Thorny problems relieved by trip to desert

When Vic and I seek solitude and inner peace, we often head to Borrego Springs, a tiny town surrounded by desert in eastern San Diego County. If we aren’t camping, we especially enjoy staying at the Palms at Indian Head, a small resort at the foot of Indianhead Mountain, adjacent to Anza Borrego State Park. Last week, we spent two nights in one of its newly built casitas, or little houses, located next to its Olympic-sized pool.

The Palms began life in 1947 as the Hoberg Resort, catering to such Hollywood stars as Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and many others. Stars and socialites flew their private planes to an adjacent landing strip, tying their planes outside one of the 56 bungalows, now all defunct.

The Hoberg Resort burned down in 1958, and a two-story, 10-room motel was built in its stead. After a decline in the 1970s, the resort sat empty and open to the elements for 15 years. When the current owners, David Leibert and Cynthia Wood, purchased it in 1993, years of rain falling through open ceilings had melted the drywall onto the floors.

David and Cynthia have lovingly restored the Palms, working with its ‘50s California Modern architecture and adding nice touches like terrazzo tile flooring and leather couches surrounding the lobby’s magnificent fireplace. We particularly enjoy all the birds that frequent the grounds, from screech owls nesting in the palms to western bluebirds and white-winged doves flitting around the pool.

When we arrived Thursday at sunset, we found the same delightful solitude enjoyed by the Hollywood stars. Between enjoying a bottle of wine in our room in front of the fireplace and having dinner at the resort’s Krazy Coyote Grill, we took a dip in the spa outside our door. The intense black of the desert night contrasted with billions of real stars.

On Friday, we hiked up Borrego Palm Canyon. The trail is listed as a “somewhat easy” three-mile round-trip hike that takes two hours. Yeah, sure -- for someone with two functional knees. Since I have zero fully functional knees, it was a bit more of a challenge for me. We last made the hike about 18 years ago. Since then, some strange geophysical phenomenon must have occurred, because this time the trail seemed twice as long and three times as steep.

We stopped often to take pictures of rocks, of which there was no shortage, and to admire desert flowers, which were scarcer. The stream that flowed down the canyon from the palm oasis crisscrossed the trail multiple times. Vic hopped from rock to rock, but I simply waded across in my Keen river sandals.

The real treat was sighting several desert bighorn sheep, a first for us. Known as peninsular bighorns, they are the rarest subspecies of bighorns in North America. Only 280 are known to remain in the U.S., most in Anza Borrego State Park. Protecting them and their habitat is a high priority for the state park system.

We took an alternate trail down from the oasis, hoping it would be either shorter or easier. It was neither. The sun sank before we reached our car. However, we got better looks at the sheep on the way down. We even found an old ram with full-curl horns bedded down under an ocotillo.

After a twilight soak in the spa to soothe our sore muscles, we headed to La Casa del Zorro for a five-star dinner. Their executive chef, Charles Scott, makes having a meal there mandatory for us. His creations are not only intriguingly delicious but beguilingly beautiful as well. I had a pasta appetizer with four cheeses and white truffle oil, topped with Oregon truffle shavings. Vic had a butter lettuce salad with ruby red grapefruit and orange sections, plus jicama, strawberries, raspberries and candied walnuts. For an entrée, Vic had a roasted chicken with plum-chili sauce, while I enjoyed pork tenderloin wrapped in prosciutto, accompanied by a red pepper polenta and served over a grilled Portobello mushroom cap with asparagus spears. We mustn’t neglect to mention that the waiters wore white gloves, brought everything to the table on a cart and even held a napkin to the glass to prevent splashing when pouring wine or water.

The next day, Vic treated me to a desert excursion with California Overland, a company that takes foolhardy tourists up desert washes in a refurbished military truck known as a “deuce and a half.” We had to climb a tall stepladder to get into the open truck, but school bus seats and a canopy were added for our comfort. The ride along the paved road was rough enough, but once we got onto the sandy washes I thought my teeth would fall out. My right kidney exchanged places with the left one several times, and at one point I’m pretty sure it switched places with my liver. And did we mention the dust?

We visited Clark Dry Lake, went up Palo Verde Wash by mistake, drove to Seventeen Palms for a delightful picnic lunch and ended up at Font’s Point for a spectacular sunset over the Borrego badlands. Once I stretched all my vertebrae back into alignment, I decided that it had been a wonderful trip.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].

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