unit. Sure beat shleeping them up those awful stairs at Oasis in Palm Springs.

We decided we just wanted to veg the rest of the day away!

COOKING

We planned our menus well this week. Moving our Wednesday reservation from last week to this week due to John's cold worked out perfectly. We used up everything except one steak, frozen milk, bread and cream and yogurt which we will pack in a cooler. There are four eggs left that may get eaten before we leave or I will hard boil them.

The only things left are condiments (most of which I brought from CANADA.

Saturday Lunch OUT

              Dinner crab legs PRODUCT OF CANADA

Sunday  B eggs and steak

              D chicken stew (delicious)

Monday L sandwiches/scrambled egg

              D spaghetti and meat sauce. Spaghetti I brought from home, GF made in Italy and imported to an Ontario facility.

Tuesday L OUT pizza

              D leftover chicken stew

Wednesday L leftover pizza

              D OUT Purple Room

Thursday L ON THE ROAD 

                D RESERVATION Hole in the Wall Las Vegas NV

Friday    L egg and onion sandwiches

              D steak (fresh) baked potato and broccoli

WATCHING

Gladiator - we rented this for $7 but instead of paying it to Netflix (American) we rented through our own cable company Bell Canada.

We caught up on our recorded (PCR) series. It has been perfect for streaming our own cable using a HDMI cable to the TV. John has been able to watch all his sports.

READING

I finished The Unwedding, meh. I also finished No Exit, my poolside hard copy, all the twists and turns rely on characters making stupid mistakes. It is so annoying, just when you think she's got away, she does something so dumb, that she is trapped again.

What Alice Forgot was a good vacation read.

I started The Open House  and I am intrigued. But, unfortunately, it didn't take long to figure out the main plot but it did produce one surprising element.