Palm Springs: Ten Years of Memories

For the past ten years my family has made Palm Springs and the greater desert our go to spot for weekend getaways.

We’ve stayed in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells and La Quinta: you can safely say that we love the desert.  Most of our days are spent swimming about in the pool but we make it a point to visit a “must see” site each time.  I will be showcasing some of my favorite places to visit in the desert and then writing about each one individually and in detail in weeks to come.  During our first trip in 2004, my husband and I visited the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm.  You can see thousands of them spinning as you drive towards Palm Springs.  These structures not only help light up the desert but are also works of art.

We took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up to the top when my son was 5 months old; even though it was 100+ degrees on ground, the top was a crisp 60.

 When he was 1 we took a tour of the Cabazon Dinosaurs and even visited the museum located inside the stomach of the Apatosaurus; the museum is very small and there is no air conditioning.

When my son was 2, we spent an entire day at the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert (CDMD). The CDMD is a wonderful place for children to let loose and have a blast, a must on every parents list.

A year later we fed giraffes at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens; feeding time is 10am so get there early to reserve your spot.

The following year my daughter was too little to venture on many vacations so instead paid many a visit to our favorite waterhole and restaurant, Don Diego’s.  If you love great Mexican food then you need to visit Don’s.

Finally 2010, my little one wanted to visit the zoo and feed the giraffes like her big brother.  After seeing their long tongues, she opted out of feeding them and instead took ride after ride on their beautiful merry-go-round.

In 2011 we painted a Volkswagen Beetle at the CDMD; January first the car is completely clean and by years end there is a 5 inch layer of paint waiting to be chipped and washed away.

My daughter hadn’t experience the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, so in the winter of 2012 we took the tram up for a day of snow play and hot coco (still one of my favorite times to date).

2013 Marilyn Monroe caught my attention.  Standing in downtown Palm Springs, the Marilyn Monroe statue, known as “Forever Marilyn,” is a 26-foot-tall statue weighing in at 34,000 pounds. Unfortunately after a two-year stay, Marilyn Monroe said farewell to Palm Springs. “Forever Marilyn,” the three-story-tall sculpture by artist Seward Johnson, was dismantled and shipped to its next location, the Grounds for Sculpture in central New Jersey.

This past weekend we came back from our latest adventure in Palm Springs, the Palm Springs Air Museum.  Established in 1994 the museum has one of the neatest collection of planes from the WWII era, a must see and experience for everyone!

In the upcoming weeks, look for my detailed overview of the locations above while vacationing in Palm Springs and the greater desert.

I’m an OC mom of two and photographer. I love living in Southern California and want to expose my children to all that it offers. I love taking my kids on adventures and capturing their every moment so much so that my kids find it odd if I don’t take their pictures. You can see my work on facebook.com/photosbynaz.