A special night out and hike to Murray Hill

2/24/24

Last night we decided to give ourselves a ritzy night out, a reward for our difficult hike to the Lost Palm Oasis, and also to take advantage of Alice’s 50% off food as reward for being a Hilton team member. So we made a reservation at one of their 5 restaurants at the Quinta Resort. This was the Adobe Restaurant which promised Oaxacan style cuisine and live music. We sat outside in the exquisite veranda complete with traditional Mexican music, fire and fountains.

We ordered chicken with mole and a seafood plate. As we enjoyed the meal, the little combo started to sing very soft pop hits designed not to bother anyone having to actually listen to it. Pretty soon we heard a tune by Mexican pop artist Selena that was a cumbia. We couldn’t pass that up, so went over and danced cumbia. I was kind of smiling that probably only the waitstaff her knows what cumbia is and meant nothing to the 100% rich white crowd. Afterwards we asked if they had any salsa, but they acted like they didn’t . As we got to our dessert of flan, we heard a nice swing tune come on so we danced that, and then immediately after, as we were walking away, Alice said, this is salsa! So we were about the only ones dancing but we didn’t care. It was a nice way for us to enjoy the night.

Today we needed to get back to Palm Springs as our hotel will change again. It didn’t make sense to try to get all the way back up to Joshua Tree also, and it would be more crowded on a weekend. With the weather warming up and we’re now at lower elevation, the earliest possible seemed the right decision. So we chose to aim for Murray Hill, just barely into the mountains close to Palm Springs, and very close to a delicious little cafe that had the best espresso.

We arrived at the trail head right at 7:15, and it was already feeling a little warm at 61 degrees. With our gear, water and food correct, we headed into the hill. Few hikers had arrived yet, with only 4 cars in the parking area. As we started the hike we came to a washout area with a nicely designed little detour.

The scenery was a bit tame after yesterday’s hike, Just pain hills dotted with low green plants and some cactus, and an occasional wildflower.

We continued on and gradually began to meet more hikers. A group from Michigan and Wisconsin were very friendly, the guy having grown up in Hudsonville. There are many snowbirds down here, but not the type that go to Florida. These are the hikers.

We continued on, taking little breaks as we got to intermediate peaks. Eventually, after 3.5 miles and 2000 foot climb, we arrived at Murray Hill peak.

We sat around with other hikers at picnic tables at the top and had a very fun collegial conversaton. The Michigan people wanted to know where we like hiking in Michigan.

It was time to head down. I switched into my macro lens for the return to be able capture a few flowers.

After 4 hours, and the temperature rising to 75, we were beat. We were fortunate to find a natural foods restaurant nearby and the food was so refreshing. I had a salad with quinoa, jicama and a delicious citrrus dressing. Alice had a Thai tofu salad with sesame dressing. We headed “home” to the same hotel we started at and were able to get early check in, and were glad to get showered and cooled down. Tonight we’ll go to a Guatemalan restaurant that has live music. Hopefully we can hold out until 9 when the music starts.