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I am
obsessed with the California desert. This love affair
started a couple of years ago and grew so heated that
I've ended up with two small desert homes, one in Palm
Springs and one in Twentynine Palms. But while traveling
back and forth between them on California State Highway
62, I've somehow always bypassed the community of Desert
Hot Springs.
It's not that I didn't want to visit or wasn't curious
about what was there -- it's just that it seemed I was
always running late and just never had the time to stop
and nose around. Well, I recently had a free Saturday and
decided it would be my opportunity to spend the day in
Desert Hot Springs.
My first stop was a place I'd heard about for years:
Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo Museum. Cabot Yerxa, who first
came to the desert in 1913, hand-built this amazing
structure with adobe and other materials. In fact, it was
Yerxa who first discovered the hot and cold mineral
springs from which the city eventually got its name. The
last few years of his life, before he died in 1965, Yerxa
opened his home for public tours. The City of Desert Hot
Springs now does the same thing; local citizens volunteer
as docents, and they are very proud of their local jewel.
This pueblo is four stories high and has 35 rooms, 150
window, and 65 doors. The living room has a large stone
fireplace and dirt floors, and the rooms are filled with
oil paintings by Yerxa, original furnishings, and
beautiful Native American pottery. The pueblo kind of
rambles all over the place, and it's a lot of fun to
wander through it not knowing where you'll end up next.
After visiting the Cabot pueblo, I headed up the town's
main street in search of some famous water. You see,
Desert Hot Springs citizens like to brag about their
award-winning drinking water. At first you might think
that this is mere chamber of commerce hype, but in this
town it's the truth. For at least the past five years,
Desert Hot Springs has placed in the top 10 in the
prestigous Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting
Competition.
It won the gold medal in 1999 and the silver this year.
Desert Hot Springs has even built a Hot Springs Park
featuring among other things, a beautiful fountain
gushing forth fresh natural water. There's a sign that
says NO WADING, but with the temperature at 90 degrees, I
ended up taking a quick dip up to my knees.
There are plenty of places in town, however, where you
can legally get into the waters. Desert Hot Springs is
full of motels, hotels, and spas of all sizes whose
main attractions are their natural hot mineral pools. |
One of the the biggest and best known is the Desert Hot
Springs Spa Hotel, which opened in 1941. The place has
eight pools filled with waters ranging from 92 to 104
degrees. The waters come up from 300-foot-deep aquifers
at 120 gallons per minute and a steaming 140 degrees.
They are tempered to varying comfort levels.
People of all ages regularly come here to soak in the
waters, relax in the desert sun, and enjoy each other's
company. I was only here for a couple of hours, and I met
nice people from Poland, Yugoslavia, France, Russia, and
Japan, as well as lots of locals who come here on a
regular basis. Everybody was friendly, and the whole
atmosphere was charged with positive, laid-back energy.
And, of course, everybody swore that the waters are good
for whatever ails them.
When it came time for dinner, everyone agreed I had to go
to the Capri Italian Restuarant in midtown Desert Hot
Springs. It's owned and operated by the Santucci family
and is a local institution known for its pasta and
steaks. I ended up ordering the 26-ounce sizzling
porterhouse, which has to be the best steak I've ever
eaten.
The Capri is also known for its friendly, comfortable
atmosphere, and while I was chewing on my juicy steak, I
struck up a conversation with people at adjoining tables.
I also ended up meeting members of the Santucci family --
parents John and Julia, their sons John Jr. and Joe, and
their grandson Anthony.
After dinner, as I drove the short distance to my home in
Palm Springs, I realized I was totally relaxed,
stress-free, and happy. During the day, I'd visited some
neat historic places, met a lot of nice people, and had a
great meal. More improtant, I had become a believer  in
the powers of Desert Hot Springs waters.
Reprinted from Westways Magazine, July/August
2001. |
