La Quinta, Joshua Tree, & Rancho Mirage.

Getting away from Oregon’s winter-time dark skies and into the California desert sun is a simple December reset. The light makes it easier to think clearly, sort through ideas, and decide what’s worth carrying forward into 2026.

La Quinta (Resort and Club, 49-499 Eisenhower Dr, La Quinta, CA 92253) really does feel like a peaceful small town desert village. There are original 1920’s cabins with a super cool and unique history, and also many similarly Spanish-styled add-on builds that really do blend in seamlessly with the original retro design.

We took a day trip up to Joshua Tree , it’s about 35 miles from La Quinta, and having heard so much about it we had to check it out. The Joshua Trees themselves are ever present in the area, they grow only at high elevations and host an entire eco-system, they look like this: or you could Google it.

Hey There Projects in Joshua Tree at 61675 Twentynine Palms Highway is a contemporary gallery and shop stocked with vibrant and colorful art and hand-crafted items. The work is thoughtful and fresh, and the space feels like a real home for artists. Website: https://www.heythereprojects.com

The day we visited, Hey There Projects was featuring an art installation by Jim Houser.

At Crossroads cafe at 61715 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree, CA 92252, we consumed amazingly delicious seitan tacos and vegi chili with cornbread. I love the restaurant’s rustic wood paneling which looked to be vintage pine with wormholes?

We did end up returning to the area to visit La Copine (and NYT??!) which was so recommended by high desert folks and the press alike, that we had no choice but to try to obtain a reservation and take a side-trip up to Yucca Valley, we were able to do it.

It was a bit cold that day, crowded because no one wanted to sit outside in their expansive and gracious outdoor seating area. Yucca Valley is about a 3,300 foot elevation and prone to cold days. They had a very cute gift shop behind the restaurant that was constructed from a converted railroad car. It’s about the only place on the road for miles, I would describe it as being isolated-chic. The food is really, really, really, really good.

The End boutique, I was captivated by the store’s murals and happy to just have a sunny mural photo to look at and remember our trip by. Now I see I was a dummy to not have gone inside of the store! So for sure on our next trip. But just had to share this cool mural painted on the exterior of - The End, 55872 29 Palms Hwy, Yucca Valley, CA 92284 (website).

Sunnylands is the former Annenberg Estate in Rancho Mirage, California, although we could not obtain tickets to visit the home grounds tour. Another good reason to plan a future visit, we also need to return to walk the Joshua Tree National Park loop.

Sunnylands was designed as a discreet, private peaceful desert escape for world leaders. The compound contains golf courses and guest cottages, all with confidently-high levels of midcentury pizazz. The succulents and cactus garden behind the visitor center is a very well-maintained example of over-achievement in the landscape arts.

Really can’t wait to return to this area and visit the places we didn’t get to this time. I think it’s the peacefulness of the millions of years-old ancient Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges that draws me to it.