Sometimes of late, we find ourselves on a short leash, hovering around the urban area of Palm Springs area and vicinity.  Why do these Nature loving and Living nomads find themselves confined so?  Part of the reason is that the campgrounds around here are full every single weekend, having been reserved well in advance.  Another reason comes down to the conservation of funds, as we are at the moment, van living on a budget, and the Palm Springs area only caters to RV’ers, which at the moment regrettably, we are not.  Anybody have a small trailer out there they don’t need?

They got the slogan right

Weekends have found us heading into the cities having established a little urban nomad routine, that we feel comfortable with.  Some of those weekends have turned into week long furloughs.

Where Do You Go In The Morning?!?

Starbucks for MORE than coffee.

This is indeed a sensitive subject and also a challenge for the urban nomad.  We have a porta potty we use for peeing only.  For the other, the library has proven valuable and opens at 9:00.  Another rich source is the ubiquitous Starbucks, which serves double duty as a Wi-Fi hotspot on our Verizon plan.  The coffee sucks though, is overpriced, and not even ORGANIC.  Come on Starbucks!

Nuff said…moving on.

Getting Some Daily Exercise

Now thats a gym...

Not exercising everyday, is NOT an option.  We both have developed a very abridged stretching routine we can do in the van on the floor.  Shiras got some postures she can do on the large bed when its pulled out.  Still, van living has put a bit of a damper on our former practice.  When the tent’s setup, we have plenty of room, but there’s no tent setting up in the city obviously.

For aerobic exercise if we’re short on time, or hanging out at the library, parks are a convenient stop.  Not that satisfying, but works in a pinch.  We may go to the Soccer Park in Desert Hot Springs, and run the track.  Palm Springs has a park we go to too.  Parks also come in handy as a porta potty dumping spot.

I don't want to go inside...

Far greater happiness can be had on the huge number of hiking trails that wind through the mountains and surrounding hills surrounding the Palm Springs area.  As I’ve said the mountains around here are intense and satisfyingly beautiful.  A network of trails has been built that are practically endless and are easy to get too.  One trail even starts near Bob Hope’s house.

Clean Up Your Act!

Of course after exercise, you want to get clean, or else end up being labeled “dirty hippy”, which I am personally opposed too.  We’ve mastered the sponge bath method, though I affectionately like to call it the backpacker teapot method, in that, I can boil a small backpack teapot’s worth of water, pour that into a large steel bowl, adding in cold water to fill.  Add in some Dr. Bronners soap, get a washcloth out and you’re good to go.  It’s not as satisfying as a good shower or bath, or better yet, multiple dunkings in your favorite wild water source, but it serves its purpose of keeping the locals and your partner happy!

Soaking and FREE camping...

When we want to get really clean, and soak and sweat, we have the Desert Hot Springs Spa.  An all day pass till 10:00 pm costs a mere $5 a piece.  We usually soak and swim early in the day after exercising, then take a break, returning later in the evening for a nice sauna to top the day off.  Free camping in the sand next to the parking lot is another benefit, which is a known fact by many RV’ers coming through the area.

Food Foraging In The City

The Palm Springs area leaves much to be desired in the way of organic food stores.  We come from an area that is rich in the availability of really good food, as well as a huge selection of the more obscure Superfoods and Superherbs.  Indeed, there are many organic restaurants in our home town, but not around here.  I thought all the sunny weather would bring the natural food folks down here but maybe the intense summer heat keeps them away, leaving only the heat stroked locals who apparently don’t seem to have organic, natural food on their collective radar.

Shira holds up our foraging efforts...

There are a couple of small health food stores we frequent.  One is in Palm Springs, and the other is in Joshua Tree.  Other than that we’ve had to resort to shopping at the big chains down here like Ralph’s and Von’s and the really strange, Fresh & Easy.  They each have a small organic produce section and carry organic salad mixes.  If you look REALLY hard in the aisles, you can hunt down some organic items mixed in with the rest.

If you’re looking for Superfoods and Superherbs forget it.  Modern nomads are lucky as they can travel well stocked.  The prices for even common items at the small health food stores are outrageous.  We even have a decent stock that we brought with us in the van.  I built 2 slide out drawers under the couch that can hold 15 quart mason jars each, as well as a huge pull out drawer that slides out the back of the van.

Almost Living Like A Homeless Person

Another successful day ends for the Urban Nomads.

It is interesting that as we frequent city parks, libraries, certain shopping centers and other hangouts, we are in close proximity to the real homeless, who frequent these same spots.  I never really thought about what they might be going through till I lived closer to them and observed their daily routine.  Most have other routines, like checking the coin slots of vending machines, holding up the cardboard sign for money, looking sad and the like.

A little too close for comfort.  Guess they are the TRUE urban nomads.  Nature here we come!

Tags: homeless, palm springs