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Shamrock Tour®: Palm Springs, California
High-rolling in the California Desert
I have a theory that most males are fascinated by either wheels or spheres. The latter group spends much of their recreational time chasing a ball or watching someone else do the same. The "true" wheel guys share a passion for transportation, and they couldn't care less about RBIs, touchdowns, dunks or golf. It's well known that Palm Springs and its satellite resorts are set up for those birdie chasers, but what's a wheel guy going to do there? Hit the road, of course!
Spit on the desert, they say, and something will grow. In the case of Palm Springs, the spit is the Coachella branch of the All-American Canal, bringing Colorado River water 159 miles from Imperial Dam near Yuma, Arizona. Though made famous in the 1930s as a Hollywood "colony," Palm Springs couldn't accommodate much growth until this steady flow of fresh water arrived in 1949. Now it hydrates and cleanses 300,000 people, keeps the golf courses exceedingly green, irrigates the palm plantations, and tops up the pool at my hotel, the Wyndham Palm Springs on Tarquitz Canyon Drive.
It's Sunday, and Cheryl and I have just ridden in from Phoenix, Arizona on a 2006 Electra Glide Classic from EagleRider Rentals. We find the Wyndham easily and settle into our delightful suite. It's been a long, dry day, and we're both ready for a beer. The Wyndham is close to downtown, so we set off on foot. The Blue Guitar supposedly presents some of the best jazz in town, but as we start climbing the stairs to its patio, we hear, "Sorry, we're just closing." At 6:30pm? A jazz bar??...
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