A Weekend of Natural Disasters

I have a lot to blog about today in effort to recap my eventful weekend. This was a big weekend of firsts for Melissa. I’ll start with Friday…Most of my friends here are first year teachers like me, so we all decided to celebrate our first week by attending a happy hour at Haleiwa Joe’s which is this really cool Hawaiian place that is built into one of the canyons. We had a great time there, but then had to leave to go to a co-worker’s party. At the party…which was kinda lame, we started scheming as to where our next destination was going to be. We decided to go to Rob Travis’s apt (we like to call him Rob Thomas) who is another teacher at a different school in the district. Somehow, he conned us all into going to this crappy bar down the street. From there we ended up at Agua Caliente which is a huge casino here, and apparently Rob Thomas likes to go here to dance. Let’s just say that this “dance club” was less than exciting, but we made the most of it. Picture the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort with a cheesy dance floor in the center! We ended up having a crazy time here and my friend Lisa has the most ridiculous pictures of all this. (When I get the pics from her, I’ll post them!) All in all it was a fun filled evening in Palm Springs.

Saturday I woke up to an earthquake…yes, an earthquake. I thought it was me hallucinating since I have to admit I was a little hung over! I found out later on that day that there was a 3.9 quake in Desert Hot Springs (about 10-15mins from here). Anyways, I was a bit hesitant to get up yesterday because I not too excited for my camping/hiking trip with the teacher buds…but I did it! I’ve attached pictures because I figured that no one from home would believe that I WENT CAMPING!!

Some of you may be thinking…oh my gosh…Melissa turned into a tree hugger…but it is a Joshua Tree that I am hugging, no worries! We camped in what they call the “Hi-Desert”, in Joshua Tree National Park. It is about 40 mins outside the Cochella Valley and just past the Yucca and Morongo Valleys. This was quite possibly one of the most breathtaking places I’ve ever been. There were hundreds of j-trees, mountains, and rocks, the pictures really don’t do it justice. I even wore tennis shoes and hiked several miles!!! Not to mention I slept in a tent, wore no make-up and didn’t shower. I think I am truly a camper now. (I did still wear my Channel earrings though!)

So when I arrived home today from the camping extravaganza Palm Springs was in disarray due to some flash floods yesterday. Parts of Hwy 111 (aka E. Palm Canyon, where I live) were closed due to a massive rain that came through last night. Even the wash was still holding water! It does rain in the desert after all. Earthquakes, floods, hiking and camping, and I am still alive…I just might make it out here in Palm Springs!